Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[Bob C Cue]

Can I ask.. (please forgive me if this is the wrong thread).. do they come in 30gal and 55gal and is there a large difference in what you can fit in them?

Also.. hanging chicken? I tend to smoke till I can almost pull a leg bone out.. lol.. wouldn't they fall off the hooks, or any meat at that?

Just trying to learn about them

Thanks!

Russ

The Pit Barrel Cooker is a 30 gallon drum. Most home made UDS's are 55 gallon as are the Gateway and Hunsaker commercial smokers. With the ability to hang meat in the PBC you can cook 8 racks of ribs, 8 chicken halves, several butts and couple of brisket.

If you follow the PBC videos you will never have a problem with chicken falling off the hooks. It can happen with ribs if you cook them too long. If you buy the PBC I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice. It's easy to use and hanging meat is a fun way to cook. Best of luck in your search!

 

[fleihr]

sorry no pics but I was finally able to fire up the pbc this weekend and use the new pbc chimney which I love btw along with my new oakridge rubs of hdd and JAh love jerk seasoning. I will start by saying that the flavors of the Jah love on some chicken wings off the pbc were excellent and it will be something I will be doing every time I cook chicken from now on. I threw some burgers on the pbc just because I had some meat left in the fridge and they also came out excellent with a beautiful smoke ring and great flavor. I also did a few full racks of spares (one with tthe hdd) and they also came out wonderful but I think next time I will use a little more hdd as I was kind of scared to use to much but I think I used to little because even though I could taste it I wanted a little more heat. All in all a great cook even though my pbc was running a little hotter than usual in the 310-330 range but I think that worked out well for the chicken wings as the skin was nice and bite through. The ribs were done in about 3 hours with great bite through and not falling off the bone which is how I like it

 

[Stlsportster]

Can I ask.. (please forgive me if this is the wrong thread).. do they come in 30gal and 55gal and is there a large difference in what you can fit in them?

Also.. hanging chicken? I tend to smoke till I can almost pull a leg bone out.. lol.. wouldn't they fall off the hooks, or any meat at that?

Just trying to learn about them

Thanks!

Russ

What Bob said. And also, I only hang bone in chicken halves. Quarters or boneless I use the included grate (or the hinged grate which I ordered and use often). Briskets and bigger cuts there are suggestions to use a double hook method.

The only time I've ever had meat fall I was using skewers to cook wings and they kept sliding off. Then I learned to use a binder clip or a potato chunk at the bottom to keep them from sliding.

 

[Vammy]

What Bob said. And also, I only hang bone in chicken halves. Quarters or boneless I use the included grate (or the hinged grate which I ordered and use often). Briskets and bigger cuts there are suggestions to use a double hook method.

The only time I've ever had meat fall I was using skewers to cook wings and they kept sliding off. Then I learned to use a binder clip or a potato chunk at the bottom to keep them from sliding.

I hung 8 chicken quarters a week or so ago; no issues, but made sure I hooked them through the thigh near the thigh/drum stick connection.

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And, I had my first "dropper" on Friday with a slab of ST Louis porkers near the end...I haven't posted that cook yet, suffice it to say it did NOT go off without a hitch (or 3). Operator error on my part, they were long enough I should have double-hung them, and I thought about it right after I put them on...

Ah well. Live and learn!

 

[skwerlee]

any of yall ever done a fully cured bone in ham on the PBC? If so, what some of cook times and results did you have?

thanks,

 

[Vammy]

any of yall ever done a fully cured bone in ham on the PBC? If so, what some of cook times and results did you have?

thanks,

I haven't, but there is a "how to" video on the PBC website...and it looks pretty simple.

Cheers!

Vam

 

[Gnolydnar]

any of yall ever done a fully cured bone in ham on the PBC? If so, what some of cook times and results did you have?

thanks,

I cooked on for a Christmas party. I used a mustard and brown sugar glaze. It was super tasty. I used two hooks to hold it. It cooked pretty fast. Don't recall the temps but it was done in less than 3 hours. Everyone loved it. We used leftovers for beans and greens.

I was asked to cook another one this weekend but they gave me a fully coooked spiral sliced ham. Not sure how this will go. Might have to grate it.

 

[skwerlee]

I cooked on for a Christmas party. I used a mustard and brown sugar glaze. It was super tasty. I used two hooks to hold it. It cooked pretty fast. Don't recall the temps but it was done in less than 3 hours. Everyone loved it. We used leftovers for beans and greens.

I was asked to cook another one this weekend but they gave me a fully coooked spiral sliced ham. Not sure how this will go. Might have to grate it.

thanks for the info!

