I just got this smoker the other day and I’m new to the smoke’s game. Great video, easy to follow guide, great explanations for new guys like myself. Can’t wait to try some ribs!
Jeremy - I loved your quick to the point video. You explained the process simply and accomplished your goal. Please keep up the great work. I am anxious to see you do a brisket on the new cooker/smoker. I am a novice BBQ’r at best because of working 6 days a week and just don’t have the luxury of a lot of time. I really like good BBQ and have to go buy it already cooked. I think you just gave me the answer. Thanks for all you do to guide us and provide options.
He needs to revisit the drum smoker! I got a Bronco Pro for Christmas, and it's absolutely fantastic. I dont have to burn an entire tree to get some good smoked food 😂
Excellent video Jeremy. You accomplished exactly what you set out to do. Barrel cookers are amazingly simple, but easy enough for anyone to use and produce great food. I do love direct pit cooked meat. To be honest, I used charcoal lighter fluid for 50 years to start charcoal until I began my YT channel. If you let it burn off good before putting the meat on, it's not as big a deal as so many make it to be. Oh well, I'm so glad you got that final adjustment in there. I hope BHC included that special adjustment tool. LOL
Also if you do use lighter fluid light the coals within a minute or less. Don't let the coals soak in it, as you'll continually be burning off fluid that gives an off taste.
@@punkem733 In all honesty, I've never noticed an off-taste when using lighter fluid. And I let it soak in to actually catch and hold a fire. But after getting my Weber charcoal chimney's I never use lighter fluid anymore. I mainly use the weber lighter cubes that work great. No more lighter fluid
@@jcbever1511 You might not be as sensitive, but I am so are some friends and family. I light within a minute, and the I see visible flames for over 10 mins. My PBC temps are always stable.
The ribs look nice. I have this smoker and have started hanging the meat from the small end of the ribs instead of the larger end. I take them out and hang them from the larger end on the second half of the ribs. Maybe I shouldn't, but I still spray the ribs after cooking for about 80 minutes and a second time an hour later.
Hey Jeremy your videos rock, I cook on homemade barrel cookers all the time and love them, you will too. I even have one that's around 6 feet tall and holds a lot of meat it also has three rotisseries in it. Keep up the great work my friend
I love my Barrelhouse cooker. My friends love my ribs. I smoked the best turkey ever last Christmas. Check out Blues BBQ. I think that’s the correct name. They won the Memphis championship a couple of years ago with a huge barrel cooker. They won overall and whole hog.
Good video now I want some ribs lol I have a PBC but it seems like the barrel you're using is better engineered. (I do like the Ribs the PBC puts out that's what I use it for exclusively) thanks as I said great video :)
You’re completely right. Been eyeing the pit barrel for a while and I can say I like the construction of this barrel way better. No rods in the way. You can lift the barrel to access the fire with no hassle. Think I’m going to pull the trigger on this one
I think the lower airflow and the fact that you can't burn full splits plays into not having much of a smoke ring. Did the ribs cook evenly throughout the rack? Were the higher-hanging ribs less cooked than the one you cut off?
Others have the pit barrel supposedly is superior. Also the company that makes this ripped off the pit barrel company. In the first half of 2014, the Pit Barrel Cooker Company and Barrel House were in negotiations to have Barrel House become a supplier for Pit Barrel to help meet the every growing demand for the PBC. According to court documents, a non-disclosure agreement was signed between the parties and as a result Pit Barrel shared confidential information with Barrel House regarding all aspects of their business. Long story short, Barrel House's proposal to Pit Barrel to become a supplier was too costly for the Pit Barrel Company. When PBC responded with its concerns about the economics of the proposal, Barrel House withdrew their proposal and almost immediately began plans to produce their rip off product, using all of the information that PBC had previously supplied about the product, market, costs, etc. Funny they ripped them off and still made an inferior product. I also own a pit barrel, friend got for free a barrel house. HE boought a PBC after seeing the food and the capacity of the PBC.
