Pitmasters usually barbecue on specially designed
pits. Some are big brick structures, in which the meat hangs 30” directly over
the coals. This is the direct method of barbecue favored
in the Carolinas and the South.
Some pits are “offset smokers”, in which the meat cooks in a round, steel smoking chamber, while the
coals are in a different chamber, the firebox, mounted lower and offset to the
side. Smoke and heat travel from the firebox into the cooking
chamber. This is the indirect method which originated in
Texas.
Some are portable, some are trailer-mounted, others are built-in. All produce
great barbecue when tended by a skilled pitmaster.
There are several categories of smokers or "pits" used to make Authentic
American Barbecue.
The simplest is called the bullet smoker, like this popular Weber
Smokey Mountain. They are called "bullet smokers' because their shape looks like a bullet.
This smoker is characterized by a vertical cylinder that utilizes a pan of
water to isolate the direct heat of the fire from the meat.
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dome lid with vents |
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cooking chamber with racks |
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water pan level with fuel door |
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charcoal fire pan with vents |
You may think that this is a very simple and no frills barbecue pit and that
is can only cook small and simple kinds of barbecue. O contraire!
There are hundred of pitmasters on the barbecue competition circuit who use this
exact brand of smoker to win grand champion. The only disadvantage of the
bullet smoker is its limited capacity.
A more sophisticated smoker is called the off-set firebox smoker. In
this type of smoker, the fire is in a separate area from the cooking chamber.
In this photo, on the far right, the fire box hangs below the main horizontal
cooking chamber. The main cooking chamber is the horizontal round center
section. A vertical cooking chamber is on the left side. In both
cooking chambers, a baffle system shields the meat from the direct
infrared heat of the coals and flames.
Some barbecue pits go to extremes. . .
Built like a train . . .
Built in the shape of a pig . . .
Large enough to feed hundreds . . .
Large enough to feed thousands . . .
Barbecue 101
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