Pit Barrel Cooker Classic Review

Hanging changes the cook

Meat on hooks drips straight onto the coals, which vaporises and rises back through the food. That is a different flavour mechanism to a water-pan smoker, closer to how a whole hog cooks, and it is why ribs off a drum have a distinctive taste. Hanging also means every surface is exposed, so nothing needs turning and you fit far more food into a small footprint: eight racks of ribs is normal.

The honest limitation

It runs at one temperature, roughly 135°C (275°F) to 150°C (300°F). That is hot and fast barbecue, which is excellent for ribs, chicken and pork butt, and less ideal if you want a traditional 105°C (225°F) brisket. There is no meaningful low end and no searing high end. In exchange you get a cooker with almost nothing to learn.

What is a Pit Barrel Cooker?

The Pit Barrel Cooker is a drum smoker: an upright steel barrel with a basket of charcoal at the bottom and the meat hanging from hooks near the top. Two steel rods go across the drum through holes under the lid, and the hooks hang from them. With the lid on, the single intake vent near the bottom lets in just enough air to keep the charcoal burning at a steady smoking temperature. There is also a grate, so you can grill over the coals as well.

Pit Barrel Cooker sizes and dimensions

There are three Pit Barrel Cookers on sale in the UK. The Classic is the original and the one most people buy.

Sizes, capacities and weights are the maker's figures. UK prices are from the official UK store and Firefly BBQ, checked 28 October 2026. The Classic is about 25 in (64cm) wide including its handles. In the US the maker has replaced the Classic and Junior with Premiere versions that add a heat shield and an ash pan, and has launched a new model called the Badger Barrel. Neither was listed in the UK when we checked.

What comes in the box

The UK Classic package comes with the 30 gallon steel drum and lid, eight stainless steel hooks, two steel hanging rods, the charcoal basket, a grill grate, a wooden hook remover and a three-point stand. You will also need a chimney starter, charcoal and a thermometer for the meat.

How to light and run it

The maker's method is simple and it is worth following exactly, because almost every problem people have with a Pit Barrel comes from changing it.

1. Set the intake vent for your altitude. Below 2,000 feet, which covers the whole of the UK, it should be a quarter open. You set it once.
2. Fill the charcoal basket level with briquettes, then take out about a quarter of them, roughly 40 on the Classic.
3. Light those 40 in a chimney starter for about 12 minutes.
4. Tip the lit coals over the unlit ones in the basket.
5. Hang the meat, or put it on the grate, and put the lid on straight away. It settles at 135°C (275°F) to 155°C (310°F) on its own.

A full basket burns for six to seven hours, according to the maker. Standard briquettes or lump charcoal both work, but the maker advises against self-lighting charcoal. You do not need to season the drum before the first cook. The lit fuel spreading slowly through unlit fuel is the same idea as the Minion method used in other smokers.

Pit Barrel Cooker running too hot or too cold

The maker says that nine times out of ten a Pit Barrel running too hot has been lit wrongly: too many coals in the chimney, or coals left in the chimney too long, so the whole basket catches at once. The fix is to light only the quarter basket and hang the meat as soon as the coals go in. The other causes are a lid that is not seated properly, opening the lid often, and a thermometer wire run under the lid, which lifts it. Use a wireless probe or thread the wire through one of the rod holes instead.

If it is running cool, for example in cold weather or with a full load of meat, the maker suggests lifting the lid open by about three quarters of an inch for around 30 minutes, then seating it again. Our post on why a charcoal grill runs too hot or keeps going out covers the general causes.

Pit Barrel Cooker review: is it worth it?

It is worth it if you want good ribs, chicken and pork shoulder without learning to manage a fire. There are almost no settings to get wrong, and hanging gives it a large capacity for its size. It is less suited to anyone who wants to cook a brisket at 105°C (225°F) or sear steaks, because it runs at one temperature.

If you want more control, the Weber Smokey Mountain holds a lower temperature and has a water pan, at the cost of more attention. If you already own a kettle, the snake method will give you long, low cooks without buying anything. We compare all of them in the best charcoal smokers.

Common questions

How big is the Pit Barrel Cooker Classic?

The drum is 18.5 inches (47cm) across and the cooker is 36 inches (92cm) tall with the lid and stand. It weighs about 26 kg.

How much is a Pit Barrel Cooker in the UK?

The Classic was £399 at the official UK store and Firefly BBQ when we checked on 28 October 2026. The Junior was £279 to £299 and the larger PBX from £449.

How long does a Pit Barrel Cooker burn?

Six to seven hours from a full basket of charcoal, according to the maker.

Do I need a thermometer?

Not for the cooker, which settles at its own temperature. You do need a probe for the meat, to know when it is done.

What is the warranty?

The maker replaces defective parts within one year of purchase. Rust that goes right through the drum is covered in that year, but surface rust is not.