Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

Dirk41 said:
Hey there,

Looking into getting a PBJ as my first foray into "live fire" cooking. I'm short on space living in the city with a miniscule "yard" but I make it work.

I like the idea of the pit barrel because it is a little different and seems to be the most set and forget type of live fire cooker with the smallest learning curve. And it has the junior.

This thread has already been valuable for me, but if you had to describe what you love the most about the pit barrel vs a standard Weber, WSM, or even Oklahoma Joe, what would it be?
Click to expand...


It’s easier than my WSM and I think the food tastes better. Capacity is another huge plus as far as ribs go.

I don’t think you’ll regret getting a PBC.


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I've always been enamored with hanging cookers since so many cultures around the world do it. Is there anything outside of ribs that the PBC does the absolute best job with?
 
Dirk41 said:
Hey there,

Looking into getting a PBJ as my first foray into "live fire" cooking. I'm short on space living in the city with a miniscule "yard" but I make it work.
Click to expand...

I think you will be pleased. I would consider the regular PBC. It does not take up much more real estate and has a lot more room. The Junior is great for throwing in the truck for camping or tailgates. Even on small cooks I like the PBC, its easier to move stuff around and you can always throw in some sides to use the extra room.
 
Also, what are the absolute essential accessories from the company? Hearing mixed things on the ash pan and prefer different gloves. The hanging rack looks necessary.
 
Dirk41 said:
Also, what are the absolute essential accessories from the company? Hearing mixed things on the ash pan and prefer different gloves. The hanging rack looks necessary.
Click to expand...

I think the ash pan works fine, but I don't use it much. I dump my basked into the bottom of the barrel and then just dump the barrel into my ash can. Never used had/used the gloves before.
 
Dirk41 said:
Also, what are the absolute essential accessories from the company? Hearing mixed things on the ash pan and prefer different gloves. The hanging rack looks necessary.
Click to expand...

Ash pan, hinged grate, and small charcoal chimney are must haves.

As for what you can cook, the PBC half chickens are amazing. Turkeys are also great. I've been doing big 15-17lb briskets just sitting on the grate lately and they have come out magical. I stopped hanging them awhile back and used different smokers because of the proximity to the coals. Once I started doing it this way it's been my go to single brisket smoker. I smoke bacon on it too. Really anything is good on it :grin::grin:
 
Idle question

i was reading a recent thread where a member used a big poppa kit to make his own UDS which turned out fantastic. it got me to wondering if drums from different manufacturers have different flavor profiles on the meat they produce? i'm kind of guessing that meat produced on different pellet grills basically taste the same if all other factors (pellet type, rub, temp, time etc) are equal. is that true with different drums?
just wondering, mark
 
Just got one Wednesday, it's my first dedicated smoker. Up til now I've been using my Brinkman grill to smoke. Going to try some ribs tonight to work on getting it dialed in, then a shoulder tomorrow and some smoked queso. Loved reading through this thread, made me very comfortable about pulling the trigger.
 
AJgoal said:
Just got one Wednesday, it's my first dedicated smoker. Up til now I've been using my Brinkman grill to smoke. Going to try some ribs tonight to work on getting it dialed in, then a shoulder tomorrow and some smoked queso. Loved reading through this thread, made me very comfortable about pulling the trigger.
Click to expand...

You made a great choice, all of these smoked queso recipes lately have made me hungry!

Best advice I can give is open it as little as possible and follow the lighting instructions.

Enjoy the great food!
 
pharp said:
You made a great choice, all of these smoked queso recipes lately have made me hungry!

Best advice I can give is open it as little as possible and follow the lighting instructions.

Enjoy the great food!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I think I have it open a little less than 1/4 (in southern New Jersey), and I figure I'll track the temp tonight with my remote thermometer just to make sure that it's settling in the way it should and make any small adjustments. After that I'll probably ditch the atmospheric temperature testing, everyone seems happy with how it works "set and forget."
 
So pulled 35 briquettes from the tray, lit them for 12 minutes, put them back, and let the cooker do its thing. Rather than getting the initial reported temp spike with a corresponding fall, my temp started low (around 235) and has been slowly creeping up ever since. Anyone had this happen when first setting up?
 
OK, going to have to do some troubleshooting, temperature never settled, kept climbing even with the vent closed 100%. No signs of leakage around the lid. Not sure what's up, but I had to seal off the vent to get the temp to stay below 330, it climbed up to 360 after I pulled the meat.
 
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