Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

AClarke44 · Jul 28, 2018

Kanco Connection said:
Can’t screw up pork butt. I’d go that route if you’re not doing chicken. But you’re now obligated to take pics of the maiden cook.....

I agree with Kanco. If you can't do chicken, do a pork butt. Although, if you want a quicker cook do ribs!

gwlee7 · Jul 28, 2018

AClarke44 said:
I agree with Kanco. If you can't do chicken, do a pork butt. Although, if you want a quicker cook do ribs!

I have some ribs in the freezer too.

This will be fun.

dcbc · Jul 29, 2018

The PBC is a chicken and ribs machine. If you can't do chicken, I'd do some ribs.

jagakbbq · Jul 29, 2018

My PBC continues to be a great cooker for me. Did some fresh hocks for mixing with red beans yesterday. And turned out a nice looking 4lb baby Boston Butt today.

TailGateJoecom · Jul 29, 2018

Hey guys, so I got my PBC last week and it is great. I am 4 rib cooks in with 3 test cooks of 1 baby back rack each and one full cook of 8 racks.

Anyone have any solid lighting techniques? I am thinking of using multiple PBCs for catering gigs and want to have a foolproof lighting techique that my guys can use to consistantly light the cookers in a timely manner where there won't be any chemical charcoal flavors. I initially tried the method on the PBC site, and also tossed in some wood chunks, and the ribs on that cook were inedible.

AClarke44 · Jul 29, 2018

TailGateJoecom said:
Hey guys, so I got my PBC last week and it is great. I am 4 rib cooks in with 3 test cooks of 1 baby back rack each and one full cook of 8 racks.

Anyone have any solid lighting techniques? I am thinking of using multiple PBCs for catering gigs and want to have a foolproof lighting techique that my guys can use to consistantly light the cookers in a timely manner where there won't be any chemical charcoal flavors. I initially tried the method on the PBC site, and also tossed in some wood chunks, and the ribs on that cook were inedible.

My technique:
Fill coal basket. Take out 38 coals and put in a chimney. I light the chimney over a turkey fryer burner until the coals are all glowing red. Place coal basket in PBC. If I use wood place 3-4 SMALL wood chunks around the coal basket making sure one is in the middle. Pour the lit coals over the unlit. I leave the lid off for about 30-45 sec. Then put the lid on and wait at least 15-20 minutes before putting any meat in. In my opinion this allows the PBC to stabilize on a temp and exhaust all the "dirty" smoke before any meat is put in..

Kanco Connection · Jul 29, 2018

TailGateJoecom said:
Hey guys, so I got my PBC last week and it is great. I am 4 rib cooks in with 3 test cooks of 1 baby back rack each and one full cook of 8 racks.

Anyone have any solid lighting techniques? I am thinking of using multiple PBCs for catering gigs and want to have a foolproof lighting techique that my guys can use to consistantly light the cookers in a timely manner where there won't be any chemical charcoal flavors. I initially tried the method on the PBC site, and also tossed in some wood chunks, and the ribs on that cook were inedible.

Hey, Joe! Congrats on the new addition. What do you mean they were inedible? The smoke flavor? Tough? Dry?

Kanco Connection · Jul 29, 2018

Guys, I'm guessing many of you are already familiar with Crispy Cornell Chicken (same thing as roadside chicken?). I've made it many times on the kettle with very good results--it's a family favorite and is a staple of our rotation.

But.......first time on the PBC tonight and it was in a different class completely. The moisture of the meat, the crispy skin, the flavor, just fantastic. Kettle good for this. PBC way better. You really have to give it a go.

I used the original recipe on thighs, with a couple minor adjustments: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2652/bbq.pdf?sequence=2

I went skin up for the first 45-50 minutes, basting 4 times, then went skin down for about 15-20 minutes lid cracked, no more basting.

A few pics. 3 of the thighs were just seasoned--not Crispy Cornell--just for comparison. Crispy Cornell was way better than the regular rubbed thighs (Kickin' Chicken).

Just put on

25 minutes in, getting a little color

Finished:

Easy and delicious :thumb:

Joshw · Jul 29, 2018

Don't have PBC, but can't you dump in a 1/4 chimney of hot coals on top of your basket? Or just use a propane torch? Those are the methods I use on my kettle.

Kanco Connection · Jul 29, 2018

Joshw said:
Don't have PBC, but can't you dump in a 1/4 chimney of hot coals on top of your basket? Or just use a propane torch? Those are the methods I use on my kettle.

I use a full small-size chimney of lit coals dumped. I know we've got a couple guys that torch also, and works for them.

AClarke44 · Jul 29, 2018

Joshw said:
Don't have PBC, but can't you dump in a 1/4 chimney of hot coals on top of your basket? Or just use a propane torch? Those are the methods I use on my kettle.

Sure you can use a torch but part of maintaining a consistent temp in the PBC means consistent lighting. Unlike the kettle, you don't adjust the intake on a PBC.
Also if you only lit 1/4 coal basket it would not be enough coal to get the PBC up to a stable temp.

AClarke44 · Jul 29, 2018

Good-looking chicken Kanco!! :thumb:

Joshw · Jul 29, 2018

Kanco Connection said:
Guys, I'm guessing many of you are already familiar with Crispy Cornell Chicken (same thing as roadside chicken?). I've made it many times on the kettle with very good results--it's a family favorite and is a staple of our rotation.

But.......first time on the PBC tonight and it was in a different class completely. The moisture of the meat, the crispy skin, the flavor, just fantastic. Kettle good for this. PBC way better. You really have to give it a go.

