Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[talls6]

Hello Everyone,
So after waiting a whole 42 hours after receiving my PBC, I fired it up on Saturday with 3 Loin Back Ribs. Used my standard rub so I could compare flavor to my "old way". Lit 39 coals and 1 piece of Apple wood. This PBC is all that its made out to be. At least for my first 2 cooks. Held 291 degrees at rebar height for 3.5 hours with no input from me. At the 3 hours mark I sauced the ribs and put them back on for 30 minutes to set the sauce. Outstanding flavor, texture and taste. Sunday I did 1/4 chicken. Was skeptical that I could hang 1/4 pieces but it worked. just under 2 hours later they were done. I had to foil the chicken as a neighbor's gas grill died and I offered to let him use my PBC to cook his meal. The twenty minutes made the skin go soft and the meat tighten up but the flavor was good. All in all my first impression of the PBC is that it is Awesome. I can't wait to fire it up again. Hopefully the pictures will do it justice.

 

[Stlsportster]

Great cooks guys. Love to see all the new PBC guys putting out good food!

 

[Bob C Cue]

I give talls6 a 10 for that cook! Nice work.

 

[Haole Pete]

Man, all kinds of good-looking food happening!


My Weekend of Meat, Day 2:

BRISKET!!!

I got just the point end :-D at the butcher. The plan is to cook it, then cut it in half. One half will be cubed and made into burnt ends while the other half rests.

Will also toss on a fatty later for tomorrow's breakfast and some asparagus and garlic for dinner.

Below is the obligatory 'before' photo, along with a shot of some of the mesquite twigs that I'll be adding to the charcoal throughout the day. One nice thing about living in Tucson is that my yard is full of mesquite trees, and even on living trees you can find dead branches to snap off and use...

Start time is 9:15. (That's not of interest to you guys -- that's for my own reference in case the beer fairies mess with my memory banks today...)

 

[Bob C Cue]

Put the two 6 lb butts on at 8 am on the dot. Internal temp is about 158. Not going to wrap until it reaches about 170 or so to get a nice bark. I may actually be able to rest them in a cooler for a few hours, which I do not normally get to do with big meats since they normally take longer than I anticipate to finish. I checked the PBC temp (which I seldom do) after about an hour and it was running at around 315. I think my bottom vent may be open a bit too much which may cause it to run hot early on and then drop later on for the longer cooks. I closed the vent up a bit and will see how it goes. Btw, had my first beer at 11 am, which is 4 pm GMC/UTC and is very close to 5 pm!

 

[Haole Pete]

Put the two 6 lb butts on at 8 am on the dot. Internal temp is about 158. Not going to wrap until it reaches about 170 or so to get a nice bark. I may actually be able to rest them in a cooler for a few hours, which I do not normally get to do with big meats since they normally take longer than I anticipate to finish. I checked the PBC temp (which I seldom do) after about an hour and it was running at around 315. I think my bottom vent may be open a bit too much which may cause it to run hot early on and then drop later on for the longer cooks. I closed the vent up a bit and will see how it goes. Btw, had my first beer at 11 am, which is 4 pm GMC/UTC and is very close to 5 pm!

Well THERE's the info we were waiting for! :thumb:

 

[Haole Pete]

I just finished brunch (breakfast burritos with leftover Ugly Steak and spicy salsa verde).

Gotta quick run to the store for some supplies and then it should be Beer-Thirty Tucson time...

 

[luberconn]

I just finished brunch (breakfast burritos with leftover Ugly Steak and spicy salsa verde).

Gotta quick run to the store for some supplies and then it should be Beer-Thirty Tucson time...

how do you like your BSK? i saw one posted somewhat locally on Craigslist for $300. i've been thinking about it for a while now. the hitch mount intrigues me and they seem to get good reviews.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Well THERE's the info we were waiting for! :thumb:

It is indeed beer thirty! Good luck with your brisket point!

 

[Bob C Cue]

Sorry guys. Having trouble with imgur.com. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Happy 4th to all of you.

And to you as well!

 

[Haole Pete]

how do you like your BSK? i saw one posted somewhat locally on Craigslist for $300. i've been thinking about it for a while now. the hitch mount intrigues me and they seem to get good reviews.

