Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

Thanks Pharp - also hope that little half ham fits the half grate on the PBC. I'm a little worried about airflow and extended cooking times. Does anyone have pics of their turkeys and hams together in PBC love?

BecknCO said:

Thanks Pharp - also hope that little half ham fits the half grate on the PBC. I'm a little worried about airflow and extended cooking times. Does anyone have pics of their turkeys and hams together in PBC love?

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You could hang the ham.

pharp said:

You could hang the ham.

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I thought that too, but want to foil and glaze - easier on the grate

Stlsportster said:

Ok...so I'm the idea guy. Anyone want to take a stab at a first draft??

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Sound like a daunting task. I could help if others are interested.

Bob C Cue said:

Sound like a daunting task. I could help if others are interested.

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My thought also. Unless we get a shiny new Minis thrown in each. :becky:

What do all you pit Harrell guys think about this cooker. The ad says it comes with all the accessories such as extra racks and hangers even a factory cover. $200 obo.

Looks good to me neighbor! :-D
I think it's a good deal unless the lid doesn't fit well or the bottom is burned out.

I know absolutely nothing about them and never cooked on one but am curious due to this thread. I'd like to try it but don't know if this is a good deal. And hello neighbor. Mesa AZ huh. Whereabouts in Mesa?

aerotech11 said:

I know absolutely nothing about them and never cooked on one but am curious due to this thread. I'd like to try it but don't know if this is a good deal. And hello neighbor. Mesa AZ huh. Whereabouts in Mesa?

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PM inbound.

Ok I'll look for it.

Bob C Cue said:

Sound like a daunting task. I could help if others are interested.

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It's not easy but it's going to help newbies a whole lot.
I tried to read through the whole thread before I got my PBC. It's just impossible.

I think starting with approx. cook time for different type of meat a great start.
Then tips and tricks. I had trouble keeping the temperature high. I got a great advice on using folded foil to keep the lid cracked open which I never thought about. Great advice like that really helps newbies.

Av8er said:

I too have been getting an uneven burn in my PBC. Like you, the side closest to the intake burns fully. I go out the next morning and the other side still has plenty of burned coal. Very odd as nothing has changed in regard to the barrel.

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I posted my first experience with the PBC a few pages ago and didn’t mention that I noticed an uneven burn pattern the next day. Definitely seems related to the air intake where coals burned completely but in the back of the coal basket opposite the intake coals were whole and some unburned. On the left size beneath where two racks of ribs hung the coals may have been kept from burning completely by the dripping fats. Solution would be to rotate the charcoal basket midway through cook but that means removing foods.

Yep, this uneven burn pattern is a common issue. One way to combat is to pour your lit coals over the back of the basket so the coals burn towards the intake.

This is also why I started doing half basket for cooks less than 6 hours. I would hang my ribs over the empty side. Prevented juice from dripping and putting out coals.

What STL said. Or if you have an ash rake or a grate tool, you can rotate the basket with ease without removing any food.

viodea said:

It's not easy but it's going to help newbies a whole lot.
I tried to read through the whole thread before I got my PBC. It's just impossible.

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I agree that this would be a great help for those new to the thread. Is there a way (with mod help maybe) to insert a post (or a couple of posts) on the first page? Maybe several posts that each cover a topic? Just thinking out loud. I'd be willing to help pull info from old posts.

Well gang, it's been about 4 months since I posted a PBC cook. Ever since I got the Lang I've been neglecting the Barrel. Well after cooking the past two days on the Lang, and since I was only doing a couple of fattys and needed about 2 hours....I decided to give the PBC some love. Cleaned it out..no mold thankfully.

Also gives me a good chance to show some of the newer guys that you don't need a full basket...or firebricks to run a short cook. This also gives you an example of how to deal with that uneven burn pattern.

The victims. One spicy sausage stuffed with sautéed onions and yellow pepper, and smoked pepper jack cheese. The other naked original. Both with Oakridge Dominator Sweet Rib Rub.



One small Weber chimney full of unlit charcoal dumped in a corner next to the intake. With a chunk of cherry.



about 15 mins after lighting another small Weber chimney. Dump the coals next to/overlapping the unlit. Lit coals away from the intake. This will burn towards the intake.



Put the lid on and rebar in. Give it 10 minutes to settle in. Then load the fattys. Put those on the opposite side of the lit coals. No juices dripping on lit coals.



Lid back on. Settles right into the 240 range. Thin blue. I expect to get 2+ hours out of this. The fattys should only take about 1.5. See you in a bit!

After 1.5 hours I pulled thr lid to check temp of the fatty. They needed a little more time. After I pulled the lid the temp jumped to 280 for the next 20 min or so. I pulled the fattys, then pulled the rebar and put the lid back on. Now running 307 about 2:15 after I dumped the coals.

Here's the pics.

Burn pattern at 2 hours.



Results.

Last post on this topic. 3.5 hours after dumping lit coals the PBC is still running at 271 with the rebar out. Temps dropping now pretty consistently.

Pretty efficient cooker. Two mini chimneys of KBB. One lit on top of one unlit, plus one chunk of cherry, held temps for at least 3.5 hours.

Thanks Stlsportster good info for short cooks.

dcimike125 said:

Not that I have that problem (yet) but could you post Noah's instructions? Sometimes its easier to do a search than to pick up a phone

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To burn off and kill mold without lighter fluid or weed burner available: FULL charcoal basket and then FILL a large chimney (looking to get the PBC as hot as possible) let the coals go at least 20 minutes. Leave the lid off for 5 minutes then cover barrel with lid but leave a 2" gap to keep plenty of air flow and high temps. Let go till coals die. I also scrubbed down all parts of the inside with an old wire brush. Dumped all ashes.

I might go back and really scrub down my grill grate and rebar but I might just buy the hanging grate at this point too.