Pit Barrel Cooker Classic Package - 18.5 Inch Drum Smoker | Porcelain Coated Steel BBQ Grill | Includes 8 Hooks, 2 Hanging Rods, Grill Grate and More

I've been smoking on different charcoal rigs most weekends for years (Kettles, barrel grills -with and without offset boxes, ceramic eggs, and even a competition grill that some buddies and I rented for a massive party). I have become pretty capable at producing great slow-cooked meat, and until now my method of choice for slow-cooking involved a 22inch Weber Kettle with a Slow-n-Sear add-on (still a great set-up involving exceptional products). For the purpose of this review, I'm going to compare what makes the PBC Cooker so incredible, when up against any other options in this price-range:PROS:- Simplicity - I deliberately followed the most simple of the prescribed set-ups for this: fill the charcoal basket to the top (make sure it's level); cover charcoal in lighter fluid; place basket in bottom of barrel immediately and light-it; wait 15 minutes for coals to burn down a little (20 at higher altitudes); put on your food, cover the barrel, and wait until your meat is done. No setting up digital thermometers on grill surfaces, no waiting for the temperature to set and stabilize, and I didn't even add wood chunks or chips (I wanted to see what the end product was if I put in the least amount of work necessary). The food that came off when I took the above described steps was phenomenal! Best ribs and chicken I've ever had!- Set it and forget it - this is where I am most astounded, I set the damper according to the directions provided and this thing held at 260 for the entire cook (which was 4hrs, but the charcoal could've gone for 8+ if I had to guess). I have never seen another charcoal fueled product that can do this - period. It literally is a 'set it and forget it' device. I confirmed this by sticking a digital thermometer in through the holes for the rods, periodically during the cook. I didn't use wood-chunks or chips, and it still produced a great smoke and subtle smoke flavor (which I prefer to a heavy/over-smoked flavor) - the flavor comes from the meat dripping on the coals (check-out PBC's website for an explanation)...it works really well.- Shorter cook-times - I slow cooked one rack of ribs to fall-off-the-bone tenderness in a little over 3hrs (still developed a solid smoke ring), along with a chicken (halved) that were done in 2hrs). A rack of ribs slow-cooked would usually take at least 4.5hrs.- Capacity - this thing's footprint is basically the same as a 22inch Weber Kettle (slightly shorter, but the footprint is identical, and the grill cover for a 22inch Weber Kettle fits this perfectly). Even with a rib rack, the most I could effectively fit on a 22inch Weber is 4 racks of ribs (could maybe do 5 if I halved a 5th rack). The PBC can hold up to 8 racks of ribs at a time thanks to its hanging method - with the same footprint as a 22inch Weber. That is nuts!- Easy Clean-Up - you literally just dump the charcoal out of the bottom when you're done; they have a charcoal pan add-on at PBC's website, or you could lay down tin-foil in the bottom of the barrel to make the clean-up even easier. The stainless steel hooks probably don't 'need' to be cleaned after every use, but it takes about 1 minute to use a scrubber and dish-soap on them. The inside of the barrel itself is never meant to be cleaned (they stress this in their directions and literature - so be aware of that), and the outside should never 'require' it either (cleaning the outside is super easy if you do want to - check out PBC's website for details on how to clean it).- Great Build Quality - this thing is substantial, and I love that they use a porcelain enamel finish now (sounds like they used to use a powdered finish). As is the case with anything, fewer moving parts usually means higher durability and lower maintenance - this thing has very few moving parts.- Legit Even Cooking - this thing does cook evenly as a result of the science/physics behind the design (check-out their website for an explanation). To get the same effect on other rigs, usually you have to adjust the meat's position at least once during the cook.