The Pit Barrel Cooker is designed so that anyone with little to no experience cooking meats and vegetables can successfully cook delicious cuts of meat, veggies, pizzas, and more. Of course, once you have cooked on it a few times you will become even a better smoker extraordinaire and with a few adjustments over time. However, lighting the charcoal is the same for almost any cook you are going to perform on the PBC.
So how do you light the charcoal in a Pit Barrel Cooker?
Fill the Pit Barrel Cooker charcoal basket level with briquettes. Add 30 to 40 charcoal briquettes from the basket to a chimney starter, then place the basket into the bottom of the Pit Barrel Cooker. Light the chimney with a fire starter beneath it and allow it to burn for about 12 minutes. After the charcoal is lit well, pour the hot coals back onto the unheated black charcoal in the basket.
Charcoal Basket
The Pit Barrel charcoal basket must be used for each and every cook no matter what you are cooking on the PBC. When setting it up for a cook no matter how big or small, it is best to fill it level with charcoal all the way to the top.
Once you have a full charcoal basket, remove from the basket a small portion or about 1/4 of the total briquetts from the basket and place into a chimney starter. This is typically about 30 to 40 depending on the size of charcoal you have and it doesn’t have to be exact.
Once you have removed approximately 1/4 of the charcoal from the basket into the chimey, place the chimney and remaining charcoal in the bottom of the Pit Barrel and level out the charcoal evenly across.
Chimney Starter
Light the charcoal using a fire starter underneath the chimney so that all the charcoal gets lit well. You can find fire starter sticks at your local retailer, or simply user newspapers or pieces of junk mail to get the charcoal started. Fire starters typically work best, but these are free options to get it started.
Allow the charcoal to burn for 10 to 14 minutes until it is well lit. You do not need to wait until the charcoal is complete white ash, once it has a nice flame and over half of it is on fire, it is ready to be added to your charcoal basket.
Carefully pour the lit charcoal while using a flame resistant glove on top of the uncooked charcoal at the bottom of the PBC. Using one of the PBC rods, move around the hot coals so they are distributed fairly evenly.
Preheat The PBC
After you have the charcoal lit inside the Pit Barrel Cooker, you can start preheating it for the next cook. To properly get it ready for cooking, place both hanging rods completely throught the unit. If you are not intending on hanging meat, place the grate on first (or the grate with one side for hanging) on first, then add the rods.
It is important for most cooks to have the rods in, even if they are not being used for hanging meats or veggies. This is due to the fact that they help control airflow and heat within the barrel and prevent it from gettint to hot during the duration of the cook.
Once you have the rods in, cover with the lid and the preheating will begin. For many items you can now add the items immediately and start the cooking process. Very little to no wait time is required, however if you prefer you can allow it the get closer to cooking tempetature for about 10 minutes prior to adding your food.
Conclusion
Following these steps will get your charcoal lit for any cook you are doing on the PBC. There may be times however you want more heat, in which case you may remove 1 or both rods during cooking for items such as burgers or pizzas.
Likewise, removing the rods and filling the holes with foil will choke down the barrel reducing heat and for very particular cooks you might want to do that as well, but neither of these are ever required.
You can adjust the cook temperature using a couple of the methods below, but it is necessary no matter what you are cooking and that is what makes the PBC a great set it and forget it cooker.
Light the charcoal, place the rods in the barrel and put your food on it. The rest it will take care of and you will enjoy every bite of you cooked meals.