Some PBC folks have gotten crispy rib ends (especially longer ribs) so here's something to consider from the folks that do a crap load of ribs per day @ chicken in a barrel

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/...psbkgfzbba.jpg

When I hang my ABTs the bottom one is about 2 inches above the coals and it doesn't burn up.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...angingABTs.jpg

Very interesting! If doing 4 or fewer racks you can also cut in half.

That's a good idea! I've only cooked ribs once so far in mine but I'll be doing 3 full spares this weekend. From my experience and from some things I've read I believe folks getting crispy ends are from a couple things. 1. Not starting the PBC correctly thus letting it get too hot. That was my biggest issue when I did mine. I didn't pay attention to the directions and ended up with a 400* cooker for the first of the cook. It eventually cooled down but took about 45 minutes to get to what I'd consider a comfortable range for ribs (300 or less). 2. People don't trim them enough. They need to be at least 2" above the coal basket and 3" is better. I believe mine were at least 2" above but I think the high temp got me. Still only the first about 1/2" was over done. The rest turned out pretty darn good, but again this was my first attempt....Here's a couple pics....

I'll tell you what experienced with ribs and temperature. Normally high heat doesn't matter if the distance between the meat and the heat source is sufficient. The ribs i cooked this weekend were done on a rack about 400-450 for a good chunk of the time but they were far enough away they didn't burn and were perfect.

The other way I do ribs ( my new method) the cook temp is usually 400* to 550-600* ( sometimes higher) and they don't burn. Now i wouldn't expect you to do that but I sure wouldn't be afraid of 400* Andrew if the distance to the coals was shortened....which is why those pics above have them hanging halved I would guess.

Yeah I agree. I wouldn't be worried about the 400* either if they weren't so close to the coals. But when using the PBC as it is designed, 400* is too high. Some people have complained about the ends being burnt but I believe it's due to the reasons I mentioned. I've seen too many other pictures where that didn't happen which leads me to believe they did something right.
I'm not a fan of cutting ribs in half. I guess St Louis cuts are ok. But I like to cook full spares and trim after sometimes too.

Look darn tasty.

If you don't trim, you're more likely to get too close to the coals. Another consideration is some people fill the firebox full (instead of 3 quarters) and then add their lit chimney, which will shorten your distance. Also, if you add wood and don't let that initial flame settle, you'll get burnt ends. Like with any other type of cooking, trial and error.

You are right. This weekend will be the first time I do full spares in the PBC. I should probably clarify when I said I don't trim full spares. I still trim off the piece of meat on the back and take the membrane off. I usually don't trim the tips but will for this cook to ensure I'm not hitting the coals. I will probably not fill the coal basket fully like you mentioned as well. Trial and error just like you said. Thanks! :thumb:

One should trim a rack of spares on the thin end to remove any meat that is too thin to take a 3-4 hour smoke, just like Aaron Franklin trims his briskets of thin edges because they will burn.

Man those ABT'S look perfectly delicious!

I agree. Makes for a cleaner presentation too, especially after cutting.

I'd like to see pictures of that some time. (It wouldn't have to be in this thread.) I'm thinking of getting a PBC but I'm also thinking of building a Jimmy. [And thinking is what I do best.]

Thank you for adding that by the way :becky:
If you are interested in build pics of the Jimmy, click the link down in fwismoker's signature. It's actually pretty cool what he did.

As far as the PBC goes, I think if you decide to get one you will be very happy with your purchase. It's really versatile cooker that will give you excellent results right out of the box. Oh and just like others cookers can be tweaked or modified to cook like a PBC, the PBC can be tweaked and/or modified to cook like other cookers as well. BUT you won't find a lot of information about tweaks or mods for the PBC because most people are happy with them just like they are......:biggrin1:
Check out the reviews on Amazon, 4.9 of 5 stars. And the one moron that gave them 1 star obviously didn't buy one, just wrote a review saying you could build one for $50. I have no problem if that's what people believe but putting that in a product review is very poor taste in my opinion. :tsk:

Why worry about halving spares? Untrimmed meaty spares have the tendency to not cook evenly anyway. I bet halving them or hanging halfway might help. Plus w ribs you usually cut them before service anyway so presentation isnt effected.