I felt in love with the passion of Backyard BBQing a few years back. I decided to create this blog to share my favorite BBQ recipes and tips. I also decided to do some BBQ product testing and reviews on this blog since there's not a lot of reviews out there for BBQ products. I also created this to provide a nice resource of info to fellow Backyard BBQers. Sorry for the grammar French is my native language!
Some of you
kept asking me about The Pit Barrel Cooker to see how good of a BBQ it was.
Well a few weeks back I got the opportunity from the Pit Barrel Cooker Company
to do a review on their Pit Barrel Cooker which I accepted. Yesterday I received the Pit Barrel Cooker
via FedEx which I was quite impress on how well it was packaged to ensure no
damaged incurred during shipping.
Before
we get into this review I would like to provide a little biography of the
company.
“The Pit Barrel Cooker Co. is a family-owned
business that was established in 2010 in Strasburg, Colorado by an Iraq war
veteran. All of our products are proudly made in the USA. Our flagship product
is the Pit Barrel Cooker which combines the best qualities of smokers, slow
cookers and BBQs (into one product). While barrel cooking is nothing new, it
has never before been brought to the mass market in a form that is affordable,
simple to use, producing perfectly cooked meat (meals) every time. As part of
our mission of letting people spend less time preparing food and more time
enjoying the company of their guests, we have launched our own line of Pit
Barrel Cooker Rubs that make it even easier to achieve great tasting results
with little to no hassle. We believe that everyone that enjoys outdoor cooking
will want a Pit Barrel Cooker because everyone who tries one is simply amazed
by the flavor it produces.
Our products are sold through our website www.pitbarrelcooker.com, in retail stores Nationwide and at our catering
events. They also sell and ship to Canada. We believe that everyone that enjoys
outdoor cooking will want a Pit Barrel Cooker because everyone who tries one is
simply amazed by the flavor it produces.”
Ok let’s get started
with some key features:
It’s
made out of high quality 30 gallon steel drum
DuPont
high temperature black powder coat finish that can withstand temperatures of up
to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit;
You
only have to adjust one vent to the recommended sea level elevation and ounce
adjusted you never have to set again. This makes it extremely easy to use;
(which we will discuss a little bit later in this review)
You
can cook by hanging your food using hooks or you can cook close to the hot
coals on the grill grate;
Another
key point is that you don’t have to season this PBC.
When you start to unpack your Pit Barrel cooker
you will find your instructions located on the top of the box. Then you will
notice two long sleeve on the sides which contains 8 stainless steel hooks, wooden
hook remover and two 4.7 oz. bottle of their famous rubs (All-Purpose Pit Rub
and Beef & Game Pit Rub). Underneath the first section of the cardboard you
will find the Pit Barrel Cooker lid with half Horse shoe handle, nice horse
shoe stand for the cooker, 17.5 inch chrome plated wire grate, your 2 steel
rods, heavy duty charcoal basket with handle and a 30 gallon Pit Barrel Drum
with two horse shoe handle.
Unpacking the Pit Barrel Cooker Video
Instruction, Business Card & Coupon
8 stainless steel hooks, wooden hook remover
Two 4.7 OZ bottle of there rubs
Close Up view of Tub Bottles
Instructions, Business Card and Coupon
Wooden hook remover
One of the Bars and the 8 stainless steel hooks
Lid with the half horse hoe handle
17.5 inch chrome plated wire grate and 2 steel rod
17.5 inch chrome plated wire grate
Inside view of 30 Gallon Drum
Outside view of 30 Gallon drum
Better View of 30 Gallon Barrel
Horse Shoe Handle
Horse Shoe Stand
Heavy duty charcoal basket with handle
As you can see they took time to ensure this
cooker was pack extremely well so it doesn't incur any damages during
transportation. I was quite impress in the fact that this Pit Barrel Cooker is
pretty much ready to go right out of the box. It can be assembled within 60
seconds which is quite impressive.
Pit Barrel Cooker Assembly Video
Step 1 place stand on the ground
Step 2 place Barrel on stand and adjust vent
Step 3 place heavy duty charcoal basket with handle inside drum
Step 4A Place cooking grate if you want to use grate to cook if not jump to Step 4B.