I love it! The ability to hold temps anywhere between 225-800 is great. Just be sure to get a BGE ceramic platesetter (it fits) to do true indirect cooking.

At $300, I'd grab it. I paid $600 for mine way back when, and new ones are $900 :shocked: There's a video on this link that has more on what is now the "Broil King Keg"

(EDIT: Forgot link! It truly IS Beer-Thirty!) https://www.bbqguys.com/broil-king/keg-5000-steel-charcoal-kamado-grill-gray

I'd opine more, but I don't want to get kicked off the PBC thread.. :icon_shy

 

[Haole Pete]

It is indeed beer thirty! Good luck with your brisket point!

Back to PBC stuff: 3-ish hours in and about to foil the point. Having a Red Hook Bicoastal IPA currently....

Already smoked the fatty (Jimmy Dean's regular in a ho-made rib rub) so that's ready for tomorrow morning.

I'll snap a pic (I'm sure you're shocked :roll prior to foiling....

 

[Bob C Cue]

I love it! The ability to hold temps anywhere between 225-800 is great. Just be sure to get a BGE ceramic platesetter (it fits) to do true indirect cooking.

At $300, I'd grab it. I paid $600 for mine way back when, and new ones are $900 :shocked: There's a video on this link that has more on what is now the "Broil King Keg"

(EDIT: Forgot link! It truly IS Beer-Thirty!) https://www.bbqguys.com/broil-king/keg-5000-steel-charcoal-kamado-grill-gray

I'd opine more, but I don't want to get kicked off the PBC thread.. :icon_shy

It is indeed a fine line!:wink:

 

[Haole Pete]

PBC Stuff! PBC Stuff!!! :focus:

Just got done foiling. A little Red Hook American Pale Ale in the foil for the point, and the rest for meeeeeeeee!

(Hey, I outweigh it by a factor of ~30....)

So far so good!

Now it's pool time. Something about standing over a grill when it's 108 makes it feel hot outside...

 

[Bob C Cue]

PBC Stuff! PBC Stuff!!! :focus:

Just got done foiling. A little Red Hook American Pale Ale in the foil for the point, and the rest for meeeeeeeee!

(Hey, I outweigh it by a factor of ~30....)

So far so good!

Now it's pool time. Something about standing over a grill when it's 108 makes it feel hot outside...

That looks on point for sure! Looking forward to the money shot!

 

[Haole Pete]

That looks on point for sure! Looking forward to the money shot!

Here's some (premature) money shots:

I pulled the brisket at about 200-205. Let it sit about 15 min to cool off enough to cut in half and cube the "burnt ends" half.

(And I mighta ate about a half-pound for, umm, "quality control". HOLY SCHMOLY is this GOOOOOOOOD! The third photo may become my screensaver :wink

Covered the BE's with a roughly 50-50 mix of PBC Beef & Game and brown sugar, and threw in a aluminum-foil pan with the dippings.


Almost felt bad about making burnt ends out of half of it, as the meat on its own is SO GOOD.

So half is resting, and the BE's are back on the PBC with some more mesquite branches....

 

[Bob C Cue]

Put the butts in the cooler at 3:30 pm. Probe tender and temps ran from 201 to about 210. Will try to post pics of the finished product.

 

[Haole Pete]

Cool! Looking forward to butt pix....

 

[lunchman]

Wow, does that look good! And yeah, that pic would make a heck of a nice screensaver. (Though you'd probably be hungry all the time looking at it).

 

[Haole Pete]

Alright, last post of the day -- about to go into a meat coma... :faint2:

This was without a doubt the best brisket I've ever made, and maybe the best meat I've made. No exaggeration. My only 'regret' is not leaving enough of the brisket naked -- the burnt ends were really really good, but not NEARLY as good as the plain old sliced point.

A coupla words on the roasted garlic: I got a Crate&Barrel cast-iron garlic roaster as a gift a while back. It rules -- just lop the top of a bulb or two, drizzle w/ olive oil and salt, and stick on the grill for 90 min or so. The garlic comes out soft and spreadable, with a little bit of sweetness. My kids eat it straight :tape:

Some final pix of today's efforts: