Pit Barrel Cooker Package Charcoal BBQ - PKG1001

Bought this barrel to replace an older one around 6 years old which unfortunately had rusted out at the bottom after heavy usage and weathering.

PitBarrel Smoking for 7 years

Travelled around the world in the military and where I go, my PitBarrel goes. Both of them! Have smoked all kinds of meats including exotics. Friends and family blown away, how a Turkey is so perfect even the breast are tender and juicy. Blue cheese loaded smoked bacon burgers.... Forget about it! If you are debating between a pellet cooker and a PitBarrel, there is no comparison. Sure, fancy timers, auto feeder... Just use traditional briquets or custom wood charcoal if in Japan and you will not be let down.

Great results

I was very surprised with how well the PBC works. I have made ribs, tenderloins and briskets in much less time that in a conventional smoker and the results were very good. It's very easy to assemble and the instructions to use it are very clear and easy to follow. Hanging meat from the rebars is a gamechanger in terms of the amount of food you can cook in one sitting.

Not as fool proof as the hype suggests

I chose the PBC because of the rave reviews about the "set it and forget it" nature of the product. I want to do decent backyard smoking/BBQ, but not adopt a whole lifestyle that seems to go with it. I was sold on the concept and the simplicity. I don't mind doing "hot and fast" if it means not having a 15 hour smoke time, and the youtube reviewers all love the PBC for the results. No refueling, no constant temp checks - sounds awesome

Best smoker/grill combo on the market

I don't usually do reviews, so the fact that I am taking some time out of my day here writing one means a lot. Let me first start off by saying that the packaging was outstanding! My pit Harrell came packed so tightly that there was no way it could have been damaged during delivery. I was impressed with how everything fit inside the box so perfectly. You can tell it was packaged with care and with safety for the product in mind.

If You Like to Tinker, Pit Barrel Will Not Let You Down!

Have had the Pit Barrel 18.5" for two years now and after following the creator's guidance and playing with it I love this product. If you want perfect convenience with literally no work at all then spend a pretty penny for a Traeger. Maybe it's just me but the Pit Barrel is just so fun to use and I prefer to have a craft then no work. This smoker is a GREAT starter if you want to have the craft and become a pit master. Also you really can't beat the taste of smoke from charcoal apart from wood pellets. You just can't. Give Pit Barrel a whirl and with patience and fun you won't be disappointed!!!

There's a reason why they call it "The Rib Machine"

Don't let the primitive, and simplistic nature of the PBC fool you. There's a reason why this little cooker has earned the nickname "The Rib Machine" in BBQ circles. No other cooker on the market delivers the same tasty, consistent results, when it comes to ribs, poultry, or sausage. Would I recommend this product for every single cut of meat? No. If you're looking for a cooker that can deliver a consistent, low temperature cook, for that perfect "low n slow" brisket, or pulled pork, I'd look elsewhere. Obviously, you can cook brisket, and pulled pork on this cooker. However, at temperatures averaging anywhere between 275°-305° (your mileage may vary), the brisket, and pulled pork might be a slightly tougher final product than you're used to.

It took me too long to pull the trigger on this purchase.

Used PBC 'original' on a ham and a large (15.5 lb) pork butt.

World's Best Smoker

After extensive research, my husband selected this as his soker of choice. So, Santa delivered it early much to my surprise! The quality of the unit is superior and our first time using it to smoke pork shoulders, we were beyond impressed. Both agreed the best smoked pork we've ever had. The spice rub that came with the smoker is fantastic as well. Would highly recommend your products!

Love this grill

Best purchase we've made! We have a webber gas grill, a 980 smoker, a camp chef smoker and a off set smoker, but this is the best! Smokers are great for low and slow smoking stuff, but I like this better than all the rest. We did turkey Thanksgiving. It was the best turkey we have ever made, juicy, flavorful, took about 4.5 hours, came out perfect. I love the charcoal taste, used a few chunks of wood, and couldn't have done anything better. We made ribs 2x last week, also perfect, we did cut 2nd round in half so they didn't get burnt on end, 1st round burnt a little, not to bad, just a little. But both cooks was great tasting, everyone that ate loved them. Did cheeseburgers yesterday, super flavorful , I'll never want to use any other machines after this one. Burgers was awesome, charcoal taste blew me away! Smokey flavor, perfect dinner.

Simple with delicious results.

Been grillin and smokin stuff on Weber Kettles for more than 40 years. Saw this thing, the junior version, on a YouTube video and was immediately hooked, so to speak. Thanks Abom. Within 30 minutes of receiving the PBC I was loading the charcoal basket and hangin four racks of babybacks. Brushed one rack at the four hour mark and pulled them all at about 4.5 hours. Simple and delicious. Wife originally asked, "Do you really need another cooker?". After the ribs she asked, "What are you cooking next?". Next day was two hole chickens cut into halves for four on the hooks. Also used the two hanging hot dog/sausage baskets to do some Brats. Very impressed so far and I see a lot of leftovers in the fridge from now on.

I'm glad I bought my PBC!

Oh my goodness is this thing easy and fun. I had a propane smoker that I just could not get to run at a consistent temperature for more than two hours. It needed constant babysitting. Then I found this pit barrel cooker. I bought the 18.5" PBC and I love it! It's EASY to make great food! Shipping was quicker than I thought. I ordered it and it was in my driveway a couple of days later. I ran to the grocery store and bought a pork butt and we made pulled pork the first day. It was absolutely delicious! We've had our PBC about three weeks now and I've made pulled pork (twice), 6 racks of St. Louis spare ribs (I could have fit more but we only needed 6 for that cook), and chicken wings. All were delicious! My son and I both think that the PBC makes barbecue fun again!!

