pbc rib help

I would say for the first cook skip the 3-2-1 method as the PBC turns out great ribs without the foil. My cooks for ribs on the PBC typically take about 4 hours. Good luck and let us know how they turn out. I am sure some other PBC owners will be along soon with more help.

No need to do 3-2-1 with the PBC. Just hang and check at the 3.5 hr mark. It's usually 3.5 hrs for baby backs, 4 hours for St. Louis, maybe a hair longer for full spares.

The PBC is the Ronco of smokers. Just set it and forget it. Just follow Noah's directions here

I am a old 3-2-1 rib man to. Do a couple of rib cooks per Noah's instructions and 3-2-1 might be a thing of the pass.

Hang em.

Yah, even if you used the 3-2-1 you would have to cut the time to more of a 2-1-1 or something.....3/2/1 is usually associated with a pit temp of 225 and the PBC runs closer to 285.

My method is to just run em hanging till done per instructions on PBC. If I wanna play at different temps or methods I use a different cooker.

Cutting the racks in half is a good idea. I did my first set of ribs on the PBC this last weekend, and the racks were too long and the bottom was resting in the coal basket.

Take a look at the thickness of the racks. I did three full racks and one rack was thicker than the other two. The two racks were done in 3 hours, the third thicker rack needed another half hour.

The ribs turned out great - just hang 'em and let 'em cook!

Hang 'em high! I cut spareribs in half and hang them in my homemade PBC clone. I have 3 UDS's but find myself using the little drum the most.

I love the PBC ribs as is but my wife and some family members prefer the super tender ribs that only wrapping achieves. For babybacks I usually do 2.5 hours naked, 1 hour foiled on the grate and they are close to done. You can sauce them if you'd like or just set on the racks for a bit to crisp up the bark. With st louis I usually go 3-1 and then whatever they need to finish, naked on the rack. Usually this results in super tender ribs that are almost falling off the bone but not flobbity.

Just a word of warning that you have probably already heard before. No two pieces of meat and no two cooks are exactly the same. I have had times for whatever reason that the same initial start up procedure as always yielded a much faster cook, as well as times where I had the PBC pretty full and it took much longer for the ribs to get where I want them. 3-2-1, 2-2-1, 3-1 etc. are all just guidelines in a perfect world but you have to use your judgement.

It's interesting, to me anyway, that folks will cook all kinds of expensive cuts of meat caveman style, but get squeamish about a cheap rib tip or two touching the coals.

Plus one above on utilizing the grate if you want to glaze them. Anymore my wife want ribs to taste like those served in Asian restaurants- sweet sticky gooey and spicy. This is easily achieved with the PBC. You can also start out wrapped in a small amount of liquid on the grate 1 hour remove wrap and finish cooking meat side up while glazing-on the grate. This goes quick as you're brazing the ribs the first hour.

Experiment and have fun. Own the barrel.

Bottom line IMHO if we're not cooking with wood in an offset or direct wood coals, we may be turning out fantastic food, but we are pretend Pitmasters

just hang them till you get the proper bend. 2.5 hours for me for baby backs and 4.5 for spares anything longer you are risking having ribs in the fire. if you want to foil them because you just gotta, i would go 2 hours hanging and 1 hours foil for baby backs and 3.5 hours spares and 1 hour or so wrapped. you will be suprised how great they come out with no foil though. super tender. too long they will get mushy and when you try to unhook them they will break. (ive had to get ribs from the fire because ive cooked them too long several times)