I'm looking for plans for a traditional, old school Hill Country Pit. The kind they use at Snow's. Direct heat. Use the fats and juices as the smoke catalyst, not wood. The wood is the best here, not the flavor- and you shovel hot coals into. Anyone seen and plans like that around ? Seems the dimension for the opening to feed the hot coals also serves as an air intake - so that dimension seems critical. Thoughts? Ideas?
Eric
Hill Country Pit
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- Pilgrim
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Re: Hill Country Pit
Those cookers are out of style in Texas but North and South Carolina use the heck out of them cooking split pigs..every BBQ TV show has done episodes with them in action.
Some just toss a section of galvanized tin over the meat instead of a hinged steel lid but the results are world famous.
You also need a "burn barrel" which to me would seem to be a better way of harvesting glowing coals compared to how Snows does it, as the round shape with crossbars placed two or three feet off the ground lets gravity deliver just glowing coals to ground level for scooping.
I have seen that type of cooker with a top lift lid in Lockhart used in Blacks BBQ, Kreuz and Smitty's but instead of direct over coals they have a open end burn pit where splits are gently burning with the smoke running from one end to the other.
Otherwise they appear the same.
Some just toss a section of galvanized tin over the meat instead of a hinged steel lid but the results are world famous.
You also need a "burn barrel" which to me would seem to be a better way of harvesting glowing coals compared to how Snows does it, as the round shape with crossbars placed two or three feet off the ground lets gravity deliver just glowing coals to ground level for scooping.
I have seen that type of cooker with a top lift lid in Lockhart used in Blacks BBQ, Kreuz and Smitty's but instead of direct over coals they have a open end burn pit where splits are gently burning with the smoke running from one end to the other.
Otherwise they appear the same.
- Boots
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Re: Hill Country Pit
To me, this picture says it all. Note that customized grain scoop w extra long handle serving as the stoking shovel. Proves Tootsie is no parlor mouse woman, she is all pro. And a great article too.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texana/ ... utType=amp
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texana/ ... utType=amp
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- OldUsedParts
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Re: Hill Country Pit
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Re: Hill Country Pit
I saw a show once and it was in the Souteast section; maybe the Carolinas or Georgia. This fella had an old tank vessel with about 1” rebar welded inside snot 2 foot from the bottom which was open and about 36 wide and 24 wide. He dropped the wood in from the top and would set it on fire from the bottom. As the wood burned down the coals would drop down. I’m assuming the grates were about 3” holes in that rebar
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Re: Hill Country Pit
About, not snot, lol
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