View Single Post
Old 11-13-2017, 08:52 AM   #7462
Smokey Lonesome
is one Smokin' Farker

 
Smokey Lonesome's Avatar
 
Join Date: 06-21-13
Location: Avalon, NJ
Name/Nickname : Bill
Default

The Pit Barrel cooker arrived safely from California to Pennsylvania 5 days after placing the order. In addition to the basic kit I also ordered two turkey hangers, gloves, the small charcoal chimney and the upgraded cover. The extra items were packed securely in the barrel using styrofoam inserts and cardboard packing to keep all items secure and safe.

The $299 investment for the basic package is impressive for the quality of the items you receive. Sure, one can build an even larger drum via the ‘UDS’ route for a fraction of the price and have the fun and satisfaction of working on the project and you can also spend more money on Gateway and Hunsaker drums which are larger and offer several refinements, but for someone for whom ‘hanging meats’ is unexplored adventure which is well documented by others in this thread, the PBC offers a fast and relatively inexpensive way to explore a new cooking method.

So, I chose 3 racks of STL ribs for the first cook, did not include a fatty (nekid or otherwise), and I did not take pictures due to the cold weather and late afternoon start which means it was getting dark quickly. However I can assure you the cook actually happened and I am happy to report my experience.
I decided to follow Noah’s recommendations exactly since this was my initial cook so I bought a bag of KBB which is the first time in many years for me. I am sure other briquette’s (Kingsford Professional, Stubbs, etc.) would also work but I went with PBC’s suggestion and completely filled the charcoal basket and removed 40 briquettes and placed them in the charcoal chimney. I waited 14 minutes after lighting the chimney to poured the lit charcoal into the basket at the bottom of the cooker, installed the rebar and closed the lid.

The air intake was adjusted to ¼ open since I am just above sea level, however it’s difficult to say how close I came to ¼ open – could have been more or less but I don’t think it’s that critical. But I did wonder if the cold weather (mid-40s, no wind) could result with lower than anticipated cook temperatures which PBC says typically average between 275 – 310 degrees and how this might impact cook time, so I did place a Maverick temp probe in the barrel to see where temps were running. Initial temps were ~230 or so just after adding 3 racks of ribs so after about 15 minutes I decided to open the lid about ¾ inch to increase airflow and get temperatures up. This adjustment had an almost immediate effect and I waited until the cooker temp was ~295 before closing the lid. The temp stabilized and then dropped again to 260s and I again opened the lid and the temps raised until I hit 320 and I closed the lid once again. The temps slowly dropped again but leveled off at 277 which was perfect.

I checked the ribs at 2 hours – color was good (maybe a little dark) and meat was pulling back nicely, so I let them ride for another 30 minutes and they were done. I could have checked them earlier and perhaps wrapped them once the color was good but I wanted to keep things simple, i.e., no fussing, which seems in the spirit of using this cooker in the first place.

The doneness was perfect - not fall of the bone but meat cleanly pulls from bone. Texture was great – more of a bark then I have seen compared to a BGE. Forgot to mention how I prepped the ribs – light mustard slather, Killer Hogs AP rub followed by The BBQ Rub. Apple (1) and cherry (2) chucks added to lit charcoal. I do like this combination.

What I learned: I expected to be cooking ‘hot and fast’ and I certainly hit the lower end of this spectrum. If the same amount of coals were added to the drum in 80 degree weather the cooker temperature will likely be consistently higher so my initial air intake adjustment seems fine for now. If I cook in cold(er) weather again, I might leave the barrel open for 5 minutes or so after adding the hot coals to allow the unlit coals to ‘catch up’, otherwise setting the lid slightly ajar has an immediate profound impact on the cooker temperature. Even at 275 degrees, these STLs were done faster than the same temperature in a BGE which could be related to the larger airflow in the PBC vs the Egg resulting on come convection effect.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results with the PBC and my first experience hanging meat. I bought this cooker for our shore house for summer cookouts, but I am impressed enough to consider purchasing a larger drum like a Gateway or Hunsaker which have several refinements albeit at a greater cost. If you have read all the pages in this thread and are still on the fence about the PBC or drum cooking in general, either build your own if you are handy or just order the PBC. I can’t fathom you will be disappointed.
__________________
BGE, PBC, Weber 22 kettle, Vortex, DigiQ DX2, Inkbird IBT-6XS



The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well. - John D. Rockefeller

Last edited by Smokey Lonesome; 11-14-2017 at 09:31 AM..
Smokey Lonesome is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from: --->