 

[Deebo]

For those that wrap their ribs in the PBC, how would you do 6 or 8 slabs and wrap in the pbc? I wrap and have gotten my process down to perfection. The family has now requested that I do some ribs at the next get together so I'm gonna need to do 6 slabs at the very least, probably 8. Any suggestions? Do I wrap and then put them back on the hangers??

 

[fleihr]

I have seen people wrap and then rehang while wrapped. I myself have not wrapped since I have been using the pbc and honestly like them better than wrapped

 

[D&D BBQ]

For those that wrap their ribs in the PBC, how would you do 6 or 8 slabs and wrap in the pbc? I wrap and have gotten my process down to perfection. The family has now requested that I do some ribs at the next get together so I'm gonna need to do 6 slabs at the very least, probably 8. Any suggestions? Do I wrap and then put them back on the hangers??

I have hung and wrapped 6 ribs for competition. 2.5 hours in the smoke, then 1 to 1.5 hours in the Johnny Trigg foil wrap mix (done when your toothpick slides in like buttah). We laid them down on the grate and six is very tight and I bet to get 8 to fit you'll have to split in half 2-3 racks. I don't see the benefit of using a foil wrap mix though if you were to rehang as gravity would just make the mix collect at the bottom and overbraise those ribs while the top gets zilch.
Pro tip we found out the hard way: rotate your wrapped ribs from top to bottom every 30-45 minutes as the bottom ribs get done WAY sooner if you don't. (Makes sense in that they are directly over the coals and shield the slabs that are laying on top of them). Our bottom racks were fall off the bone done but the others on top were perfect after 1.5 hours in the foil.

 

[Twisted T's Q]

any of yall ever done a fully cured bone in ham on the PBC? If so, what some of cook times and results did you have?

thanks,

I have hung and wrapped 6 ribs for competition. 2.5 hours in the smoke, then 1 to 1.5 hours in the Johnny Trigg foil wrap mix (done when your toothpick slides in like buttah). We laid them down on the grate and six is very tight and I bet to get 8 to fit you'll have to split in half 2-3 racks. I don't see the benefit of using a foil wrap mix though if you were to rehang as gravity would just make the mix collect at the bottom and overbraise those ribs while the top gets zilch.
Pro tip we found out the hard way: rotate your wrapped ribs from top to bottom every 30-45 minutes as the bottom ribs get done WAY sooner if you don't. (Makes sense in that they are directly over the coals and shield the slabs that are laying on top of them). Our bottom racks were fall off the bone done but the others on top were perfect after 1.5 hours in the foil.

your stacking these on the grate after you foil them ?

 

[Twisted T's Q]

I have no idea why or how skwerlee's post was added in on the quote lol

 

[D&D BBQ]

your stacking these on the grate after you foil them ?

Yes that's the only way to make them fit and not rehang as I don't think that will work well with a foil mix. Alternatively, for home cooking, you could finish in the oven for 1-1.5 hours in the foil at 275 as it's all the same then. We sauce when tender and let it soak in and keep warm in a hotel pan in the Cambro.
Like I said though, if you stack in the PBC, rotate every 30-45 minutes to get even doneness!

 

[Twisted T's Q]

any time in the heat after foiling to let the sauce set ?

 

[D&D BBQ]

any time in the heat after foiling to let the sauce set ?

Well, I have no set time for that as I try to have the ribs done about 1 hour before turn-in and sitting in the Cambro for the sauce to melt in and set. I've learned the hard way that you just can't go strictly by time as some ribs will take longer than others plus it seems in higher elevations it just takes a bit longer even if our thermometers say we are cooking at the normal 270-280 temperatures. Weird but I'm sure that there's some physical explanation for that... For cooking in the backyard for a group, I'd say 15 minutes in a covered pan should be good enough. Heck, in that setting, I don't foil but just hang til done like in Noah's video. Then I rehang for about 15 to set the sauce. That's plenty good enough without all the hassle of competition foiling (unless I'm practicing or trying out/tweaking the recipe and trying to get feedback on which Ribs came out better. Last time it worked as we got 1st up here in a local contest against a couple of good KCBS teams. The overdone ribs on the bottom we vended and thank the BBQ gods that the racks on top came out perfectly tender after 1.5 hours which left 25 minutes for the sauce to set in).

 

[skwerlee]

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.

 

[pharp]

I use the weber starter and usually 1/2 full puts me at about 250, 3/4 full 275-300, and full usually dials in around 325. Usually takes about 10 minutes to stabilize with the lid back on. I wouldn't let it go for 10 minutes with the lid off after you dump the coals in unless you are wanting to cook really hot.

 

[pharp]

I agree with the finish in the oven idea. I do this all the time and after the wrap it is just heat you need. I would put four racks each (two deep) in full size foil pans. Rotate the ribs and and the pans halfway through your oven cook time to keep the cooking even.

 

[AClarke44]

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.

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.