PUNKem733 Thank you for the reply. I purchased a PBC last summer and love it. I was just wondering how much of a difference there was. So again Thank You. You told me a lot about it. Grill well Brother!!
like I mentioned in my previous comment, others have done side to side comparisons, and the PBC comes out on top. One vid claimed turkeys came out better, and others have mentioned how ribs turned out better. Maybe everyone is lying. amazingribs.com/smoker/pit-barrel-cooker-review This is the biggest, most thorough BBQ site. "Once again we ran this by Dr. Blonder, asking if there is any reason the smaller drum would be superior. "Absolutely makes sense." he replied, "The reason the Pit Barrel works is simple, heat rises. So you have a hot fire at the bottom, and hot air that rises to the top; which basically evens out the temperature profile to more or less constant top to bottom. Hang the meat vertically so the hot air is not blocked, and it's the perfect oven - unless there are convection cells that mess up this even profile. Imagine a really wide cooker. Hot air would rise, bump into the cooler lid, cool off and sink, forming a rotating convection cell that lowers air temp at the lid and creates unpredictable turbulence. But as you narrow the diameter of the cooker, it becomes harder and harder for air to make the turn and descend. Sounds like 30 gallons is the dividing line between stable and unstable flow."
To lessen the weight of the ribs slab you could cut-it in half and use one hook per half and it would be higher up from the heat source and perhaps making the ribs juicier.... From what I see the lid has temp gauge and you could get a better reading of the ribs since they are high enough to the gauge.just a suggestion.
Jose Medina I have a Pit Barrel Cooker and it cooks the exact same way. There is a convection that is created to apply more even heat and as the juices drop down the food it evaporates and helps cool, the lower the meat the more juices flow down and more evaporation happens. I have been extremely happy with results from mine with ribs chicken and turkey.
Great cook I love my BHC, it can produce a better smoke ring than that usually. I don’t know why it didn’t this time. Lighter fluid works but it is not as efficient or as fast as a chimney. Great review and rib cook. Thanks.
Lighter fluid is better. The key is too light it within a minute or less. Don't let the fluid soak in, and when you light it it will burn it all off. MY mom, and one friend are super sensitive to the off flavor from it, and they can't detect it. My barrel doesn't smell like fluid. I only use it for the barrel.
I have the pit barrel and it's basically the same...they run around 250 to 300 with the lid on depending on wood/charcoal used and up to 500 with the lid off...
Myron Nixon uses lighter fluid all the time and he's the best there is, it doesn't add any flavor so there's nothing wrong with it, you just have to know how to use it.
I get the point you are making, but just to be clear - Never Cook In a Galvanized Trash Can!!!!! Even though galvanizing is technically just zinc, it might also have cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromates, etc. Bottom line, a galvanized trash can doesn't meet any food standards, so you have no idea.
vbdao the way I figured it out is to cook your chicken at a higher temp. I usually smoke the chicken around 350 and I use a homemade barrel cooker, also I put a pizza pan between the fire and the chicken for indirect cooking. Give this a try and good luck.
William Egan, you are correct, there is no seasoning required on our barrel cookers. Set it up, fire up the charcoal and start cooking. It's that easy William!
I do not like this. The ribs always come out with an overwhelming charcoal taste. Smoke is always dirty and when dripping hit coals it makes nasty smoke. No thanks. Giving mine away. Stick with my offset and burn real wood.
He literally says he's using it to show how a regular guy starting out would probably do it. So quick to point out how you're a "real bbq guy," must have missed that part of the video.
You could've done way better than this, this is a way better cooker than you betrayed it to be, I almost felt like you wanted it to be horrible, can't remember the last time I seen a back yard cook user lighter fuel, it didn't come with a water pan so why use one, very disappointed
I have two of the barrel house cookers, and love them.
I would love to see you cook on the Pit Barrel Cooker!!!
