PBC cook #2/Brisket pRon and lots of questions

[Oldbob]

That brisket Looks Fantastic to Me !!

[Freddy j]

Brisket looks great!

Originally Posted by flyingbassman5

?.....Fill the basket, take 10 briquettes out and light in a chimney. When they are lit and stop putting off smoke (just heat) dump them back into the center of the basket...

I've used this method on mine and it works great. Used about 15, but next cook will cut that down to 10.

Originally Posted by code3rrt

That is one of the options I was considering, the other option was to readjust the intake valve. But I initially wanted a second try with everything factory set........

I did the exact same but closed up the intake 1/2 way in to my second cook. No humidity in the crisp winter air makes the fuel/air mix on mine too lean = high temps.

Great cooker and great food, nice brisket!

[daninnewjersey]

Brisket looks great.....nice job.

[code3rrt]

Thanks all, I appreciate all the responses.

My goal for these first two cooks was to see if the PBC cooked as advertised, or perhaps I should say how I "thought" it was advertised.

First, from the box, then the set-up, and firing it up, all lived up to what I had been reading in all the reviews, Very Quick, Very easy, bing, bang, boom!

Next, and I think this is where I got a little side tracked, was that I was expecting it to run at about the 275 range +/_ 25*.

This morning I spent quite a bit of time looking at the PBC website, as well as searching through many of the threads on this site about the PBC, and I don't find that bit of info anywhere. It seems that this is where a lot of the brethren that have posted about it have said their PBC "settled", and i jumped to the conclusion that that is how it was supposed to work.

My mistake.

So now it is a simple matter of either using the method flyingbassman suggests, which is what I will try next (thank you)....or......adjusting the intake.......or.......adjusting the amount of fuel or a variation of the three to get it to where I like it.

Which as far as I'm concerned this is great, just gives me another reason to keep firing it up, lol.

Thanks again all.

KC

[jgarcia]

Where were your wires from the probes placed? Did you have them going through the holes of the rebar or under the lid. If under the lid it may allaw mow airflow that caused the high temps.

[code3rrt]

Originally Posted by jgarcia

Where were your wires from the probes placed? Did you have them going through the holes of the rebar or under the lid. If under the lid it may allaw mow airflow that caused the high temps.

I did run them under the lid and considered that that may be a contributing factor, next time, through the wholes!

Although I had the same temp issues with my first cook, and was not using my therm, nothing under the lid that time.

Thanks,
KC

[flyingbassman5]

KC, just to let you know, I've used that minion style burn about half a dozen times now and get good cook times. Just did a 9# shoulder over the weekend in about 6 hours plus an hour rest. That was with foiling at 165IT as well to power through the stall. Full spares take about 3 hours and chicken halves have never taken any longer than an hour an 15 minutes. Aside from doing burgers on the grate once, I've never done beef so can't speculate on that.

Also, I've never found a need to adjust the intake using the minion style burn. Maybe its my location (debatable) but you ought to be able to replicate those results pretty closely.

[code3rrt]

Originally Posted by flyingbassman5

KC, just to let you know, I've used that minion style burn about half a dozen times now and get good cook times. Just did a 9# shoulder over the weekend in about 6 hours plus an hour rest. That was with foiling at 165IT as well to power through the stall. Full spares take about 3 hours and chicken halves have never taken any longer than an hour an 15 minutes. Aside from doing burgers on the grate once, I've never done beef so can't speculate on that.

Also, I've never found a need to adjust the intake using the minion style burn. Maybe its my location (debatable) but you ought to be able to replicate those results pretty closely.

Thanks for the specifics flyingbassman5, appreciated, will give it a try, sounds like the right approach.

[cowgirl]

Looks delicious Code3!

[GrillsGoneWild]

So let me get this straight.
1. The set up was easy.
2. Getting the coals lit and meat put on was easy.
3. You got to monitor your temps without openign the lid - Easy.
4. You knew when to wrap/place on grate - Easy.
5. You knew when it was doen because it probed nicely - Easy.
6. You had a shorter time than normal for cooker a whole packer - Easy.
7. You got a good brisket out of it - Easy.

So now you want to start adjusting things....why???? Sometime we over think things to make them the way "it should be". Go with the flow of the cooker as long as it is putting out good Q.

[code3rrt]

Originally Posted by GrillsGoneWild

So let me get this straight.
1. The set up was easy.
2. Getting the coals lit and meat put on was easy.
3. You got to monitor your temps without openign the lid - Easy.
4. You knew when to wrap/place on grate - Easy.
5. You knew when it was doen because it probed nicely - Easy.
6. You had a shorter time than normal for cooker a whole packer - Easy.
7. You got a good brisket out of it - Easy.

So now you want to start adjusting things....why???? Sometime we over think things to make them the way "it should be". Go with the flow of the cooker as long as it is putting out good Q.

Just looking for a more consistent temp throughout the cook, if you followed the temps in the OP, you'll notice my temps were running wild, from 220's on up near 500. Most of the reviews for the PBC were saying that temps ran pretty consistently in the 275-290 range, and that was not my experience.

[foam2]

I guess grillsgonewild is suggesting the pbc was made for KISS type of smoking so I can see his point about it worked as advertised and produced good results. Before I bought my pbc I was a little baffled too - I mean no thermometer, no dampers, nothing to adjust. I think like anything else this pit may have a bit of a learning curve with regards to the set up and due to the method in which they recommend lighting the coals and the large intake that it would be prone to getting hot when opened. I'm sure when I do my first cook on my pbc I will try to figure out what is going on too so that I can get consistant results and get a handle when planning cook times but for right now I think the more cooks you get on it, the more you will be able to predict how it reacts.

[landarc]

Well, every cooker gets hotter when opened, the added air will cause the coals to flare up. It's a new cooker, with new quirks. So far, I see nothing wrong, just a little learning curve.

[hcj3rd]

I did my 2nd cook on the PBC last Sunday. I filled charcoal basket up and added 2 fist size chunks of wood.Instead of using charcoal lighter though I then proceeded to light it with my weed burner. I then came back about 15 minutes later and could tell I had a pretty hot fire going. I put my Maverick probe through one of the holes for the rebar and watched the temp rise to about 420 quickly. Once I put the lid on though and waited 30 minutes temp had dropped to 325. I put on a rack of ribs for the cook and temp dropped to 300. Settled in for the rest of the cook at about 290. I think like my UDS when you need to raise the lid you had better get if off and back on as quick as possible. I am so far very happy with my PBC. Got a little rib cookoff this Saturday and I am going to use it. I named mine the Black Assassin. LOL