It literally sells itself. I just introduce people to the PBC/J. All of my friends, family, acquaintances ( I have a bunch) have a PBC. :becky: Then it trickles to their circles. They all love it.
Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter AClarke44
- Start date
Stlsportster
Babbling Farker
And how many Hunsakers have you sold?
This is the PBC thread so it's conflict of interest. I plead the fifffffff!! :biggrin1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERm_WNxGs1U
Anyone modified the PBC with a hinged lid? Something like this?
<https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/drum-lid-hinge?utm_source=google_shopping&_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAiA1uHSBRBUEiwAkBCtzURaDsvLeSTk2VHSiZf3BH3O3JShglqg2C0ywz08Daj-c_TfoaCO-hoCOQoQAvD_BwE>
<https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/drum-lid-hinge?utm_source=google_shopping&_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAiA1uHSBRBUEiwAkBCtzURaDsvLeSTk2VHSiZf3BH3O3JShglqg2C0ywz08Daj-c_TfoaCO-hoCOQoQAvD_BwE>
Blue Kettle
Full Fledged Farker
Interesting. I guess grease fires do put off a lot of smoke so that makes sense that it would be pretty pronounced.
Blue Kettle
Full Fledged Farker
I just wish I knew someone that had one. Would like to taste a brisket off of one.
Haven't cooked one in the PB for a while but I will do one soon on the PBJ. It's the easiest brisket you've cooked though. Here's an older cook.
Point
Burnt ends and flat
More burnt ends
Blue Kettle
Full Fledged Farker
Looks really good. Super deep smoke ring on that bad boy. And you literally got this just 'set it and forget it?' (i.e. never tried to finesse intake or vents to change the temp? I had seen a youtube where a guy did that).
By the way, have you tried turkey on that PBJ yet? What's the biggest bird you think you could fit on it?
Also, what's the cleanup like? I assume pretty easy? The drippings all cook off rather than end up in a drip pan or the bottom of the barrel right?
(Thanks for answering so many questions by the way, you guys are great)
Stlsportster
Babbling Farker
You can play the PBC however you want. Some just set and forget. Some of us play with vents to get a specific temp range. Food comes out great either way. I like salmon smoked at a lower temp. Light less coals, close the intake a little...runs at 225. Want chicken with crisp skin..open intake, light a few more coals and pull one rebar....runs at 350. Or set it and forget it for ribs, butts, briskets, etc.
Cleanup is easy...get the optional ashpan. Dump the ash. That's it. Other than cleaning the grates like you would in a Weber...nothing else. The drippings burn up in the charcoal. No scraping, scrubbing, washing, spraying, steaming....you get the point.
Thanks! I use mine as it's intended. Load it up with briquettes or lump or mix of both, fire it up, let the dirty smoke clear and hang the meat. I don't play with the intakes or size of the fire but have done in the past just for kicks. On my first PBC (from the Colorado days) I had installed a thermometer but when I bought the enameled PBC I left it stock. Same with the PBJ I like it stock. I used to plug in mavericks, cyberq's etc but unless it's a specialized cook like home cured stuff I don't use them anymore. Just my eyes, my feel and a thermapen for temp reads/poking.
Haven't tried turkey but the PBJ should handle up to a 15-16/lb turkey. The hanging distance in both the PBC and PBJ is the exact same at 21" clearance above the coals. It's just 4.5" narrower than the big brother.
Clean up is a breeze. The PBC or J are the easiest to clean in my current arsenal. Actually ever in any cooker that I've had. Just dump out the coals. If it's something real fatty, I just scrape it off with a wall scraper and comes right off. The burnt ash acts as a litter and soaks up all the grease. I'll highly recommend the ash pan accessory for the easiest clean up.
If you're not cooking for a bunch of folks or have a small family, the PBJ is perfect. It can do a lot for it's size. I loaded it with 6 racks of baby backs for New Years when I took it out of town with me and it cooked them all in less than 4 hours. I'm still impressed by that until today.
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How do you guys check for doneness. For most everything I go by feel but not sure how to do that with the obj since th meat is hanging. And if it's loaded you can't put it all on the grate to finish bc it has greater capacity on the hooks than the grate. What are the beSt solutions yall have come up with?
For common bbq when loaded:
With ribs I never wrap and finish it hanging. Just pull one for a visual and bend test
With chicken I probe the breast and inner thigh for temps or probe to see if juices run clear then I know it's done
I haven't done brisket on the Junior yet but I've done it in the PBC and again left it hanging even after wrap until the end. Of course I've also finished on the PBC grate since it's larger than the Jr.
Pork butts same as briskets so you can finish those on the grate on the Jr since butts are smaller.
D&D BBQ
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2016
- Location
- Redding, CA
For ribs that you don’t wrap, go with what Sako said. For everything else that is temperature dependent, get a Thermapen. Accurate readings in a few seconds and the new models have a lighted display which helps checking at night and good with probing the meat while still hanging. Go to their website and sign up for their emails to let you know of their “open box” sales if you want to wait and save a few bucks. One of the best BBQ investments I ever made!
I have a thermopen but my question is whether it's gonna probe tender up by the hook before it's over cooked below. Just curious about strategizing where to probe to get a feel for those more complicated cuts. I have noticed already things do not cook as evenly as they do on an offset or my open pit. Not a complaint, just something to strategize around.
The beauty of the PBC or JR is it cooks even throughout due to the convection affect. No need to flip, rotate or anything like that. Just probe the thickest part.That's all!
See...That's what I expected but man my chicken yesterday cooked uneven side to side so I had to rotate it, and also top to bottom so I had to flip it more than once.
That's strange. What was your process? Fuel, lighting method etc. Were the chickens different sizes? Where they halved?
One chicken spatchcocked on the grate.
Kingsford.
Lit about 20 and poured on the unlit to make a full charcoal box.
After an hour or so I checked the bottom and one half had cooked and the other has not. Also the top had not cooked at all. It was like I was cooking on an open pit. Completely directional cook and not convectional at all.
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Gotcha! The PB's work at their optimum when you hang the meats. I've hung half or whole chickens with excellent results. I almost exclusively hang in the barrels which allows for free flow especially when fully loaded. I'm thinking with the chicken spatched and the Jr being smaller in diameter, choked the airflow and resulted in uneven, half cooked bird.
How was your fire basket burn pattern? Was it by chance half burnt with less heat underneath the uncooked part of the chikcen?
The burn actually didn't look that uneven, but it seems that would have been the only explanation. I would have expected it to even out really fast regardless, but airflow could have been a prob like you suggested.