- Versatility - The PBC can be used for grilling or slow cooking; the included grill grate is solid and sits deep enough in the barrel to protect it from flare-ups caused by wind. I think I'll probably still use my weber kettle for grilling on on grates, but it's awesome that this could serve the same purpose (and the grilling surface is substantial). It CAN heat up for grilling, and it does it quickly - take that lid off the PBC and you can literally watch the coals heat-up in a matter of minutes. Something else that makes this versatile is its capacity; as I alluded to earlier, I did a halved chicken and a rack of ribs simultaneously - they didn't come close to touching each-other or messing with each-other's flavor profile...I could've done two halved chickens along one of the hanging rods, and 4 racks of ribs along the other if I'd wanted to.- Product Support & Virtual Community - visit the PBC cooker's website, and you have a ton of available support and info provided by the owners of the company (it's a veteran owned company which makes it more awesome) and a community of people who are fanatical about this product. Slow cooking using a 'hook-and-hang' method is new to most backyard BBQ'rs (myself included); the videos and content provided on PBC's website make the prospect far less intimidating than trying to figure it out on your own, or by using some written directions. The company's owners also clearly care about their product, their customers, and their craft in general - lots of customer engagement and support.CONs/FYIs:- Barrel Depth - this is about as nitpicky as anyone could be about a product, and is really more of an "FYI" than a CON. The rack of ribs I hung to slow-cook was ALMOST too long (almost touching the coals). I always try to pick shorter racks of ribs because you run into similar issues on most BBQ rigs (if they're too long for a kettle, then they touch the sides of the kettle - which you don't want). This rack of baby-backs was on the longer side, so I'm not too surprised that it almost hit the coals. 'Hook-Placement' can help with longer pieces of meat, which is something I'll be mindful of next time I have a longer rack of ribs to slow cook. I will say this, despite the ribs being literally an inch or two above the coals - the bottom of the hanging rack cooked evenly with the rest of the rack (really impressive). Again, this is not really a CON and more of an FYI.I imagine that when the first Weber Kettle came out, it was met with similar disbelief and fanfare - at $300.00 before taxes, you won't find anything like this. Pellet Smokers and other types of electric/automated smokers might offer 'set-it-and-forget-it' ability, but the decent ones are more expensive and they don't offer the same degree of simplicity, near the capacity of this thing, or are as easy to clean/maintain.

Update after 4 months - using my Pit Barrel a couple of times every week - ALL with great results..1) I use a Wagner 30 gallon drum dolly - with wheels - that I found on sale for $45 to roll my Pit barrel around - fits just right to leave the bottom air vent exposed2) The Weber 7451 grill cover for like $10 fits great - after the Pit Barrel cools down of course !3) Process wise I started with a Charcoal Chimney to start-up my coals - but for the past 6 weeks I switched over to the starter fluid method - no lighter fluid taster whatso ever - lights coals more evenly in the basket - and overall a smoother/more-efficient process4) Pit Barrel now has a steel "ash catcher - for like $30 - before they came out with that I use a 17" aluminum pizza pan on the bottom - and then a 16" alum pizza pan on top of that which fits just right underneath the charcoal basket - just pull the 16" up and out with the ashes on it - smooth as pie. I also have a ash/fireplace vac - but the pizza pan trick is so much smoother.5) On one cook - the combination of a fallen rib rack (my fault) and a couple of bad flavor/wood-chunks - left a wet residue/creosote inside my Pit Barrel - the following day I refilled the charcoal basket 120% - opened the bottom vent 100% - started up that charcoal pile with the lid off - left the lid off for 30 min - then put the lid back on but cracked open 1/2" - the Pit Barrel cooked up way hot and I let go - crisped out that wet residue easy - kindof a burn off deal - so simple and effective !6) Pit Barrel also now offers "turkey hooks" - bought two so I can smoke 2 birds at a time for the Holiday's -I am a very/very happy Pit Barrel Cowboy !