Behold the Ford Pinto of bbq pits.  It'll get you where you're going, but it takes a lot of work and you don't want to admit to your friends how you got there.  Oddly, the King's first car was a 1972 Ford Pinto.

It's exactly what it looks like - a 55 gallon drum/barrel more or less cut in half with four spindly legs welded on and an ash flap cut on one end.  The ultimate stop-gap solution for someone who wants a cooker that can burn stick wood.  Cantankerous, difficult to manage, prone to catching on fire, and generally the most labor-intensive way to bbq.  But a Texas hibachi is cheap, versatile, and can produce world-class results.

It's all about how and what you cook rather than what you cook on.  I want to upgrade in part because of the "gee whiz" factor.  Who doesn't want a pit that turns your friends and neighbors green with envy?  Still, the drum is limited when you want to do more than two briskets/butts at a time and requires constant attention to maintain a steady temperature.  Definitely not the lazy man's way to bbq.  And I am a lazy man.  So lazy.  I want an easier way to cook.

Then again, there's something satisfying about hearing people go on about how delicious the bbq you whipped up in drum turned out.  Master the Texas hibachi and a reverse-flow will seem like cheating.

I must be getting old, not having to stay up all night poking at a fire and shoveling coals is starting to sound pretty good.  And the damn thing is just big enough to tease you into thinking you can cook more at a time than you really can.  Like everything it works well within the boundaries in which it was designed to work.  Pushed beyond it's limits it disappoints.

This particular model was purchased at my local Fiesta Supermarket for $64.99.  As mentioned, a stop-gap solution until that day when I can finally cook on that pit of my dreams.  If I were going to make one myself, and God knows that someday I will now that I bought a welder, I'd definitely do a few things differently.  Better legs for sure.  A sturdy grate for the fire.  And a trap door for emptying the ashes without stirring up the fire.

I sheared the cooking grate in half to ease stoking the fire.  A drip pan is a must for slow cooking to keep grease from backing up into to the fire and flaring up or giving the meat a funny taste.  A self-contained burn box would be a huge improvement.

For indirect cooking, it's only good for two 12 pound briskets at a time.  And they require turning to ensure even cooking.  When I burn stick wood directly in the barrel they are usually smoked enough after 6-8 hours they can be wrapped in foil and cooked to the desired level of tenderness.  With a feeder fire and lower temperatures I can leave them unwrapped for a total of 12-18 hours. Four beer can chickens at a time requires a bit of juggling but works well, with a total cooking time of 3-4 hours.  Ribs work best starting with direct heat and moving to indirect after a couple of hours.  And I have made without a doubt the best roasted corn I've ever tasted.  Absolutely the best $70 I've ever spent.

Since a Texas hibachi just isn't quite big enough to burn stick wood, the best way to keep steady temperatures and a reasonable amount of smoke is to start two fires at once and use a shovel to transfer embers from the feeder fire into the pit as needed.  The best way, not the easiest.  I burn a lot more wood and spend a lot of time shoveling coals to keep up the temperature.  Wood coals don't last as long as you'd think, so it requires hourly attention.

Burning a lot of wood in a feeder fire helps keep temps and smoke under control.  This wee stack is barely enough for a feeder fire cook.

The result is a lower temperature cook with significantly less black residue on the food.  Beer can chickens come out a with a nice, deep caramel colored skin rather than tarred and sooted black.  Briskets can go 12-18 hours without looking like a burnt tire.  Low low low and slow slow slow is the only way to deal with big 4.5+lb rack of ribs, and too much smoke ruins that good rib flavor.

Oh sure it turns out beautiful, delicious, perfectly smoked, food - but it's troublesome and time consuming.  It takes a LOT more wood.  You don't get as many coals as you'd think when you burn wood, I'm forever throwing another log on the fire.  It's hot and smoky work   Trying to force a shovel-full of burning ember through the side door was such a pain I finally cut the cooking grate in half so I could load it from the top.  Two fires means double the attention and twice the trouble.

Since it was so cheap and there's no real heartbreak should it be destroyed in the process it will be the first victim in my quest to build a Texas-sized bbq pit.  I'm going to take on some of the improvements I think I've identified as hands-on training with a welder, torch, etc.  It had a good run, but will be sacrificed on the altar of change.

Some jokers in the UK have dressed up the Texas Hibachi and stuck a $400 price tag ($400 Euros?  That'd be closer to $600US?) on it.  Depending on which side of the pond you're on it's either a hobo grill or an upper/middle priced barbeque.  Another lot is peddling vertical cookers made from drums for $300+ dollars - including a stainless steel model for $1250.  I'm sure you get a much nicer, better constructed, well designed drum cooker for that kind of money...but for a couple hundred more you can get a 1/4" steel offset that would last a lifetime.

I suppose a drum could last a lifetime too with proper care.  A co-worker has had one for ten-plus years.  It's a no-brainer versus a Weber Kettle or Smokey Mountain - it would take one of each to be able to cook over direct indirect heat. I wouldn't recommend a rookie cooking with stick wood in a Texas hibachi, but with charcoal it would be simple to grill a mountain of burgers or cook a couple of briskets with indirect heat.  Most offset smokers don't really have a grilling area for direct heat cooking.  On the Texas hibachi you can grill a thick pork chop or beef shoulder roast until it's the right color then move it to the far end until it reaches serving temperature..

If all you ever cook is burgers and hot dogs then a Weber Kettle is the way to go.  For slow cooking a Texas hibachi is an inexpensive way to bridge the gap between burger warmer and trailer-mounted bbq rotisserie.