Pit Barrel Cooker- My Father's Day present early!

[Beerme]

I had a partner at work talk me into ordering a barrel cooker. I know there are several out there, probably cheaper, but the fact that this company is Veteran owned, made in America, and set up and use appeared simple, made it a no brainer. I ordered it Thursday morning and received it Friday by noon. It was $299 and I added the ash pan at the direction of my buddy. Free shipping.

Needless to say I was super excited (amazing as I get older what makes me happy) when it arrived so I ran to Costco for a brisket to break it in and ribs to have on sunday:thumbup: I consider myself a seasoned giller, but have absolutely no experience with a barrel cooker and have never cooked a brisket before. I figured a small brisket flat would be a good starter.

I rubbed the brisket down with mustard and gave her a nice dusting of the beef rub that came with the cooker. Got my charcoals going and hung my meat. Closed her up and waited til she got to 160, and then pulled her off and wrapped her up in foil and added a little water. Put the grill in the barrel and put the meat back on until she got up to 200. Pulled her off and threw her in an ice chest for about an hour. Pulled her out and sliced her up.:beer

The wife has got me on a low-carb diet that does not include beer, but sitting outside smelling this thing, I caved and tossed back a couple during the cook and with my meal. She let me slide:champagne:

There is nothing like being King of my own castle!!!!!! Life is good!

 

[Xring01]

Congrats... Most people call those Ugly Drum Smokers...

Many Many Many BBQ Competitions have been won with them. Probably the best value smoker that money can buy.

Yesterday, I took some left over brisket that I had vacuum packed, and turned that into some damn good chili.

Which was cooked on my simple Weber 22" Charcoal grill, with a few chunks of Cherry. Turned out good. Also cooked up some Corn Bread in the weber..

If you google UDS or Ugly Drum Smoker, you will learn alot about how to get 16-18 hours of 225-250 degrees out of them, without adding charcoal. Tons of mods/ ideas on how to use them.

I have a fleet of outdoor cooking stuff. Weber Ranch Kettle, Weber 22 Grill, Weber 22 Smokey Mountain, and a Big Offset Smoker.. All have there place for different things/techniques. At least thats what I tell my wife.

 

[mash on it]

I had a partner at work talk me into ordering a barrel cooker. I know there are several out there, probably cheaper, but the fact that this company is Veteran owned, made in America, and set up and use appeared simple, made it a no brainer. I ordered it Thursday morning and received it Friday by noon. It was $299 and I added the ash pan at the direction of my buddy. Free shipping.

Needless to say I was super excited (amazing as I get older what makes me happy) when it arrived so I ran to Costco for a brisket to break it in and ribs to have on sunday:thumbup: I consider myself a seasoned giller, but have absolutely no experience with a barrel cooker and have never cooked a brisket before. I figured a small brisket flat would be a good starter.

I rubbed the brisket down with mustard and gave her a nice dusting of the beef rub that came with the cooker. Got my charcoals going and hung my meat. Closed her up and waited til she got to 160, and then pulled her off and wrapped her up in foil and added a little water. Put the grill in the barrel and put the meat back on until she got up to 200. Pulled her off and threw her in an ice chest for about an hour. Pulled her out and sliced her up.:beer

The wife has got me on a low-carb diet that does not include beer, but sitting outside smelling this thing, I caved and tossed back a couple during the cook and with my meal. She let me slide:champagne:

There is nothing like being King of my own castle!!!!!! Life is good!

It worked?
I don't see an auger feeding pellets in. Or any wireless probes. No T-1 Connection? No WiFi? It'll never work. Ever. :eek

Try avocado wood for flavor. Works well with beef (brisket) and pork shoulder. Chicken I use cherry or apple.

Watch the salt content of most 'pre-packaged' rubs. Salt will dry out the meat, especially on a long smoke (12-18 hrs)

Dan'l

 

[Beerme]

Congrats... Most people call those Ugly Drum Smokers...

Many Many Many BBQ Competitions have been won with them. Probably the best value smoker that money can buy.

Yesterday, I took some left over brisket that I had vacuum packed, and turned that into some damn good chili.

Which was cooked on my simple Weber 22" Charcoal grill, with a few chunks of Cherry. Turned out good. Also cooked up some Corn Bread in the weber..

If you google UDS or Ugly Drum Smoker, you will learn alot about how to get 16-18 hours of 225-250 degrees out of them, without adding charcoal. Tons of mods/ ideas on how to use them.

I have a fleet of outdoor cooking stuff. Weber Ranch Kettle, Weber 22 Grill, Weber 22 Smokey Mountain, and a Big Offset Smoker.. All have there place for different things/techniques. At least thats what I tell my wife.

