Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

skwerlee said:
When using the chimney method how many lit coals do yall start with? AmazingRibs says light 40 coals in chimney for 15 minutes, then place with unlit coals in PBC with lid off and rebar out for 10 minutes, then lid on and rebar out for additional 10 minutes, then begin cook.
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I found using 35-36 KBB gets me 275-280F; I dump coal, scatter it somewhat evenly in the basket, put the lid on with the rebar out. Check it in 10 min, it's usually ready, but it has taken a few extra minutes a couple times

That's what works for me, YMMV....

Cheers
Vam
 
AClarke44 said:
It's somewhat different depending on your area and the humidity. But in my opinion if you do the above you will start with very high temperatures in the PBC. You can start with 40 briquettes I usually do 38. Light them until they are all pretty much glowing red. Then dump over the unlit. Place the rebar in and put the lid on. Wait a minimum of 15-20 minutes before you put any meat in. This method will get you in the 275-300° cooking range from the beginning assuming your intake is set propperly.

If you leave the lid off at any point (even in the beginning) for more than about 1 minute, your temperature will sky rocket.
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My thoughts exactly. The way amazing ribs.com describes their method the temps would be out of control. I'm at less than 500 foot elevation so I'm going to use the method you described.
 
Easter Beef ribs
IMG_5401.jpg
 
Really nice! Beef ribs are coming to my PBC in the very near future....and yours just made me hungry :mrgreen:
 
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This photo taken at Just over 8 hours on basket load of lump coals. Pretty amazing how far a single basket can go. I'm guessing at least 2 hours of cooking heat remains. Should've made meat loaf cupcakes. PBC purring like an oven
 
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BBQuest said:
PBC fanatic here! Got a 6lb brisket on now...first cook for 2017 too :)

Please indulge me...there are tons of threads covering this all around the internet but I'm so proud to say after a year of ownership i finally figured out how to get the perfect internal temp on my PBC

The troubleshooting steps were essentially: 1) lid seals tightly to cooker 2) never adjusted vent (<500 ft elevation) 3) fill basket remove exactly 40 briquets for chimney 4)15/10/10 = 15min chimney burn then drop them into PBC basket, 10min burn no lid or rebar, 10min lid on no rebar 5) here's the huge lesson learned: i slowly turned the vent side a quarter turn AWAY from the direction of the breeze outside (with meat hanging...do this at your own risk lol but the PBC just slides perfectly on its stand)and the internal temp went from 220 to 290 and never left the 280-290 range for the rest of the cook!!!

So now my PBC is finally set it and forget it! Previously i kept watching the temp on my Maverick etc and offsetting then closing the lid which as any PBC owner knows causes huge temperature spikes and drops.

So happy now and hopefully this will help future PBC brethren
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I've been keeping an eye on wind direction and vent opening today and here's what I've found so far. With the 1/4 turn away from wind direction I'm 10° hotter than into the wind. I haven't tried a full 1/2 turn yet but I don't plan on trying that either
 
Just Johnny after looking up some recipes/ideas for cooking a leg of lamb for Easter. Got my PBC a year ago and and done chicken, brisket, lamb, ham, beef tenderloin and ribs. Lots of ribs. Gotta say took the lamb to 130 and it still felt under done.
 
Hoochiemama said:
Just Johnny after looking up some recipes/ideas for cooking a leg of lamb for Easter. Got my PBC a year ago and and done chicken, brisket, lamb, ham, beef tenderloin and ribs. Lots of ribs. Gotta say took the lamb to 130 and it still felt under done.
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Did you pull and serve at 130*? I've done bone in and boneless legs of lamb on the PBC a lot and what I do is take it to 135* +/-, wrap and rest for a bit. It then carries over to 140-145 then I carve and serve. It's a larger cut of meat so it can handle getting up to 145 in carryover kind of live prime ribs/standing rib roast and still be med rare.
 
Thanks. Maybe I'll hang it for a little longer. Beef tenderloin was pulled at 120 and it was money. There is just something about the PBC that works.
 
Hello. First post here and wanted to say thanks to all who contribute. Also new to the smoking world.

I got the PBC a few weeks ago and have done some ribs and a boston butt. A friend's parents gave me a brisket to cook next. I have a few questions/issues with the brisket.

First, I looked at label and it is USDA Select. I would assume most people here would choose Choice or Prime? Is the Select going to cook up nicely or be dry and tough? Should I do anything different or special?

Second, it has been in the freezer for a while and looks a bit frosty. Will that have much effect and how long do you generally take to thaw out a 12lb brisket?

On another note, I recall seeing places to buy butcher paper on here, but don't recall where and what size and price is normal. Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks for the help.
 