Step 4B Place two steel rod in drum holes
Step 4C hang the meet with the hooks
Step 5 Place cover
Has you can see the Horse Shoe handles are useful in holding the Lid and Grate for you!
I tested the Pit Barrel Cooker in sub Zero temp and it maintain internal temp of 245 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit pretty steady the entire cook! I monitor the PBC for another two hours after cooking the chicken and it still maintained the above temp steady without a hitch! It was also pretty windy outside which is typical for Nova Scotia and the wind add no ill effect to the PBC. This was quite impressive and totally impressed me and my wife. This actually prove that this grill is pretty efficient in maintaining a steady cooking temp.
PBC internal temp
Outside temp
Lots of us are used to seeing the old Ugly Drum
Smoker (UDS) which takes time to build and is a lot bigger making it not to
portable. The usual UDS is made out of a 57 gallon Steele drum and is usually
ugly to look at and can be tricky in controlling the temperature.
The Pit Barrel Cooker is a 30 gallon UDS
version sort of and it’s a lot easier to use. The PBC is a lot smaller in size
making easier to transport and looks a lot sharper on your patio or in your
cooking pit! It also take a lot less space when storing it in your garage!
The reason they went with a 30 gallon size drum
is that they found during their research and testing this size provides a more
even convection heat inside the cooker. Remember heat rises and do to the size
and design of this cooker it actually keeps even heat distribution throughout
the drum which is quite impressive!
An important note is that this PBC has been
design to use Kingsford Original Briquettes that come in the familiar blue and
white bag which readily available at any BBQ store or Walmart’s. According the
Pit Barrel Cooker company president you can also use lump charcoal but you will
have to experiment on the amount to use since lump burns at higher temp. He
also recommends to cook with the Kingsford Original Briquettes till you get
used to the cooker which I also recommend.
Here’s how easy it is
to use:
First step is to adjust the bottom vent to your
sea level elevation:
·
· 0
to 200 feet above sea level ¼ open;
·2000
to 5000 feet above sea level ½ open;
·5000
to 8000 feet above sea level ¾ open;
·Above
8000 feet wide open;
This step is extremely important! Ounce set you never have to adjust it again.
Pit Barrel Cooker Vent
If you plan to use your Pit Barrel Cooker on a
wooden deck it’s extremely important that you place a BBQ heat resistance mat
on the deck then on top of it a patio stone. If you don’t do this the heat from
the cooker can cause your deck to ketch fire.
The best way to light this PBC is to fill your
basket with Kingsford Original Briquettes approximately 145 briquettes then
empty 25% of the charcoal briquettes into
your chimney lighter approximately 36 briquettes;
Lighting and cooking on the PBC Video
(You can use lighter fluid to light your full charcoal
baskets but I highly recommend using the chimney lighter method.)
Lighting with fluid Video
Source: YouTube user Pit Barrel Cooker Co.
It is very important to use good BBQ gloves
when handling the chimney lighter and hot handles of the PBC. I highly
recommend the BBQ Bravo gloves since they are well insulated and covers most of
your arm.
BBQ Bravo Gloves Video
Source: YouTube Uploader Freds Music and BBQ
Once the charcoal chimney newspaper is lit let
it light up the coals for 15 minutes at sea level, or 20 minutes for all other
elevations. Then pour the lit charcoal on top of the rest of the briquettes in
the baskets inside the PBC; (now you’re ready to place your food inside the
cooker)
If hanging meat remove grill grate and place
metal rods in pre-cut holes. Hang meat on the stainless steel hooks and hang
meat from metal rods inside the Pit Barrel Cooker or if grilling- remove metal
rods and insert grill grate, place meat on grill grate and grill as you would
on a barbecue;
Don't forget to use there handy wooden tool to remove the hot hooks
Chicken Cooking Using two hooks
PBC cooking in sub zero temps!
Ounce your done placing your meat inside the
cooker put the lid back on and let it cook to perfection!
You can even cook pizzas in this cooker by
using a 14” to 15” pizza stone. I prep the pizza on my pizza stone then place
the stone on the grill grate then I use the grates handle to place it in the
cooker. It’s that simple!
