Pit Barrel Cooker

[Bbq Bubba]

Originally Posted by landarc

A note about the nature of intake, exhaust, drafting and how it all balances...

In any system with a passive flow of air, that is to say where there is nothing either pushing air in, or pushing air out, the balance of the intake and exhaust in going to naturally balance. In a cooker, this relies upon the basic principal of heated air rising. Thus, if there are four one inch holes as exhaust, and one four inch hole as intake, the rather complex calculations for balancing these areas of flow do not apply. And no, it is not as simple as calculating the area of four little circles versus one large circle.

Rather directly, the chamber will exchange air only as rapidly as it exhausts air first. Other wise, pressure must build up in the chamber, which it clearly cannot in a PBC or most any other cooker. Thus, the amount of air in the cooker is controlled by how much air can escape the four exhaust holes. The intake could be any size, it will only draft as much as it can exhaust. Subtle pressure variations can occur at both locations based upon heat, as hotter air rises faster. In a way, the PBC seems to be self-regulating. Like most of our cookers. The biggest difference is that the air moves over the meat better in a PBC, due to the meat hanging.

I would add, this does not apply quite the same in an offset, as if the exhaust does not draft properly, the air will not move across the chamber correctly. This is why when designing an offset, the calculations should be done. Or you slap a 6" exhaust on it, like a Jambo, and let that control intake, which is why a Jambo is controlled from the exhaust and not the intake grate. Or so it said at the Holiday Inn I stayed at once,

[devnull]

I cooked a 13.5LB Brisket in the barrel this week Saturday. Total cook was about 6 and a half hours. After the brisket was done I noticed the pit was about done on fuel (I had about another 30-45mins of cooking temp...my guess). I live in Northwest Iowa and it was about 20-25 degrees outside with moderate wind.

Here are a couple pictures, started life as a cheap excell packer from wal-mart. Turned out really good, nothing was burnt and it was moist and tender.

Hooked and cooked up to 160 then wrapped and ran it up to just over 200 when it probed tender. Not sure how long it would take without foil...but I usually use foil so for me that's not a problem.

After about an hour in the Barrel.



Pulled at 160 to wrap



Slicing the flat



A few things I noticed, there is a spot about a 4" circle directly under the brisket that did not burn well from drips, I question the ability to cook more than 1 brisket at a time even though there would be room for 2-3. I'm not sure but do plan to try it in the next couple weeks.

Hope this information helps anyone who questions, I have only cooked chicken and brisket on it so far (I have had it a little over a week).

Blair

[flyingbassman5]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

For those of you that have one, the four holes are the exhaust. Do you feel they are adequate? In other words, can they keep up with the draw from the intake?
We've seen what poor intake and exhaust can do on any type pit if not balanced correctly.

I find that the exhaust does a nice job of keeping the temp regulated. The rebar really does cut down the air flow to a point that keeps the grease dripping onto the fire from flaring up. Just like any UDS though, as soon as you take that lid off and oxygen surges in, flare ups start within 10 seconds or so.

Originally Posted by Bbq Bubba

Please prove me wrong but it doesnt hold enough fuel to smoke a brisket. Sure you can add but why? It looks to me as it would make a nice grille.

On a full load of Kindle briquettes (off brand made by RO) mine went a usable 10 hours. After that the temp dropped below ~210 at the rebar. That only happened once so far and on average it will run about 8 to 9 hours normally.

I will admit though, I would never do a brisket on my PBC. If I was going to do one I would use the UDS. Just my personal preference and I wouldn't want to cook a brisket that fast anyhow. I'd go low n' slow for sure.

[Ron_L]

Originally Posted by Bbq Bubba

I saw the brisket cooked. 14 lber in 5 hrs. No shots of it cooking or whole. I call that grilling over direct heat. This would be a primo chicken cooker because everybody knows grilled, or "roasted" chicken is far superior to slow smoked bird. The ribs in the demos looked great but again they were cooked over direct heat, thus grilled.

