Hearing how you got started took me back to that time on spring break when we were barbecuing in the community garden and got DPS called on us for having a fire 🤣
Hah. I work for an FD. So many people calling in fires for people grilling like bosses. I’d rather have them error in caution though than not call at all.
Jeremy, your story about cooking chicken with butter and lowry's was a huge point of nostalgia for me. Growing up my Dad used to cook leg quarters over direct heat while constantly basting with butter, a bunch of bqq spices, poultry seasoning, and beer. My siblings and I called it "secret sauce" because for a long time he would generally not divulge that exact mix of spices. At the time, pretty much no one was bbq-ing chicken that way with the approach of slathering red sauce on it, leading to gross rubbery skin, being the more common one. He passed away in the early 80s, but thankfully shortly before that he put his recipe to paper - I still have the 3x5 index card with the amounts and instructions typed out on an old manual typewriter. Over the years, I've often cooked his "secret sauce chicken" recipe and (as you pointed out) pulling that kind of cook off over a direct coal fire is challenging to say the least. And, I learned that you can't just take the easy way out and do an indirect cook - it just doesn't give the same flavor. However, when done right, it's unlike anything else - and Dad was a master at it. BUT, it's generally the most stressful 45 minutes running a grill that I can imagine. Anyways, as soon as you started describing "how you got started" it was very familiar (I guess in a way, it's also kind of "how I got started") and instantly struck a chord with me. This Burch Barrel might just be the thing that be able to do Dad's Secret Sauce chicken but with a little less stress. And, as you mentioned, it has a lot of other applications, including Pork Steaks (another one of Dad's favorites, I grew up in St. Louis and Pork Steaks were around here long before most anywhere else) or even Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous style Ribs - cooked at 350 degrees 2-3 feet above the coals. I'll definitely be checking this product out and thanks for pointing it out -- and for the trip down memory lane. If you want the recipe, let me know!
Man I got one of these about 3 weeks ago and I'm addicted. So much fun to cook on and so versatile. Did salmon on it last night and it was without a doubt the best salmon I've had in my life. I am in Florida and mine has been outdoors in torrential rain and some pretty humid heat. Only hint of rust is around the vent knobs. Getting the cover for it so I don't have to worry about that anymore. I haven't touched my pellet grill since I got it.
So glad you like the Barrel Brian! Feel free to give us a call if you ever run into any issues or have any questions! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Same here. We've had a blast this first weekend as it arrived Friday. I have a few different woods coming to cook with. Currently only hickory here which is putting a hold on my beef experiments since I don't particularly like beef over hickory. The only complaint is that the combo of the finish and how tight it fits together make taking the lid off and on a bit of a pain, but after some adjustments plus some heat, the grill slides a little better. You just have to wear a glove and push the grill arms into place instead of twisting the lid.
My wife bought me a burch barrel smoker for Christmas, and been using it throughout end of March and all through April, it is a lot of fun using Smoked our easter ham on it and it was amazing, with all the fat dripping and coming back up in the smoke, I was alittle worried about the spiral ham being too big and lifted a little ways away, but it turned out perfect, I can't wait to smoke a brisket on the burch barrel this coming Memorial Day Like you, I have a lot of smokers, I have 6 smokers lined up along the deck, and 8 more stored in the barn, my wife says I have an obsession
I bought a Burch Barrel last year for my cottage. We love it. Great to cook on and after dinner throw on a log or two so the kids can make s’mores. You can also buy a cover for it to protect it even better. Important for our Canadian winters. People should also know that each leg is adjustable so it can be set up anywhere and still be leveled. I highly recommend this product. Oh. And love your videos. Can’t wait to see what else you do on the Burch Barrel. Keep up the great content.
So, i am waiting for your Prime rib video, I just did one last week with my Burch Barrel and it came out amazing, kept it at 250 F until internal temp was 120 F. Used some Cherry Wood to smoke it at the end seasoned with Duck Fat and salt and pepper and Herbs de Provence. Took it in the house set aside for 1 hour, then lathered it up with butter and put in a 500 F oven for 10 mins. perfect medium rare. My friends were fighting over the outside crust.... I love this Grill.
Hey! I'm one of the designers of the Burch Barrel. Great job on this video! It's super exciting to see people using and enjoying the Burch Barrel. Feel free to comment on this post if you have something you wish were different about the Burch Barrel. We already have a bunch of ideas in the works and we're always looking for more feedback.
I bought one of these bad boys, and I can definitely say the quality of the craftsmanship is definitely there. The components structure and manufacture quality is excellent. Assembly is easy, however I did have to make some modifications to mine to get it to work properly. First the notches in the lid had to be trimmed in order to grab the grill grate ring pins Correctly. And the inside lip of the lid and the top outer lip of the barrel had to be sanded smooth on the mating surfaces between the barrel and the lid. They came from the factory painted with a textured paint, that made it extremely difficult to twist the lid to engage the pins while it was resting on the barrel. The two textured painted surfaces were like trying to rub two pieces of 80 grit sandpaper together. Other than that, so far, I have no complaints. If I only had one additional gripe, it’s that it does not come with any kind of cover. (I did purchase a cover and it like everything else, is of superb quality.) Also, do NOT Touch your hand to the side like Jeremy did, especially if the lid has been on for a while with a fire inside. I measured the outside of the barrel at over 200°, which definitely will burn your hand.
That “fat smoke” you mentioned is why I think UDS style smokers are so popular. I’ve seen this innovative grill advertised before. Thanks for showing us that it has real substance and is not just gimmick. Also smoke naturally rises, a lot of money, time and other resources are spent in the barbecue industry trying to make smoke go sideways. This Burch Grill, Drum, Bullet and other vertical smokers are effective because smoke is supposed to go up.
Exactly the reason why I love my UDS, relatively cheap, tons of cooking space and the fat dripping in the hot coals makes for amazing flavour. I just wish it was a bit more economical on the charcoal, might want to look into insulating it.
That looks to be EXACTLY what I need for authentic jerk chicken & beef / pork tenderloins! I only own offset smokers, no grills. Strongly marinated chicken pieces like wings, thighs, & quarters in offset smokers is simply underwhelming, regardless of how high I crank the temps to crisp things up. This thing looks awesome! Perfect for “low & slow” grilling, as well as having backyard fires legally in my city that only allows open fires for cooking use on a cooking appliance.
Yeah, those proteins you mentioned just cook better on a higher heat or reverse sear imho. Have a MB1050. I'll do wings at 250 for 30 and then 425 for 45. Little baking powder with the s&p helps them crisp. Chicken across the board is better at traditional higher heat for me. I'll do chicken halves at 375 and finish at 425 to crisp. Just like the results better than low and slow.
Glad to see the fast reupload that is back up to your normal quality standards. Thank you for continuing to entertain and enlighten us on how to BBQ better.
I love fat smoke, my last cook hanging 12 tri tips in the WSM for 60 people, no wood, all charcoal, PBC style. Tri tips were severely pre-trimmed from Costco (literally no outside fat) so hung a couple chicken halves with all that beef, really helped with fat rendering into the coals. Probably my favorite way to cook with the WSM. Everyone must have liked it as I'm hired for next year.
You can definitely smoke a brisket on a Weber kettle. There is quite a large community of people that do low and slow cooking on the Kettle. I would love to see a video of you using one. and comparing it to an offset smoker. I don't think I have seen many decent comparisons on the interwebs.
Brisket is tough unwrapped on a kettle unless you have the 26". You can still make amazing brisket on a 22" kettle, but you're going to have to wrap it.
Have you seen chud bbq’s videos recently? I think in the last 3-4 months he did a brisket on the Webber kettle. I don’t remember if he discussed the difference in taste vs offset but he did compare the process and it came out damn good looking.
LOL... In South Carolina they specialize in making BBQ pits with a hole in the ground and cinder blocks. I think we get a little too caught up in our toys... People have been cooking great food with simple fire for a long time.
@@bacaliboy when I first started my foray into barbecue all I had was my 18" Weber Kettle and I tried everything I could with it. I managed to make some good brisket burnt ends using the kettle. Mind you, I had only had a small 3 lb point cut, but using the snake method with wood chunks and a water pan as my set up worked pretty well whenever I did anything BBQ. I just always had to be mindful of my meat size, spacing, and air control. Extremely tedious cook, with LOTS of check-ins and well timed spraying, but end result was really good. Really wish I had written down the sauce I made for it. Still have yet to replicate it.
I cook marinated pork belly strips over charcoal and have had the fire department over to investigate the smoke signals I was making when moving the lid on and off to choke the flames. LOL…also when the fat causes a flare up, it’s a mad scramble to move the meat off the flame. This Burch barrel looks like the ideal way to control the distance of the meat of the heat quickly.
Would love to see a video on your experience smoking a brisket/ribs/whole chicken with the Burch Barrel. Tips and pointers with fire management, lump vs briquettes vs wood.
