Nowadays, barbecue cookers are built out of metal and constructed in a manner to allow smoke and heat to envelop the sizzling food. Wood is carefully rested within a firebox next to the barbecue cooking chamber. This dynamic arrangement helps keep food from coming into direct contact with the flames. Fresh air blowing into the box permits the blazing fire to remain burning while smoke and heat are drained into the barbeque cooking chamber. A baffle placed between the chamber and the box permits the smoke and heat to flow downwards in the chamber before rising up through the barbecue grill chimney.

Some barbecue grills are built with the firebox positioned below the main barbecue chamber. In this particular type of barbecue cooker, deflectors are positioned between the barbecue chamber and box and therefore the smoke and heat are immediately directed up towards the food. The box is placed low enough that the burning flames so that the food is not burnt. In addition, burning wood is put on the bottom of the cooker while a pan of water is placed on the middle of the barbecue cooker. This helps keep the food moist due to the steam.