I just got this smoker the other day and I’m new to the smoke’s game. Great video, easy to follow guide, great explanations for new guys like myself. Can’t wait to try some ribs!
Jeremy - I loved your quick to the point video. You explained the process simply and accomplished your goal. Please keep up the great work. I am anxious to see you do a brisket on the new cooker/smoker. I am a novice BBQ’r at best because of working 6 days a week and just don’t have the luxury of a lot of time. I really like good BBQ and have to go buy it already cooked. I think you just gave me the answer. Thanks for all you do to guide us and provide options.
He needs to revisit the drum smoker! I got a Bronco Pro for Christmas, and it's absolutely fantastic. I dont have to burn an entire tree to get some good smoked food 😂
Excellent video Jeremy. You accomplished exactly what you set out to do. Barrel cookers are amazingly simple, but easy enough for anyone to use and produce great food. I do love direct pit cooked meat. To be honest, I used charcoal lighter fluid for 50 years to start charcoal until I began my YT channel. If you let it burn off good before putting the meat on, it's not as big a deal as so many make it to be. Oh well, I'm so glad you got that final adjustment in there. I hope BHC included that special adjustment tool. LOL
Also if you do use lighter fluid light the coals within a minute or less. Don't let the coals soak in it, as you'll continually be burning off fluid that gives an off taste.
@@punkem733 In all honesty, I've never noticed an off-taste when using lighter fluid. And I let it soak in to actually catch and hold a fire. But after getting my Weber charcoal chimney's I never use lighter fluid anymore. I mainly use the weber lighter cubes that work great. No more lighter fluid
@@jcbever1511 You might not be as sensitive, but I am so are some friends and family. I light within a minute, and the I see visible flames for over 10 mins. My PBC temps are always stable.
Great review. Honest and simple, using the tool for what it was built for. Who doesn’t occasionally just want some easy bbq right.
The ribs look nice. I have this smoker and have started hanging the meat from the small end of the ribs instead of the larger end. I take them out and hang them from the larger end on the second half of the ribs. Maybe I shouldn't, but I still spray the ribs after cooking for about 80 minutes and a second time an hour later.
Hey Jeremy your videos rock, I cook on homemade barrel cookers all the time and love them, you will too. I even have one that's around 6 feet tall and holds a lot of meat it also has three rotisseries in it. Keep up the great work my friend
Looks good, using those barrel house BBQs seems like easy mode BBQ, which I am certainly a fan of. Cheers!
Wow glad to hear you say not there’s not much of a difference between this and an offset smoker. I personally think it’s better 🔥
I love my Barrelhouse cooker. My friends love my ribs. I smoked the best turkey ever last Christmas. Check out Blues BBQ. I think that’s the correct name. They won the Memphis championship a couple of years ago with a huge barrel cooker. They won overall and whole hog.
Good video now I want some ribs lol I have a PBC but it seems like the barrel you're using is better engineered. (I do like the Ribs the PBC puts out that's what I use it for exclusively) thanks as I said great video :)
You’re completely right. Been eyeing the pit barrel for a while and I can say I like the construction of this barrel way better. No rods in the way. You can lift the barrel to access the fire with no hassle. Think I’m going to pull the trigger on this one
It looks like it is well made and doesn't seem to need a burn in.
Nice video thanks...
Now I am hungry.
Nothing like free stuff. Get yourself a chimney. 😎
1 roll paper towel , olive oil , optimal igniter. Sprinkle dry oregano here and there to suppress charcoal sout
I have a question Jeremy - Did the lid fit snug or lay on more loose?
How did the cooker maintain its temperature? Were they right about the air intake setting?
What temp did you cooked at?
Thanks for making the video.
I think the lower airflow and the fact that you can't burn full splits plays into not having much of a smoke ring.
Did the ribs cook evenly throughout the rack? Were the higher-hanging ribs less cooked than the one you cut off?
