Does your Pit Barrel Cooker get too hot? Do you want to know how the pit barrel cooker works? Then dig into the information this blog post provides you to reach your answers or queries.
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Pit Barrel Cooker
The pit barrel cooker was invented in 1967 by George Stephen. He was looking for an alternative way to cook food using his father’s old coal-fired barbecue grill. Also, he wanted to make it easier for people without access to electricity or gas supplies to cook their meat. The original design had a metal drum with one end cut out and a grate over the open end that hinges could attach.
The average temperature on the pit barrel cooker ranges between 135 – 155 deg C (275 and 310 F) with the rods in and the lid seated. This temp is ideal for pretty much anything and is part of the set and forget nature of the Pit Barrel.
It provides a large cooking capacity at a great price of around $399 and produces delicious results with ease of use. The directions are simple but pay careful attention; drum smokers are different from other smokers. But the PBC has some attributes that make it even more unique. Crusty, great-tasting food with minimal effort. Looks manly and works beautifully. It comes with a chrome-plated wire cooking grate, but hanging foods is the preferred method.
Pit Barrel Cooker Too Hot
Pit Barrel Cooker runs a little hotter than we usually like to smoke. The temperature of a pit barrel cooker needs to be monitored and controlled to ensure an efficient cooking process. It can be lowered by controlling the combustion air input rate or reducing the heating surface temperature of one side of the cooker. And mostly, the higher temps mean dinner is ready sooner.
Hanging the meat vertically reduces the amount of direct infrared radiation from the coals for the same reason pointing your fingers at a fire doesn’t feel as hot as holding your palm to the fire. Meanwhile, dripping juices baste and cool the bottom of the meat. And remember, heat rises, so you have a fire at the bottom, and hot air rises to the top, evening out the temperature, which is more or less constant in the area where the food hangs.
How Do You Use a Pit Barrel Cooker?
A pit barrel cooker is a versatile outdoor cooking tool perfect for camping, tailgating, or backyard gatherings. It is a cylindrical metal drum with an open top and a closed bottom that has been pre-heated with charcoal, wood, or other fuel. The food to be cooked (usually meat) is placed on the grill inside the barrel. It can also be hanged with the help of provided metal hooks and covered with a heavy metal lid, usually with a vent in the center. Depending on fuel and temperature, cooking time typically ranges from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Most modern pit barrel cookers are made of stainless steel or aluminum.
The heat from the fire only cooks the meat on one side, while it also uses convection to cook it more efficiently. Slow cooking also removes moisture. It can help sear meats and add flavor by smoking them or giving them a crisp crust. Pit Barrel Cookers are known for their ability to cook meat at a low and steady temperature.
A pit barrel cooker is usually filled with charcoal and then covered in wet wood chips or chunks. The meat is placed inside the drum and cooked for hours at a low temperature.
This cooker can be used to cook anything that can be placed on top of a grill or barbecue grate. It can be used to cook meats, vegetables and fruit, bread, pastries, and desserts.
Pit Barrel Cooker Cooking Methods
Pit Barrel Cookers are great for cooking meat without burning it. They use the following methods:
- indirect heat
- moisture
- convection air currents.
They also require less work because you don’t have to manage the grill throughout cooking actively. The Pit Barrel Cooker cooks with indirect heat by burning wood or charcoal through a small opening in the side of the barrel. The heat generated from this small opening is used for cooking your food at a steady, low temperature. This helps keep it moist and tender instead of dry and tough as traditional grilling can produce. This temperature keeps your meat and vegetable tender and helps them retain their natural juices and flavor. The Pit Barrel Cooker’s size is perfect for cooking a whole chicken or turkey or for small to medium-sized groups of people. The XL model can cook up to 12 chickens or turkeys at once.
How Long Does a Pit Barrel Cooker Burn?
Pit barrel cookers are large metal drums filled with wood and then lit on fire. It is experienced that a whole basket of charcoal can last up to 12 hours of continuous burning. But it has also been observed that the fire burns for a long time, ranging from 12 to 24 hours. The more is the fuel added that is the wood; the longer will it burn.
What Kind of Charcoal Do You Use in a Pit Barrel Cooker?
Charcoal is a fuel that is commonly used in-pit barrel cookers. The most common types of charcoal used in cooking are briquettes and lump charcoal.
Briquettes are made from coal, coal dust, sand, limestone, and other ingredients that create a uniform product with long burning qualities. In addition, Briquettes are made from sawdust, making them easy to light but do not produce as much heat as lump charcoal.
Lump charcoal is made from hardwood like oak or hickory, or softwood, like pine, that has been heated up in an oven to convert it into char. Lump charcoal is made of wood scraps and pieces, making it easy to light but burns hotter than briquettes. This leaves it with a more natural taste but also means it burns out much quicker than briquettes.
How Do You Increase the Temperature on a Pit Barrel Cooker?
A pit barrel cooker is a type of barbecue that cooks food using a fire below and an insulated hood over the grill. The food is cooked by the heat of the fire and then by convection from the hot air in the insulated hood.
There are two ways to increase the temperature on a pit barrel cooker.
- Increase the airflow by opening air vents at the bottom of the cooker.
- Add more fuel to the fire by adding more wood or coal.
High temperatures can also result from an unseated lid. Make sure your cover is secure when cooking. If your PBC is running cool or taking too long to cook, you can increase the temperature by cracking the lid 3/4″ for around 30 mins. You can then reseat your lid and resume cooking.
I hope this blog post was helpful; if so, comment below. Share your recommendations or suggestions, if any. Also, share your experience of using this cooker.