Quick Pork Steak video. Very underrated chunk of meat. Or grill up some homemade sausage now that you got a lesson lol. Reverse sear ribeye or prime rib. A few options lol
Prime rib roast! This thing will be a machine for that IMO. Or something using the hook on the underside of the grill.. Or dutch oven on the bottom and something else on the top that combine when they are done...
A simple minded non-genius here who has been watching and following since I discovered you. All if any advice is a direction to work on, thank you for what you do.
My god I wish I could get any one of the grills he has!! I’m trying to rig up a grate in my wood stove so I can try and grill on it cause I’m tired of being hungry and not having good food!! I’m a disabled Vet and nearly all my income goes to medications and doctors nowadays and I haven’t had a grill in 15 years which makes watching these channels even harder Life doesn’t need to be this damn hard folks!
I bought one at the BBQ HQ event. Just cooked Korean Kalbi, asparagus and avocado. My wife LOVED it. What more does a man need to hear? Thank you Burch Barrel!!
Very interesting grill it’s very versatile in the different styles it can cook. How difficult was the assembly? I tend to use MEATER probes often, does the metal interfere with the sensor feedback if the upper dome lid is closed, can the magnet on MEATER base able to stick to side of it? I noticed at one point you touched the top of the dome lid near the temp sensor, does that get very hot or is it as insulated as the sides? The wood smoke from a open flame will it still burn clean, or do you have to adjust grill height for desired smoke profile? Is the barrel easy to clean? Also is it easy to setup cook wise, seems like height is the best temperature control.
I cooked half chickens as my first cook, but went with pork butt over straight hickory wood the next night. Didn't cook whole butts since it was the first cook and I wanted to check the flavors. Turned out exactly asi wanted. However, wrapping or misting becomes more important on smaller pieces of pork due to the drier atmosphere. So far, we've ate well and REALLY enjoyed sitting around the fire and drinking/socializing. Much more interesting than just a fire pit.
Any plans to make one of these in a larger size? More surface area and height would be awesome. Might need a compound pulley system to make the lift easier though, especially if you're making something heavy like a whole turkey or a brisket.
We've got lots of plans in the works! But in the meantime, it's worth mentioning that you can cook in multiple spaces within the Barrel (on the coals while food is on the grill grate, in a Dutch oven at the bottom of the barrel while you're cooking). Let us know if you have any questions about this, thanks for the feedback!
Jeremy, great video and you have answered a lot of my questions concerning the Birch Barrel. Please get to the 1975, my next purchase, and I actually spoke with JD for about 30 minutes, super great guy!
The Pit Barrel Cooker gives great fat smoke with almost set-and-forget ease, for about $800 less. More flexibility and control with the Burch Barrel, I suppose, but my PBC does an amazing job with everything I throw at it.
Definitely has a cool contraption factor, and a great video review as always. I don't want to call it a gimmick, because I'm sure it makes good food, and I don't want to be rude. But IMHO for the price I don't see this replacing a kettle or barrel or fire pit. I have no problem getting great briskets on my kettle or OKJ Bronco either. And I would have to cover it up, and I can only imagine the size of the wasp nests that would grow in the large, probably black, teepee in my backyard. ;) I also see a lot of parts to replace eventually. That's just me, if this gets someone into the craft, I hope they sell a ton of them.👍 Thanks for continuing to put out great content.
Hey there! Thanks for sharing your opinion, we appreciate the feedback! If you were to ever have any issues with your grill, we've got an amazing customer service team and great warranty that are happy to help and replace any parts! That being said, the product isn't for everyone. We think it's pretty rad though.
I just got my Burch Barrel and saw your other videos and how you seasoned your smoker, does the same process apply to this BBQ? I am in FL so very prone to rust. Did you season yours like you did with your other smokers?
Most kettle, egg, and barrel cookers fail on one of the issues below. A failure of any of these can ruin a cook, and Burch Barrel seems to be the first to tackle everything. Great engineering guys. Independent control of temperature of burning chamber and cooking chamber. * hot clean fire, get the exact type of smoke you want. * control the exact temp of the cooking vessel. control height of floor of firebox. thermometer at level of food easily refuel mid-cook. shunt the initial dirty smoke away from food when adding new wood/fuel. flavor from both fat-smoke and wood-smoke. oxygen control.
When I first saw this grill I just started chuckling at the ridiculousness. I will say, you always lay out the pros and cons, and you got me interested in this thing. I didn't realize at first you could raise the grate as well as the lid, nice feature. It does seem like a fun tool to use.