Lighter fluid 😱🙈
Do a comparison between that one and the Pit Barrel Cooker
Others have the pit barrel supposedly is superior. Also the company that makes this ripped off the pit barrel company. In the first half of 2014, the Pit Barrel Cooker Company and Barrel House were in negotiations to have Barrel House become a supplier for Pit Barrel to help meet the every growing demand for the PBC. According to court documents, a non-disclosure agreement was signed between the parties and as a result Pit Barrel shared confidential information with Barrel House regarding all aspects of their business.
Long story short, Barrel House's proposal to Pit Barrel to become a supplier was too costly for the Pit Barrel Company. When PBC responded with its concerns about the economics of the proposal, Barrel House withdrew their proposal and almost immediately began plans to produce their rip off product, using all of the information that PBC had previously supplied about the product, market, costs, etc.
Funny they ripped them off and still made an inferior product. I also own a pit barrel, friend got for free a barrel house. HE boought a PBC after seeing the food and the capacity of the PBC.
PUNKem733 Thank you for the reply. I purchased a PBC last summer and love it. I was just wondering how much of a difference there was. So again Thank You. You told me a lot about it. Grill well Brother!!
I do now! Best $300 I think I have ever spent. The same to you.
PUNKem733 I don't see how the PBC is Superior considering there both just barrels with the same cooking method.
like I mentioned in my previous comment, others have done side to side comparisons, and the PBC comes out on top. One vid claimed turkeys came out better, and others have mentioned how ribs turned out better. Maybe everyone is lying.
amazingribs.com/smoker/pit-barrel-cooker-review This is the biggest, most thorough BBQ site.
"Once again we ran this by Dr. Blonder, asking if there is any reason the smaller drum would be superior. "Absolutely makes sense." he replied, "The reason the Pit Barrel works is simple, heat rises. So you have a hot fire at the bottom, and hot air that rises to the top; which basically evens out the temperature profile to more or less constant top to bottom. Hang the meat vertically so the hot air is not blocked, and it's the perfect oven - unless there are convection cells that mess up this even profile. Imagine a really wide cooker. Hot air would rise, bump into the cooler lid, cool off and sink, forming a rotating convection cell that lowers air temp at the lid and creates unpredictable turbulence. But as you narrow the diameter of the cooker, it becomes harder and harder for air to make the turn and descend. Sounds like 30 gallons is the dividing line between stable and unstable flow."
Mad respect for your vids Jeremy but serious Weber kettle and drum smokers do not use lighter fluid.
Did you forget the season the grill
To lessen the weight of the ribs slab you could cut-it in half and use one hook per half and it would be higher up from the heat source and perhaps making the ribs juicier.... From what I see the lid has temp gauge and you could get a better reading of the ribs since they are high enough to the gauge.just a suggestion.
Maybe you could post a link to your video?
nice vid dood!!
Can you make a brisket video I made the preferct brikset on my grill with your video before
one would think that by hanging them, the the lower portion of the ribs would cook faster than the top leaving a slightly uneven cook.
Jose Medina I have a Pit Barrel Cooker and it cooks the exact same way. There is a convection that is created to apply more even heat and as the juices drop down the food it evaporates and helps cool, the lower the meat the more juices flow down and more evaporation happens. I have been extremely happy with results from mine with ribs chicken and turkey.
Dirk Boogaard thanks for the reply . Makes sense . I think I’m gonna get one
Slightly but not too much
Any plans to test a pellet smoker?
May The Smoker God's forgive you for using such blasphemous liquid on those briquettes.......but I doubt they will. 😔
Great cook I love my BHC, it can produce a better smoke ring than that usually. I don’t know why it didn’t this time. Lighter fluid works but it is not as efficient or as fast as a chimney. Great review and rib cook. Thanks.
new here. enjoyed vid ribs look great thanx
Great video. Whoooowwwww. Wait. Lighter fluid. Nooooooooo!! Lol. Easiest way is Webber starter cubes wait 15 min. Ur ready to go.
