Pit Barrel Cooker

Beanbuzz said:

Received my PBC yesterday and fired it up today. I guess I'll be one of the first to say I was pretty much disappointed with this thing. Hung a rack of baby backs and later added a whole chicken cut in half. Total cook time was 4 hrs. for the ribs and 2.5 hrs. for the chicken, as per instructions.
The ribs were way overcooked and dry with the end closest to the coals basically inedible. The chicken was not done . I had to part the chicken out and finish some pieces in the oven. I guess I got caught in all the hype about this thing ,but now I wish that I had waited to see more opinions.
As for ribs, I'll continue to use the 3.2.1. method on my BGE.

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If you've decided that you're done with the PBC after your 1st cook with it, I will glady take it off your hands. :thumb:

Give it a second shot though. Don't give up on it so quick. Just with any new cooker, ya gotta take the time to learn to cook on it.

If I recall reading this thread correctly, two PBC owners noted that longer hanging meats like ribs and brisket get too well done on the side hanging closest to the fire, yet earlier on two others noted that it cooks evenly top to bottom even if only a few inches away from the heat source..

very surprising....

Indeed.

The PBC comes with a grill grate, and most likely that's how I would cook ribs and a packer on it. You could and I have hung a flat and a butt with no problem, but I pulled some butcher twine though them. Even at 275 your 325 at the center of the grate, I have no idea what temps your at just a couple inches above the basket, but I know what happens when your that close. We split our racks in half and hung them that way. Personally I like to wrap my ribs, brisket, and butts. So hanging just wasn't my preferred way to cook them, too much trouble. That being said, hanging split or whole chickens is the bomb, and you can hang a bunch of them. Even in a 18 1/2 inch cooker. I know a lot of comp teams that haul around a UDS for one thing, they are a great chicken cooker.

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mmmmm zombies

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Any chance you could consider making a dorky video about the kamado joe cooker? I'm really considering buying one but I get so sleepy watching the serious cook videos about them........ No sizzle, no intrigue.