Thighs look great!

Kanco Connection · Jul 29, 2018

Thanks guys! Good stuff.

TailGateJoecom · Jul 30, 2018

Kanco Connection said:
Hey, Joe! Congrats on the new addition. What do you mean they were inedible? The smoke flavor? Tough? Dry?

So that first cook, did it just like the PBC videos. I ignored any of my bbq and charcoal knowledge and wanted my first run to be just as PBC says, so I filled the basket with kbb, took out about 40 coals and put into the pbc chimney, had it lit for 15 minutes, coals were not completely ashed over to the top but dumped them in along with 4 good sized apple chunks and put the ribs right in. After about 2:40 pulled and glazed and back in another 30 minutes.

They tasted of lighter fluid and creosote i am guessing. I don't know if it was too much wood, or charcoal not being sufficiently lit, but I am guessing it is a combination of the 2. There was a lot of billowy smoke.

Like I said, I know how to use charcoal, just wanted to test it as directed from the company. I figure there may be some here that have a procedure that they have found works for them.

riverratdave · Jul 30, 2018

TailGateJoecom said:
They tasted of lighter fluid and creosote i am guessing. I don't know if it was too much wood, or charcoal not being sufficiently lit, but I am guessing it is a combination of the 2. There was a lot of billowy smoke.

Like I said, I know how to use charcoal, just wanted to test it as directed from the company. I figure there may be some here that have a procedure that they have found works for them.

Joe,

I had the same opinion about the fumy taste I was getting. So I experimented with different charcoal and found the Stubbs briquettes burn much cleaner and give a better flavor.

Also, look back a few pages and see what the folks are doing with lump. They have some pretty good ideas on using it. gonna try that next.

AClarke44 · Jul 30, 2018

TailGateJoecom said:
So that first cook, did it just like the PBC videos. I ignored any of my bbq and charcoal knowledge and wanted my first run to be just as PBC says, so I filled the basket with kbb, took out about 40 coals and put into the pbc chimney, had it lit for 15 minutes, coals were not completely ashed over to the top but dumped them in along with 4 good sized apple chunks and put the ribs right in. After about 2:40 pulled and glazed and back in another 30 minutes.

They tasted of lighter fluid and creosote i am guessing. I don't know if it was too much wood, or charcoal not being sufficiently lit, but I am guessing it is a combination of the 2. There was a lot of billowy smoke.

Like I said, I know how to use charcoal, just wanted to test it as directed from the company. I figure there may be some here that have a procedure that they have found works for them.

I think the problem was too much wood. I've found that the drippings will hit the wood and cause it to smolder which causes dirty smoke. It happens worse with bigger pieces of wood than the smaller prices. Also when you light your chimney let the coals get good and lit. I never go by time, always by how they look to determine when to dump them.

Kanco Connection · Jul 30, 2018

AClarke44 said:
I think the problem was too much wood. I've found that the drippings will hit the wood and cause it to smolder which causes dirty smoke. It happens worse with bigger pieces of wood than the smaller prices. Also when you light your chimney let the coals get good and lit. I never go by time, always by how they look to determine when to dump them.

I don't go by time either for determining when to dump. I let them get to the point where the top coals are starting to ash over, but not completely ashed. Usually about 20 minutes for me, depending on the fuel I'm using.

Also, I'm guessing since you're experienced grill jockey you can recognize billowy crappy smoke when you see it and smell it, so that's probably what you had going there. But it's worth pointing out that the PBC will pretty much always be putting out some whitish smoke due to the drippings on the coals; you'll never get the thin blue you can on other cookers.

You'll get it dialed in with a couple minor adjustments to the lighting procedure. Look forward to your next cook.

Dread Pirate Roberts · Jul 30, 2018

Dread Pirate Roberts said:
After reading and reading, I bought a PBC and it was delivered Wednesday. I made some quick cedar plank salmon on Thursday, and today I'm trying a brisket. It's a small one - right at 10 lbs pre-trimmed. Got it at Costco like I usually do. It's a Prime cut. It has a small point on it, but I didn't want to go big the first time out of the gate.

I currently live in Las Vegas, so I set the vent to 1/2 open. Temp got up to almost 350. Then I realized that my house is only at 2,500 elevation, so I throttled that back and I'm down to around 310 at the moment. It's also sunny and hot (big surprise right) which is keeping the heat up as well. Once it gets down under 300 I'll work on stabilizing it.

I bought some wood chunks but decided to hold off the first time. I also like to cook briskets without foil or paper, so we will see how that goes. I'm going to use my Bradley OBS with Auber PID to hold at 140 after venting.

I'll post pictures when everything is done. Shouldn't take long, given the temp and small size

Well, it turned out OK. My daughter said it was really good, so there's that. I thought that the flat was maybe a little dry, but the bark was really tasty. I may just wrap it in butcher paper after 4 hours next time. I started at 8am, and pulled at 3pm. Then I tented until it hit around 160, wrapped in butcher paper, and put it in my OBS with PID at 142 until dinner time at 6.

BBQ_MAFIA · Jul 30, 2018

I got a PBC a few weeks ago and just got to use it yesterday. I was amazed how easy it was to use. Here are a few pics of my cook.

Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

Babbling Farker

Got Wood.

Is lookin for wood to cook with.

Found some matches.

is one Smokin' Farker

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

Babbling Farker

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

is one Smokin' Farker

Is lookin for wood to cook with.

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

Knows what a fatty is.

somebody shut me the fark up.

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