Can you leave meat on PBC hooks for the whole cook?

I have cooked brisket the whole time hanging but I don't think it would work with pork butt.

pharp said:

I have cooked brisket the whole time hanging but I don't think it would work with pork butt.

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Yep. I use the grate for butts.

With just hooks- I would not hang a butt for the whole cook.

Now if I had a couple of SS wire baskets (about the size of half pans), I could rig sort of a clamshell to lovingly cradle the butt for the whole duration... now that- that could work.

(I don't need to do that though- I have been blessed with multiple cookers- I can do one to twelve depending on the need.)

I've done 2 - 9lb butts.

You could get three smaller butts on there if you packed em tight together...probably couldn't get bark all the way around with 3 in there.

Well- that's all there is to it- you need to upgrade to something with a "bigger grate".

yep- I used to have just one smoker too. I "explained my way" into another smoker- and another and ....

Hey everyone - I'm Nuco59- and I've got a smoker problem ...

You don't have the PBC yet? That puts a different spin on things.
I'm not out to try to change your mind or make the PBC fan base unhappy but if I were going from a COS to a set it and forget it cooker, it would not be a PBC -as fine a cooker as it is.
A 22.5 WSM or a UDS would be on my short "next cooker" list.

I've built a couple of UDS and a 30 gallon PBC style cooker. It really boils down to I prefer the grate space on the 55 gallon uds to the grate space on the 30 gallon drum. I can run 2 grates and bust out 4 nice size briskets. Or use a single rib rack on one grate and do 6 STL ribs- or no racks and one grate and do 4 butts. It is rare for me to cook more than that.
But what about the hooks? It is a fact that you can hang 8 racks of ribs or halved chickens or even a good sized brisket. I LOVE the chicken off my 30 gallon hooker/cooker- but Butt, Briskets, Ribs- not so much. You will have dishes that you will have to use the grate for and the real estate is just not there.

The PBC is ready right out the box, easy to cook on and will yield reproducible results.

The 22.5 WSM- ditto (it is a bit more money but a quality cooker in every regard)

The home built 22.5 UDS- is very affordable and easy to build (given a nice barrel and a few hand tools) and is every bit a good cooker as the WSM.

The Cadillacs of drums - the Gateways and the Hunsakers (not dissing other mfgs- just don't know them off the top of my head- apologies) are the UDS's better looking cousins- I would love to own either.
The pbc is a fine cooker- you will see threads where a guy got his pbc and has not touched any of his other cookers for months...and it goes the other way too. People are like that.

Whatever your choice, you will not be let down. Get the one that will meet your needs.

Do any of you guys hang butts at all on the PBC or do you use the grate for the complete cook?

I've seen them hung for parts of the cook. Make sure you use more than one hook.

jklich said:

Do any of you guys hang butts at all on the PBC or do you use the grate for the complete cook?

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I hung four of them with the intent of finishing two in the oven but that was just so I could do 4 at once .

Try wrapping in butchers paper instead of foil. Also if you do use foil don't add beef broth or any liquid to the foil before you wrap. That's what changes it from brisket to pot roast.

Also. Do a search in the bar at the bottom of the page for Bludawgs KISS method.

Monkey Uncle said:

Pharp - I'd like to pick your brain a little more on the hanging brisket cook.

The PBC guy claims to be able to cook a 16 lb brisket to an internal temp of 200F in only six hours. Obviously the PBC cooks hotter than a typical smoker, and he is wrapping it when it gets to the stall point. Wrapping will speed up cooking due to lack of evaporation, and will also keep the brisket moist despite the high temp. But the wrapped briskets I've eaten, while still pretty darn good, just weren't what I'm after. A wrapped brisket is basically a smoked pot roast.

So my questions regarding your unwrapped, hanging brisket in the PBC:
1) What final temp did you achieve?
2) How long did it take?
3) And most importantly, was it moist and tender with fantastic bark on the outside?

Thanks much for your help.

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Howdy. I don't want to come off as too much of an expert, I normally wrap. I have on a few occasions just let it go the whole time unwrapped. I have modified my PBC with a top damper and I use a digital thermometer. I cook at 300. A normal brisket cook for me is usually around 5 hours (2.5 hours unwrapped, 2.5 wrapped). When I didn't wrap them I think it took around 7 hours (usually have an initial weight of 12-14 with a pretty aggressive trim) and I cook the point and the flat separately with the point getting an extra hour.
I don't really ever look at the temp too closely but usually mine are done between 206-212. I remember the unwrapped ones finished at a slightly lower temp (since they had a longer total cook time). I would say 205 ish would be in the ball park.

I was pleased with the result, but 75% of the time I cook brisket I am practicing for a comp so I wrap and trim more than you normally would.

I think it is definitely worth a shot for you to try!