Pitmaster 101: Building A Burn Barrel & Block Pit
Sam will be the first to tell ya - cooking a whole hog doesn’t have to be that complicated: “It’s a long process, but with a pickup truck and the right guidance, you could be serving one tomorrow.” If you’ve ever been interested in building your own pit, check out our overview and then read full step-by-step instructions in Sam’s cookbook Whole Hog BBQ.
What You’ll Need
Burn barrel, loaded with burning wood
WOOD
¼ to ½ cord local hardwood
THE BURN BARREL
Safety goggles
Gloves
55-gallon steel barrel
Drill with steel step drill bit
Reciprocating saw with an 8-inch metal-cutting blade
Shovel, preferably with a flat head and long handle
5 concrete stakes, each ½ inch thick and 24 inches long
Hammer
2 or 3 concrete blocks
THE PIT
80 concrete blocks
10 lengths of ½-inch (#5) steel rebar, each cut 5 feet long
2 sheets of corrugated metal, each 2 feet by 8 feet
Drill with ¼-inch bit
Grill thermometer with probe
Get to Work
STOCK UP ON WOOD
Cooking a whole hog over wood coals requires a lot of fuel. We recommend hardwoods like hickory, oak, and mesquite to produce good coals. Make sure it’s dry and that you’ve got plenty of it.
BUILD THE BURN BARREL
Remove the lid from your barrel or cut one with a reciprocating saw.
Cut a shovel hole toward the bottom of the barrel. The base of the whole should be just above the bottom. Don’t cut through the base! Sam Tip: Measure your shovel so you don’t have to cut this hole twice, like I normally do.
Drill 3 holes for your concrete stakes (or rebar) just above the lower rib of the barrel. Drill 2 more holes just above those so the bars are perpendicular to the other set. These bars hold up your wood, letting the coals drop below so you can shovel them out into your pit.
Take 2 or 3 concrete blocks and make a base for the barrel.
BUILD THE PIT
Pick out a relatively flat patch of dirt or lawn. Build a base using the concrete blocks - 6 blocks long with 3 blocks in between the long sides. Stack 2 more layers, staggering the blocks. Keep edges straight and corners square.
Lay a layer of rebar going in the short direction on top of the 3rd layer of blocks, evenly spaced (about 5 inches apart).
Put the 4th and final layer of blocks on top of the rebar. Match the staggering of the first layer.
Now all you’ve got to do is get a hog, prep it, load it onto the grill (skin side up to start), add coals, and cook!
Get The Cookbook
Whole Hog BBQ: The Gospel of Carolina Barbecue
This cookbook is not only packed with family recipes, but it also tells the story of Samuel’s family’s BBQ lineage and the important role BBQ plays in North Carolina’s food heritage. And it contains the definitive guide to building a pit and smoking your own whole hog right in your own backyard.