Texas Hibachi
aka drum cooker; aka barrel grill; aka
hobocue grill
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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.
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It's exactly what it looks like - a 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.
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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.
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Don't
think of it as grime, think of it as flavor. |
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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 |
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.
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.
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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.
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It ain't pretty but it works.
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