Lighter fluid is better. The key is too light it within a minute or less. Don't let the fluid soak in, and when you light it it will burn it all off. MY mom, and one friend are super sensitive to the off flavor from it, and they can't detect it. My barrel doesn't smell like fluid. I only use it for the barrel.
hahha nice hammer! Nice review brotha #KeepOnBBQn
I don't think you ever said what temp you were cooking at...2.5 hours doesn't seem very long for ribs. Great videos.
I have the pit barrel and it's basically the same...they run around 250 to 300 with the lid on depending on wood/charcoal used and up to 500 with the lid off...
You used lighter fluid ! BBQ Blasphemy ! LOL !
Myron Nixon uses lighter fluid all the time and he's the best there is, it doesn't add any flavor so there's nothing wrong with it, you just have to know how to use it.
Nice vid 👍👍
Best part is there more time for beer..
WTF!U DID NOT USE LIGHTER FLUID.
Hell BHC, send me one!
How expensive was this barrel cooker? A galvanized garbage can flipped upside down with holes would had done the same job.
I get the point you are making, but just to be clear - Never Cook In a Galvanized Trash Can!!!!! Even though galvanizing is technically just zinc, it might also have cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromates, etc. Bottom line, a galvanized trash can doesn't meet any food standards, so you have no idea.
Gigi44, the Barrel House Cooker is sold online on our website for $249 with free shipping and also available at some Walmart stores for $197.
Pit barrel cooker is superior, and you support a vet, and not a company that ripped off his idea.
PUNKem733 so salty and defensive dude. It’s not even superior.
no gloves?
Hey Jeremy, can you please teach us how to smoke chicken so the skin doesn't come out leathery?
vbdao the way I figured it out is to cook your chicken at a higher temp. I usually smoke the chicken around 350 and I use a homemade barrel cooker, also I put a pizza pan between the fire and the chicken for indirect cooking. Give this a try and good luck.
That barrel is fantastic for chickens...just cut em in half and hang between 1.5-2.0 hours. Don't even have to brine em.
ronald nelson do you have any UA-cam videos posted on your homemade barrel cookers? I would love to see it
Alan Calvert no I don't have any videos. Send me an email if you're comfortable with that and I'll send you some pix.
ronald nelson that would be great!
alan.calvert76@gmail.com
Thank you!
Don't use lighter fluid 😵😕
Wow, these were the days when the Mad Scientist would commit the cardinal sin in barbecue: Using lighter fluid to start your fire.
No seasoning required???
William Egan, you are correct, there is no seasoning required on our barrel cookers. Set it up, fire up the charcoal and start cooking. It's that easy William!
Barrel House Vertical Cooker guess I'll have to start saving
I do not like this. The ribs always come out with an overwhelming charcoal taste. Smoke is always dirty and when dripping hit coals it makes nasty smoke. No thanks. Giving mine away. Stick with my offset and burn real wood.
Wow this guy thinks us real bbq guys ever use lighter fluid 😂
He literally says he's using it to show how a regular guy starting out would probably do it.
So quick to point out how you're a "real bbq guy," must have missed that part of the video.
That looks like a ton of fuel for a 3 HR. cook.
Whoa no fnnn way stop with lighter fluid
What happened bro you use to be buff
Dude.....What are You Doing?!?!
Nah.. pit barrel cooker is the original.
Wow, what a PitBarrelCooker rip off...no thanks.
jtanner71 It’s superior though.
You could've done way better than this, this is a way better cooker than you betrayed it to be, I almost felt like you wanted it to be horrible, can't remember the last time I seen a back yard cook user lighter fuel, it didn't come with a water pan so why use one, very disappointed
You lost me at lighter fluid. Blasphemy.
Ooohhh duuude, lighter fluid? Lol nooooooooooo
Did you monitor the temperature during the cook? If so what was it?
same question. 3 hours is a little short