Pit Barrel Junior

Last week, after spending weeks teetering back and forth about purchasing the Pit Barrel Junior Cooker/Smoker, I finally pulled the trigger on it. Over the course of the pandemic I have been poking and prodding some folks that are much more knowledgeable than me.

I do not normally write reviews for products and I sure as hell am not getting paid to write this review (although, Pit Barrel, I'll accept any goodies you want to send my way). The story of the Pit Barrel business is better than the product they produce: Noah Glanville served in the United States Navy, upon his return, he and his wife went through constant prototyping and tweaking to build the cooker/smoker that is sitting in my backyard right now. I personally haven't verified how much of that story is true, but they build a damn good product and I feel great supporting it.

A big motivation for me for purchasing this cooker/smoker was the fact that it was charcoal. At the new house, we decided to go with a propane grill out of ease, but there was a big part of me that wasn't happy with some of the results. You aren't getting an applewood smoked chicken on that bad boy.

My next experiment will be a smoked turkey and some ribs. If all goes well this may be the new Thanksgiving tradition because it is a helluva lot easier than cooking and basting the bird in the oven. It is 7am when I am writing this post and I am getting hungry just looking at that chicken. I am going to go raid the leftovers and have a few bites. After this pandemic is over, you're welcome to stop by if you provide the chicken and beer.