Happy to finally see a worth while video on the Burch barrel, been thinking about one: there just isn’t much info about them out there. Trust me , I have searched. Looks like a great grill,but I want more info. Good job, thanks
What’s going on mad scientist I’ve been watching your videos learning how to bbq want to say your doing a great job on explaining. Also wanted to know how would you maintain a fire in a 250 gallon pit with no firebox and how would you place meat for cooking I was recently given an old pit from a friend who saw I wanted to learn how to bbq her it’s a start right lol
Besides the advantage of controlling the temperature by adjusting the distance from the heat, this has a huge cool factor. It is cool to play with, and cool to the eye. Also coolest grill to circle around with kids to grill marshmallows.
Wouldn't this be about the same concept as using a good egg cooker and adding an extra rack higher for separation? The (huge) benefit I see with this cooker is being able to pull the food to add charcoal, but it is a trade off verses an egg cooker b/c the fuel burn rate will be much higher as you are basically exposing the charcoal to open air. Fun to watch nonetheless.
I want to second Jeremy's point of view about fun being a big part of cooking. I used to have a pellet grill and then got a Kamado Joe Jr. for hot and fast cooking. I found I enjoyed lighting the fire, tending the coals, etc., so much that I bought its big brother. I gave the pellet grill away. Nothing is perfect and nothing is terrible. I'm sure a lot of people have fun with their pellet grills. But for me, the added tasks and the results are beyond compare. Not sure I want one of these gizmos but I understand the attraction. And of course I'm eager to see what Jeremy does with it.
@@MadScientistBBQ So, quite close to an Oklahoma joe Bronco? Very close. I'd be interested to see if a OKJ Bronco could burn with wood splits like this. Perhaps not enough air flow?
It's a kamado with the added benefit of easy access to the fire. That's the one thing I wish I had in my kamado. If I want to tend the fire and I'm setup for indirect and I'm doing low and slow I have to take everything out to get to the fire. I'm not a fan of metal grills though. Ceramic doesn't rust.
I wonder how this grill will do outside for 4 years as far as rust or finish ? Do you need to wrap a tarp around it? Can you just leave it out like a Weber kettle with no cover all year? Does it need to be seasoned outside and inside?
It usually depends on your location! If weather is extreme you might consider covering it from time to time. But we leave ours out during the long, cold Montana winters and they've held up great! After 4 years, you might notice a little rust in certain areas - but we offer a great warranty and our customer service team is amazing!
Last year I got me my first barrel smoker/grill. I love it! It took me a few cooks on it to really dial it in but I can say I smoke or it smokes better meat with it than the offset. I do like the idea of this smoker but I don’t like the TP style rig it’s set up with. Too much “extras”..
Science question: is the bottom barrel portion of this functioning as a double ignition / "smokeless" fire pit? I was just wondering if those give the good smoke flavor for BBQing and found this video.
Many thanks for the info on this video, we received our Burch barrel grill last week and cooked a couple Tbone’s on it. Admittedly I over cooked the steaks because of my inexperience with the grill but am looking forward to learning how to use this great cooking tool.
First glance this looked like it might be lined with refractory and the cable holding the cover gave the appearance of a substantial weight. As the story progressed it came across more like a solo stove with a cover, so I'm thinking stainless with a black powder coat. 18-20 diameter is small, do they come in larger sizes? Tri pod makes this a steady unit, so if your using this as a pit one of my concerns is that plastic sliding handle exposure to heat. Other than that if your looking for a woodszee camper feel this is nice look, moving it from here to there doesn't seem difficult, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any wheels. If you were to put this and a Weber Summit grill side by side and asked me to choose between them, I think the Weber would win out. I'm pretty sure anything done on this grill I could replicate on one of grills, so would I buy it, you know it does have an appeal all it's own, but my camping days have past, I'll pass for now. Thanks for bringing it forward, I would think it's appeal is between the 25-40 age group above that the convenience factor weighs heavily.
Related to the fat smoke, I just got a Hunsaker Vortex diffuser plate for my Weber Smokey Mountain. Really want to see what that does for fat smoke flavor and controlling temp vs. just removing water pan and hoping I don't have a grease fire. Hunsaker drums seem to do well in competitions with this diffuser setup.
I think it is a really cool grill and I would buy it after they modify it a little...First the need somekind of screen that will prevent animal jumping,ping inside the firebox when the tray I up and second...the rust on those bolts stopped me instantly from buy it right now...I live in Saint Augustine,Florida and my Weber Summit 670 and my Weber kettle are rusting and so are my Bikes hardware, I had to replace all the bolts to titanium to stop the rust and corrosion. We just moved to Florida from Long Island,NY and I had no rusting or corrosion with of my grills and always outdoors and not covered. Ill wait and see if they modify the hardware and install some kind of safety...Thanx for the video and your time