Select will be fine. Obviously less marbling and less fat content but plenty of people cooking good select briskets here.

If the brisket was cryovaced it will be fine. If it has a littlest freezer burn it can lose some flavor but isn't harmful to eat. Just trim off any grey looking or obviously burned parts. Safest way to defrost is in the fridge for a few days.

Butcher paper you can get cheap here. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/24-x-700-40-peach-treated-butcher-paper-roll/43324PEA.html
 
I'll second what Sportster said. I've cooked selects before and they come out fine. Only reason I don't anymore because we get prime packers for cheap here and sometimes there is no price difference between both so it's a no brainer.

Here's a small select I cooked on the PBC some time back. Every bit tender and moist

Hung it along with a turkey

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Vammy said:
I found using 35-36 KBB gets me 275-280F; I dump coal, scatter it somewhat evenly in the basket, put the lid on with the rebar out. Check it in 10 min, it's usually ready, but it has taken a few extra minutes a couple times

That's what works for me, YMMV....

Cheers
Vam
Click to expand...

Vammy does it stay at 275-280? If so for how long? I had hot temp issues so Pit Barrel rep told me to start with 30 KBB and drop them over the unlit coals at 13 mins. I did that and started very low...like 190-210 - I cracked the lid a bit just to get the fire going a little and when it got to about 225 i secured lid ...and then sure enough over time went well above 300 (without me removing the lid).

Someone on here had an idea that sounded intriguing...dump lit coals next to all the unlit coals instead of on top and mimic the minion method that way?
 
fou said:
On another note, I recall seeing places to buy butcher paper on here, but don't recall where and what size and price is normal. Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

fou - Gordon Food Service stocks the butcher paper I use. They should have a presence in your area.

Edit - 9312 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922
 
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stickbit said:
Vammy does it stay at 275-280? If so for how long? I had hot temp issues so Pit Barrel rep told me to start with 30 KBB and drop them over the unlit coals at 13 mins. I did that and started very low...like 190-210 - I cracked the lid a bit just to get the fire going a little and when it got to about 225 i secured lid ...and then sure enough over time went well above 300 (without me removing the lid).

Someone on here had an idea that sounded intriguing...dump lit coals next to all the unlit coals instead of on top and mimic the minion method that way?
Click to expand...

30 coals is probably to few to start with. Most people use closer to 40. Believe it or not just 2 extra coals makes about a 25-30° temp difference. I always start with 36-38 coals.

The true minion method doesn't work very well from my experience. However I have been able to use a slight variation of it successfully. Basically instead of scattering the coals all over the unlit I will make somewhat of a large bowl shape slightly off center away from the intake. Then pour the lit in the bowl. I make it off center away from the intake because the fire will burn towards the intake.
 
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AClarke44 said:
30 coals is probably to few to start with. Most people use closer to 40. Believe it or not just 2 extra coals makes about a 25-30° temp difference. I always start with 36-38 coals.
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Andrew this may seem like a silly question, but do you actually count briquettes each time? I just eyeball it. My temps are usually low...seems to like to run at 250 no matter how many I dump in.....wonder if I should count just to see if I get a difference in temp.
 
Stlsportster said:
Andrew this may seem like a silly question, but do you actually count briquettes each time? I just eyeball it. My temps are usually low...seems to like to run at 250 no matter how many I dump in.....wonder if I should count just to see if I get a difference in temp.
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I count them. Although if I just filled up the weber mini chimney to full capacity I'd be darn close every time. I must say though that I've been harassed a few times about the fact I count coals as if it's time consuming or something.

250° is s good temp though unless you are just trying to finish faster. There are those who believe 250° is THE temp to shoot for. If you are wanting to see if it'll go higher eyeball it like you usually do, then count how many coals are in there. If you have less than about 36 add more and see of there's a difference in temps. You could also very slightly bump your intake just a tad more open and see if your temps rise some. Just don't do both at the same time or you may raise the temp too much.
 
I count out the 40 as well. Could eyeball it at this point but counting them out two at a time doesn't take very long.

I spoke with the PBC folks here in California before my first cook. She knew my location and told me to pour the lit coals in the basket after 12 minutes. So that's what I did and that's what I've been doing ever since.
 
I also count coals. Particularly until you get it dialed in where you want. 40 coals gets me running cold - about 212 degrees. Still working on startup procedure.

Just don't forget to monitor the barrel if you crack the lid, unless you're making your own charcoal. :wink:
 
I've been counting 37 coals lately and getting 250-265 range. Next cook I'm going to bump it to 38 and see what happens. Counting them takes 30-60seconds max for me I'd say
 
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