Ugly Drum Smokers, I've heard of those several times, but did not put 2 and 2 together. Thanks for the information. You have quite a collection. I just spent my whole time at lunch watching online cooks on the drum smoker. Seems very versatile. I did ribs on it Sunday and felt they could have been more tender, but I don't think I let them cook long enough. Not to mention, I had people over and several people kept taking the lid off to see what they looked like cooking:eek

I'm very happy so far with the purchase.

 

[Xring01]

First thing first... get a broom stick, cut the broom part off, when someone gets close to the lid of the smoker, hit them with the stick. Word travels pretty quick, to leave the f ing smoker alone...


Ribs are pretty easy...
Spares or St Louis Cut, smoke at 225, using the 3-2-1 method.. remove membrane, trim them up, coat with a light coat of mustard, aka glue, nope you will not taste the mustard after the cook. Coat them with your rub. We will get to basic rub in a moment..
3 - 3 Hours on smoker at 225 degrees,, get a spray bottle with apply juice, spray one per hour ish.
2 - 2 hours wrapped in foil... with a bit of butter, applie juice, brown sugar, and a bit of hot sauce
1 - 1 hour removed from the foil... put some more rub on them..

Rub - I make my rubs with alot less salt than most...this is basic rub to get you started..
1 part black pepper
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder - granulated
1 part brown sugar
.5 part salt
.5 part chili powder
If you want to really get creative, add a bit of cumin, or hotter, add more chili powder or what ever you like. Remember that the longer the smoke goes, the less flavors of the rub you will tasted, but it creates the Bark that makes good BBQ.

For Baby Back Ribs... because they are smaller, use the 2-2-1 method.. same as above...

I hate to say this. This is pretty much stupid proof. If you know how to maintain temps on your smoker, then you next round of ribs should be the best you ever had..

If your smoker is running hotter than 225, for a long period, cust back on the foil time some.. if not the ribs will literally fall off the bone. Some people like that, but to a perfectionist.. thats overcooked and you drove out to much fat and flavor. But they are still damn good ribs.

Google Johhny Trig recipes... He is the king of Ribs..

Brisket
Stupid Simple:
Trim some/most of the fat cap off the brisket. I try to leave about 1/8 of inch. Which is very difficult. Get as close as you can. Buy some Knorr brand Beef Broth. Take one jello cup of the knorr, and two cups of very warm water and dissolve the jello cup... then allow it to cool to room tempature.. Inject the Brisket with the liquid, wrap in Saran Wrap and let it marinate as long as you can.

When you are ready to cook it, remove the saran wrap, pat it dry, coat with mustard, and apply a rub.. you can use the above rub, but no brown sugar. Put alot of rub..

Put on the smoker at 225, fat cap down, and watch the internal temp. when the meat hits 160-165, wrap in foil. Pull it off at 195 ish for sliced brisket, 205 for fall apart BBQ beef sammichs... After you pull it from smoker.. Put a few towells in the bottom of a igloo cooler. Set the meat inside and let it rest for a couple of hours...

Again, bet its the best brisket you ever had.

Most people who try it will think your a genius. Texans know everyone can do this.

OHHH Important thing... On ribs, i Do not use Mesquite wood for flavor.. most people consider it to overpowering for pork... Pork, apple, cherry, hickory, pecan type wood.

For proper brisket, you must used mesquite.. but I am a biased Texan, who not lives in CA.

Let me know if I can be of any further help

 

[Beerme]

First thing first... get a broom stick, cut the broom part off, when someone gets close to the lid of the smoker, hit them with the stick. Word travels pretty quick, to leave the f ing smoker alone...


Ribs are pretty easy...
Spares or St Louis Cut, smoke at 225, using the 3-2-1 method.. remove membrane, trim them up, coat with a light coat of mustard, aka glue, nope you will not taste the mustard after the cook. Coat them with your rub. We will get to basic rub in a moment..
3 - 3 Hours on smoker at 225 degrees,, get a spray bottle with apply juice, spray one per hour ish.
2 - 2 hours wrapped in foil... with a bit of butter, applie juice, brown sugar, and a bit of hot sauce
1 - 1 hour removed from the foil... put some more rub on them..

Rub - I make my rubs with alot less salt than most...this is basic rub to get you started..
1 part black pepper
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder - granulated
1 part brown sugar
.5 part salt
.5 part chili powder
If you want to really get creative, add a bit of cumin, or hotter, add more chili powder or what ever you like. Remember that the longer the smoke goes, the less flavors of the rub you will tasted, but it creates the Bark that makes good BBQ.

For Baby Back Ribs... because they are smaller, use the 2-2-1 method.. same as above...