I know that we're not comparing the PBC to a UDS, but I'm curious... Do you consider the UDS a grill also? Food cooked in a UDS is also cooked over direct heat.

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by devnull

I cooked a 13.5LB Brisket in the barrel this week Saturday. Total cook was about 6 and a half hours. After the brisket was done I noticed the pit was about done on fuel (I had about another 30-45mins of cooking temp...my guess). I live in Northwest Iowa and it was about 20-25 degrees outside with moderate wind.

Here are a couple pictures, started life as a cheap excell packer from wal-mart. Turned out really good, nothing was burnt and it was moist and tender.

Hooked and cooked up to 160 then wrapped and ran it up to just over 200 when it probed tender. Not sure how long it would take without foil...but I usually use foil so for me that's not a problem.

After about an hour in the Barrel.



Pulled at 160 to wrap



Slicing the flat



A few things I noticed, there is a spot about a 4" circle directly under the brisket that did not burn well from drips, I question the ability to cook more than 1 brisket at a time even though there would be room for 2-3. I'm not sure but do plan to try it in the next couple weeks.

Hope this information helps anyone who questions, I have only cooked chicken and brisket on it so far (I have had it a little over a week).

Blair

WOW! I'd hit that!

[Oldbob]

Brisket Looks Fine to Me.....Good Job !!

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by Ron_L

I know that we're not comparing the PBC to a UDS, but I'm curious... Do you consider the UDS a grill also? Food cooked in a UDS is also cooked over direct heat.

Not to mention that in a UDS, you can achieve higher grilling type temps as well. Only difference is horizontal vs. vertical. How bout if you hung a brisket in a UDS. Bigger vessel, but same concept.

[pigdog]

So I assume that the people who don't like the old pit taste, fat dripping on coals, wouldn't like this set up either? Many complain about that with an uds, hence the usage of diffusers etc. Does this taste like meat cooked on an uds with fat hitting coals? If not, why not?

[Carbon]

Also, in a 55 gal drum, depending on where you mount the rebars, any hanging meat can be placed even further up from direct radiant heat for less "grilling" effect.

[Nate749]

here are the pics.. and like it was stated before about the unburned drip coals.. going to have to figure that out.

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by Carbon

Also, in a 55 gal drum, depending on where you mount the rebars, any hanging meat can be placed even further up from direct radiant heat for less "grilling" effect.

Possibly, but with taller baskets filled with even more fuel, the difference in distance between a brisket hanging in a 55 vs a 30. What temp would you all consider "grilling?" Would you say 250 is a grilling temp?

[Carbon]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

Possibly, but with taller baskets filled with even more fuel, the difference in distance between a brisket hanging in a 55 vs a 30. What temp would you all consider "grilling?" Would you say 250 is a grilling temp?

As far as the basket height, the 55 gal basket can be made wider, lower profile, with no additional height compared to smaller taller baskets, and can still contain more fuel.

[flyingbassman5]

I'm no mod () but I just want to throw it out there...

THANK YOU ALL for keeping this thread awesome! This has developed into a FANTASTIC discussion about the PBC and it's anatomy! Way to be champs Brethren!!

Okay, resume play!

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by Carbon

As far as the basket height, the 55 gal basket can be made wider, lower profile, with no additional height compared to smaller taller baskets, and can still contain more fuel.

Okay, so what if a brisket was hung in a PBC horizontally. That alone would increase the gap between basket and meat. I'm trying to look at it in terms of scale. But isn't let's say 250 in a UDS hanging a brisket horizontally the same as 250 hanging one horizontally in a PBC?
But, looking at the vids on the PBC site, even with the brisket 2-3" from the coals, it smoked and went for hours. He carved up a sweet looking brisket.

Where's Landarc Einstein when ya need him?

[Nate749]

The PBC comes with a grate also so you could put it on the grate and cook it that way.. Im planning on doing that next weekend.. This weekend consists of 20lbs of pulled pork. Thats if you didn't want to hang it. I'm putting the pork on the grate just on the fact alone i just want to do it that way.