Bob C Cue
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Ran across this review on Amazon of the PBC that helps explain why it cooks such great food. Some of the features apply to a UDS and other smokers, but combined they seem to make for one of the best and simplest smokers around. Thoughts anyone?
Here is the actual review: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A6Q8883L100T9/ref=pdp_new_read_full_review_link?ie=UTF8&page=1&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R2PADNO46MCQAV"]Amazon.com: Profile For darwin: Reviews@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OsRQ9PTXL.@@AMEPARAM@@41OsRQ9PTXL[/ame]
I've owned the PBC for about 8 months and am thoroughly impressed with how well it cooks, how quickly it cooks, and how simple it is to use. Here is why I think the PBC is just different than anything else out there:
1) Meat hangs vertically
a. Surface crisps/crusts/barks more evenly and interior meat heats more evenly as there are no hot conduction points caused by meat lying on a grate
b. Meat is basted by juices that are sweat out of the meat. These juices have to flow down the meat and naturally baste it. Because the meat is vertical, the juice has more distance to travel before dropping off the meat and hence vertical does a better job of basting.
2) Burnt offerings
a. The juices that drop off of the meat and onto the coals provide smoke and flavor... a LOT of smoke and flavor
3) Cooker temp starts at 400 then dies down below to 300 within a half hour and then to 250 to 290 within 60 to 80 minutes (typical)
a. This initial high heat flash evaporates liquid on and in the surface of the meat. This causes any skin on the meat to crisp and skinless meat to form bark. This may reduce the amount of stall time the meat experiences if not crutched due to reduction in surface moisture.
b. It caramelizes rubs with sugar... but!... the PBC doesn't stay hot enough long enough to burn the sugar in the rub.. The PBC likes its caramel brown, not black=)
4) Cooker is made of thin uninsulated metal
a. The outside air interacting with the drum causes the drum metal to be cooler than the air inside the drum. Guess what? Air in the drum that contacts the interior metal surface is cooled... causing condensation! The liquid water then evaporates again inside the drum as it builds up on the surface of the drum, becomes an insulator, and heats up... This basically "builds up" moisture in the drum over time (Think of the glass door of a sauna / steam room and how water condensates on them as an example). This condensation in my opinion is the #1 reason the cooker stays so humid and the PBC does not need or benefit from a water pan.
5) Cooker is a 30 gallon drum with 4 airflow exit holes close to evenly distributed around the drum upper edge... and the lid seals air tight
a. The PBC is the perfect height and width and the holes for exit airflow are spaced on either side of the PBC in such a way that air heated at the bottom convects to the top with little turbulence. This practically eliminates any coldspot draft effect and causes even airflow throughout the drum, causing even heating / cooking.
You might see one or more of these features in other grills and smokers, but you won't find ALL of them. This is why the PBC is awesome.
1) Meat hangs vertically
a. Surface crisps/crusts/barks more evenly and interior meat heats more evenly as there are no hot conduction points caused by meat lying on a grate
b. Meat is basted by juices that are sweat out of the meat. These juices have to flow down the meat and naturally baste it. Because the meat is vertical, the juice has more distance to travel before dropping off the meat and hence vertical does a better job of basting.
2) Burnt offerings
a. The juices that drop off of the meat and onto the coals provide smoke and flavor... a LOT of smoke and flavor
3) Cooker temp starts at 400 then dies down below to 300 within a half hour and then to 250 to 290 within 60 to 80 minutes (typical)
a. This initial high heat flash evaporates liquid on and in the surface of the meat. This causes any skin on the meat to crisp and skinless meat to form bark. This may reduce the amount of stall time the meat experiences if not crutched due to reduction in surface moisture.
b. It caramelizes rubs with sugar... but!... the PBC doesn't stay hot enough long enough to burn the sugar in the rub.. The PBC likes its caramel brown, not black=)
4) Cooker is made of thin uninsulated metal
a. The outside air interacting with the drum causes the drum metal to be cooler than the air inside the drum. Guess what? Air in the drum that contacts the interior metal surface is cooled... causing condensation! The liquid water then evaporates again inside the drum as it builds up on the surface of the drum, becomes an insulator, and heats up... This basically "builds up" moisture in the drum over time (Think of the glass door of a sauna / steam room and how water condensates on them as an example). This condensation in my opinion is the #1 reason the cooker stays so humid and the PBC does not need or benefit from a water pan.
5) Cooker is a 30 gallon drum with 4 airflow exit holes close to evenly distributed around the drum upper edge... and the lid seals air tight
a. The PBC is the perfect height and width and the holes for exit airflow are spaced on either side of the PBC in such a way that air heated at the bottom convects to the top with little turbulence. This practically eliminates any coldspot draft effect and causes even airflow throughout the drum, causing even heating / cooking.
You might see one or more of these features in other grills and smokers, but you won't find ALL of them. This is why the PBC is awesome.
Here is the actual review: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A6Q8883L100T9/ref=pdp_new_read_full_review_link?ie=UTF8&page=1&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R2PADNO46MCQAV"]Amazon.com: Profile For darwin: Reviews@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OsRQ9PTXL.@@AMEPARAM@@41OsRQ9PTXL[/ame]