Pizza Stone inside PBC
Lots of friends have been asking me if you add
to flip the ribs when cooking them by the hanging method to ensure that they
are cooking evenly. Well I can tell you from experience that you just have to
hang your slabs on the hooks and that you don’t have to flip them at all during
the cook. The smoke flavor and color came out evenly and they actually cook quite
evenly which totally impressed me! I was more than 100% sure that it wouldn't
cook them evenly! I was also afraid that the slab would fall off the hooks as
they cooked to completion but they stayed on the hooks perfectly!!
Ribs Cooking Away!
Cold Outside Temp!
Ribs Going in the cooker!
Ready at 2h 30m!
Ready!
When placing the hooks on ribs you want to ensure you
put your hook after the second bones. It takes 3 to 4 hours to cook pending on
your elevation. I would check on them at the 2 ½ hour mark. The lower elevation
you’re at the quicker they cook. I check my ribs by pulling on one of the bones
and should want to separate from the meat. At this point it’s now time to sauce
them and cook them for another 20 minutes hanging so the sauce can caramelize. I found that I got better results in
caramelizing the ribs straight on the grill grates.
The Pit Barrels are manufacture in the United States. Here's a few pictures provided by Pit Barrel Cooker Co. of the manufacturing process:
Barrels Getting ready for the Powder Coating
Barrels after being coated with DuPont high temperature black powder coat finish
Well everything I cook on the PBC came out with
amazing results which I am quite impressed with. This cooker was well design
and it shows that lots of testing and research went into its design. I
especially love the fact that you can reach them via phone 24h/7days a week if
you have any question or issues! Noah the president is very helpful and loves
helping everyone in achieving the best cooking experience with the Pit Barrel
Cooker. Another huge bonus is that you don’t need a water pan like other smoker
and UDS. The food actually comes out nice and moist each and every time. If you
plan to leave the PBS outside in the weather its best to get a cover to protect
it from the elements. The Pit Barrel Cooker is also excellent for the novice
griller since it works on the leave it and forget concept. I owned and used ceramic Kamado style cookers for years and the PBC actually as just as good of a result each and every-time.
Chicken 1 hour 20 minutes cook time
If you’re looking for a good versatile and easy
to use outside BBQ/Smoker the PBC is a very strong contender. This one is definitely
the easiest to use and by far the best BBQ/smoker you can get under $500. You can order your Pit Barrel Cooker here:Pit Barrel Cooker
US customer they are selling them for $289 with free Fedex shipping.
Canadian customer please contact Noah at sales@pitbarrelcooker.com or 303-249-9069 for pricing and info. .
Here’s a
nice easy to make quick dessert on the grill! This maple rhubarb combo is quite
tasty and can be serve with maple ice-cream and maple whiskey sauce! Lets get grilling!
Maple Rhubarb Combo
Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups
diced rhubarb
2/3 cup of
pure maple syrup
1 ½ cup
flour
1 ½ cup oat
meal
1 cup brown
sugar
¾ cup
butter
Direction:
Pre-heat
BBQ for indirect cooking with a temp of 375 degrees Fahrenheit;
Using adjustable rig BGE
Using Plate setter BGE
Using heat deflector Kamado Joe
Spread the
diced rhubarb on the bottom of a 8” by 8” casserole;
Coat the
rhubarb with the maple syrup;
In a mixer
mixed the brown sugar and butter till mixture is creamy;
Slowly add
the oatmeal and flour to the cream in the mixture;
Now take
the mixture and press it on top of the Rhubarb evenly;
Cook approximately
30-35 minutes
Maple Whiskey Sauce recipe
Ingredients:
½ cup pure
maple syrup
½ cup Crown
Royal Whiskey
Direction:
Mixed the
crown royal with maple syrup and refrigerate before serving.
The best
way to serve this is a nice piece of the combo in a plate topped with 1 scoop
of vanilla ice cream and pour some whiskey sauce on top of ice cream!
Sorry that I didn't put pic my camera died on me! I will redo recipe on weekend and place pics then!