Satisfied

Ordered the PBC because of constant issues that I have had with my pellet smoker. Plus, I just missed charcoal flavor and wanted that option. So far I have cooked spare ribs, two whole chickens, and a meatloaf. All turned out excellent, although I had issued getting the chickens done. The temp kept falling to 200•F.

Definitely worth every penny, buy it!

They sell this as an easy to use foolproof cooker.. and basically they are right. Best ribs and chicken I've ever had, anywhere.. period. I'm an accomplished home chef you could say, for what it's worth. Just buy it! Had mine for three weeks, and have not messed up any cook yet. Sometimes it can get hot if you keep lifting the lid without burping (BGE method). I run the thermo and wires through the rod holes, easy as it gets. Best to leave it cook without disturbing much after you drop in the food. I recently sold my Big Green Egg, after 12 years. This PBC is an outstanding replacement. And for the cost of just a few tanks of gas these days... you can't go wrong!

Almost perfect

When I bought my camp there was a permanently installed ugly drum-style smoker in the yard. I accepted the challenge of learning to cook on it and after much trial and error, finally figured it out and had good results, and wanted something for home use. After a lot of research, I went with this one because it was the least expensive, entry-level smoker with the highest reviews (because I am more likely to be smoking at camp, but want to be able to do it at home without having a fortune invested in something I may use a dozen times a year). The smoker arrived in good order, well packaged (if it's a gift, be warned that the packaging says what it is), it came with a sampling of some rubs, set up was easy as pie, and it's light enough to move around to put it in the shed to store it.

The Best, the Easiest, the Tastiest

I have been cooking almost of our meat for home use on the PBC since nearly the beginning. My first PBC was the original painted mode.. I have cooked nearly 600 cooks on that PBC and is still going strong. It is all original, even the charcoal basket, used from the beginning without the charcoal pan. I did repaint it once, but some rust continued, so now I don't worry about it. I call that one "Rusty".

Just buy this thing!

I've been using a highly modified vertical gas smoker for quite some time and the thing is FINALLY beyond repair. Came across the PBC when I went looking for something different. After reading tons of great reviews, watching several YouTube videos, and reading Noah's story, I was extremely curious. I'm an Afghan Vet myself but, I didn't want to base my choice strictly off of that reason. As far as what I would consider my cooking skill level to be, I still consider myself a novice and, honestly, I was a little skeptical. Shipping was extremely quick and my first cook was country style boneless ribs. I was absolutely blown away by how easy and amazing this simple little cook turned out. Two tenderloins are coming next. At the same time! Something I would never risk on my old smoker. If you're on the fence, as I was, just get this awesome thing. I promise you won't regret it. I purchased the Pit Barrel Select package because it just seemed to be the most logical one for me. I do plan on purchasing the sausage/hot dog, corn cob, basket hanger bundle next.

Wish I had bought this a long time ago

If you look at the 'Pit Barrel Cooker', your first thought is "this shouldn't work"; but it DOES, and makes some of the best barbecue I've ever had. I've had mine for about a month, and have cooked pork butt, brisket, St.Louis ribs and a couple of chickens. All were excellent. If you're used to "low and slow" 225 degrees traditional barbecue, checking the fire every hour, making sure your smoker isn't too hot or God forbid, OUT, there is some adjustment period, and more than a little "first timer" anxiety that goes along with not being able to tell exactly what's going on inside the barrel. Follow the instructions, trust the process, you'll be glad you did. I still have my old traditional smoker (gathering dust for the most part), a Weber kettle, and a gas grill for "lazy day" cooking, but the Pit Barrel Cooker has quickly become one of my favorites. As far as negatives...in my OPINION, I think the ash pan should be included as standard, because without it, getting the ashes out would be very inconvenient. Also, I wish the company would offer a dolly with wheels for easier transport. Other than that, it's a great cooker. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Great tasting food - sadly rust, to short, and need lower

I have to say I want to give it a perfect score because the food comes out amazing... but.... I feel it needs to be a good 4 inches taller. As it is right now with the add-on ash tray, a rack of ribs sits on the coals and you have to cut them in half. Also, mine came with a section that the enamel was missing. I had to go to the store and buy Rusteez grill enamel before I could even use it. Then after the first rain since I got it (I bought the cover and had it up on concrete blocks so it was even higher off the ground and protected from the rain) I went to use it and found a line of rust starting in the seem at the bottom where it crimps. Another spot I had to hit with the Rusteez. Make it taller, work on quality control, and one addition I would suggest is to add a 2nd lower level for the grill grate to do more direct heat so you can get a better sear. This would add for reverse searing steaks and for cooking burgers. Even with the issues I had and have with the height, I did recommend one to a few people.

Great overall Cooker w/some small modifications

I own (8) grills and cooker combos of various shapes, sizes and price points. I love the design of hanging the meat over the coals on the PBC for that one of a kind flavor! Made a few additional modifications to the design to improve the performance for me personally. 1 - Drilled four additional 1 inch holes in the charcoal basket to improve airflow to the fuel. 2 - Added a Thermometer to the lid because I like to know the temp of my cooker. 3 - Added an open/close slide venting system to the lid that is used for another cooker on the market to improve airflow within the Barrel. Those additions have made the PBC my favorite cooker over others I own that cost thousands more!