----------------- original post----------------------I researched the Pit Barrel online before ordering - and setting up the Pit Barrel - was a straightforward and smooth - both the videos on the Pit Barrel website and the independent reviews are spot on !I received my Pit Barrel early Weds evening - and did my 1st cook Thursday morning - a full 8 racks of spareribs for a office lunch BBQ feeding 20-25 people - and all worked out great !To be helpful to others - a few specific comments on my 1st-cook-setup:1) I purchased a Weber Compact Rapidfire Charcoal Chimney from Amazon - this Weber Compact Chimney holds EXACTLY the 40 Kingsford briquettes which Pit Barrel recommends for a chimney startup - rock solid fit for the Pit Barrel - and when lit a easy dump onto the coals in the Pit Barrel2) I purchased a 2-pack 18lb Kingsford charcoal (Blue) from my local Lowes - while my Pit Barrel was in route3) While I was at Lowe's - I also bought a Kingsford Charcoal Dispenser Kaddy contianer for $11 (made by Buddeez - I have other great containers in my kitchen made by Buddeez) - and I dumped 18lbs of Kingsford into the caddy loose - perfect fit. Next time I go to Lowe's I am going to pickup a 2nd Kaddy for my extra charcoal - but that's me.4) I used Weber FireStarter cubes - bought a 24 pack cheap for $3.50 - 1st time I have used these paraffin based cubes - and my recommendation for the chimney is to use them 4/5 at a time - I put them on a folded alum foil under the chimney to light them up - easy - and after I dumped the lite charcoal into the Pit Barrel - burnt/used cube cleanup was a breeze - folded up the used/burnt cube in the foil and dumped.. With these paraffin cubes took maybe 25-30 minutes to get the charcoal in the chimney lite up the way I like it - a bit longer the 20 mins outlined by Pit Barrel5) I am at 1200 ft - so the Pit Barrel vent was factory preset 1/4 which was perfect for meI am not a hound dog griller/smoker - I eat smoked/cooked ribs maybe 2-3 times a year - either at friends or at a Annual National Championship event in my town - so my comments on my actual 1st cook1) I was going to feed 15-20 people - so I had my butcher bring in 8 full racks of "natural" spareribs - no sodium/additves - probably $12 a rack2) I bought three types of rub/seasoning - each 30 oz containers - and did a quick over-test-cook in my over with some country-cut ribs/pork the night before - from Amazon - 30 oz Hawaiian seasoning (and I have Hawaiian Hulli/Hulli wet sauce as a match - Amazon 30 oz Pappy's Seasoning - and from local Sam's Club 30 oz of Head Country Championship for $12. I over tested the 3 - and after my quick oven test - for me I picked the flavor from the Head Country for my 1st cook.3) Rinsed/pat-dry the racks 30 minutes before cook start up - I did not pull membranes - left membranes on - I inserted the cooking hooks in each rack in turn - and applied the seasoning - and frankly I did not do much of a rub-in - more a shake-on application - and for 8 full racks of spareribs used 1/2 the 30 oz Head Country4) After the chimney hot coals were poured into the Pit Barrel - put all 8 racks on - and yes. at least 4 of my spare rib racks were as long to be just touching the coals - and I knew from Pit Barrel videos/review that there were no worries with that5) Put the lid on - and walked away for 3 1/2 hours - and when I was on my way back I picked up two 40 oz bottles of Head Country Original BBQ sauce from my local Walmart Community market.6) Full 8 sparerib racks at 3 1/2 hrs was not as far along as I wanted - for that amount of meat - and I waited another hour - total 4 1/2 hrs - and then I pulled the racks on turn and lathered with the Head Country BBQ sauce - and frankly the "lather" used one 40 oz bottle of sauce7) Lathers/sauced - I cooked them another 45 minutes - for total cook time 5 hrs 15 minutes - when I pulled them - pulled hooks - wrapped in rack in foil - and set them in a Husky brand foam ice chest (like $9 at Walmart) that fit them perfectly - and let them rest for me (timing to get to the office and set) - about another 45 minutes - my schedule for setup8) Sliced up the racks into about quarters - wrapped the quarters in foil - plenty of paper towels for my lunch hordeFantastic - all those ribs - and gobbled up like wildfire - all gone, I mean gone - and in my BBQ-lover area - at least 4/5 "best I have ever had" - and at least 90% "man - this was GREAT"...