I hate to say this. This is pretty much stupid proof. If you know how to maintain temps on your smoker, then you next round of ribs should be the best you ever had..

If your smoker is running hotter than 225, for a long period, cust back on the foil time some.. if not the ribs will literally fall off the bone. Some people like that, but to a perfectionist.. thats overcooked and you drove out to much fat and flavor. But they are still damn good ribs.

Google Johhny Trig recipes... He is the king of Ribs..

Brisket
Stupid Simple:
Trim some/most of the fat cap off the brisket. I try to leave about 1/8 of inch. Which is very difficult. Get as close as you can. Buy some Knorr brand Beef Broth. Take one jello cup of the knorr, and two cups of very warm water and dissolve the jello cup... then allow it to cool to room tempature.. Inject the Brisket with the liquid, wrap in Saran Wrap and let it marinate as long as you can.

When you are ready to cook it, remove the saran wrap, pat it dry, coat with mustard, and apply a rub.. you can use the above rub, but no brown sugar. Put alot of rub..

Put on the smoker at 225, fat cap down, and watch the internal temp. when the meat hits 160-165, wrap in foil. Pull it off at 195 ish for sliced brisket, 205 for fall apart BBQ beef sammichs... After you pull it from smoker.. Put a few towells in the bottom of a igloo cooler. Set the meat inside and let it rest for a couple of hours...

Again, bet its the best brisket you ever had.

Most people who try it will think your a genius. Texans know everyone can do this.

OHHH Important thing... On ribs, i Do not use Mesquite wood for flavor.. most people consider it to overpowering for pork... Pork, apple, cherry, hickory, pecan type wood.

For proper brisket, you must used mesquite.. but I am a biased Texan, who not lives in CA.

Let me know if I can be of any further help

:lmao on the broom stick. I'll try that next time. I'll have to admit, the perfume that was coming off that thing was fantastic. There are very few things that I find better in life than that smell and a beer in hand.

Thank you for the tips. I did the mustard on the brisket and it was delicious. Never thought to do it on the ribs. I did clean them up and took of the silver skin. I had my 15 year old son help me with this. I want him to learn early. Everyone knows the way to a woman's heart is a man that can cook:thumbsup

It worked?
I don't see an auger feeding pellets in. Or any wireless probes. No T-1 Connection? No WiFi? It'll never work. Ever. :eek

Try avocado wood for flavor. Works well with beef (brisket) and pork shoulder. Chicken I use cherry or apple.

Watch the salt content of most 'pre-packaged' rubs. Salt will dry out the meat, especially on a long smoke (12-18 hrs)

Dan'l

Lol Dan! A pellet fed will probably be my next purchase, but that will be way down the road. I'll try to develop my skills on the barrel for now. Never heard of the avocado wood, but I will try it. My cousin has an avocado grove down the street from me and I'm sure he's got some laying around.

 

[jones performance]

just to add to what xring posted, when you pull the brisket (or pork shoulder, ribs etc) out of the smoker open the foil to vent the steam for a few minutes before placing in cooler to rest. what can happen is the meat continues to cook past the temp you wanted.

 

[Xring01]

Pellets are for lazy people who want a smoke like flavor...
They appeal to the masses. Most of the parts come from China, good luck getting spare parts when they break..they break frequently.

If the power goes out, your screwed, unless you know how to use wood or charcoal..and have the equipment.

IMHO I smoke meat to get a true smoke flavor, make the best meal I can for my friends and family. I am not gonna go buy Stoffers Lazagna and call it home made... Same goes with BBQ.

Either its done right, or go buy the shit they sell at the grocery store thats frozen or vacuum packed.

But I am a purist, so I doubt my opinion will get any cred here.

 

[Beerme]

Pellets are for lazy people who want a smoke like flavor...
They appeal to the masses. Most of the parts come from China, good luck getting spare parts when they break..they break frequently.

If the power goes out, your screwed, unless you know how to use wood or charcoal..and have the equipment.

IMHO I smoke meat to get a true smoke flavor, make the best meal I can for my friends and family. I am not gonna go buy Stoffers Lazagna and call it home made... Same goes with BBQ.

Either its done right, or go buy the shit they sell at the grocery store thats frozen or vacuum packed.

But I am a purist, so I doubt my opinion will get any cred here.

I have a lot of friends that share your point of view. My best friend and I are always trying to outdo each other cooking. He bought a Traeger, which I immediately berated him on the quality of the metal for the money. His dad joined in on the berating as his dad has an old school offset smoker. Over the last year or two I cannot argue with some of the meat he has pulled off that thing. Either way, we are having fun:champagne: