Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[ssv3]

Now that's cool Sako! So there's enough clearance to spin a basket with the rods in......wow!

Thanks Andrew!

Yep! Just like I pictured it would. You can easily spin and hang at the same time.

Here's what it looks like now. I like it.:thumb: It's cruising about 325 ish with intake and the Weber exhaust pinwheel barely cracked.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Thanks Andrew!

Yep! Just like I pictured it would. You can easily spin and hang at the same time.

Here's what it looks like now. I like it.:thumb: It's cruising about 325 ish with intake and the Weber exhaust pinwheel barely cracked.

Smells great from here!

 

[PUNKem733]

WOW!! That looks beyond incredible.:clap2: I'm gonna get the rotisserie, but where did you get that basket?

Pork belly will probably be my first cook on it. How long did it take to cook? Was it wrapped? You also hung food, where they ribs?

 

[Westx]

Good day PBC lovers. Had my cooker since Christmas and just joined the forum last week. Have read every page in this post and have found some helpful suggestions. I have been cooking q for about 40 years since I went to work at a bbq restaurant at age 15. Like some others here I am retired AF so my barrel has the AF logo. I am really loving my PBC and it's ease of use and the food it turns out. I do track temps with a Maverick so I can fine tune things so that one day I won't have to be so anal about that phase of the cook. I started out following all Noah's directions but temps were way to high for my liking with the vent 1/4 open so ended up with it just hanging like it was shipped. I really liked the ideal that folks here posted of only using half a basket for short cooks like chicken so I made myself a divider out of a piece of steel plate I had bought at HD and bent the top to form a U-shaped lip to hang over the basket handle. Trying it today with a couple halved birds. Following temps everything seems to be working great. Temps without meat in were a little high but once I hung the bird they are holding steady around 265 degrees. Will try some more pics later if this one worked. Thanks to everyone for their very informative post. I have learned a lot about the PBC over the last week of reading.

 

[Twisted T's Q]

awesome idea ^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Rich M]

Thats just plain ole awesome Sako! :clap:

Thanks for sharing.

Must have been very tasty...

 

[Westx]

Birds all done. Cracked the lid last 20 minutes but skin still didn't get the way I want, plus I used a bit to much rub this time. Earl Campbell's all purpose. A lttle to hot for the females in the house. Need to try something else next time. Sorry about the pic. Tablet must have been shaking a bit. The chicken itself was very moist with great smoke flavor. Used a few small pieces of pecan under the lit coals. As for temp contcontrol I followed Andrews method and beside high initial temps once the birds were in temp held steady around 265 degrees. Cook time was 2 hrs 10 minutes. Wife said to heck with the way she cooks it in the oven.


OK do you keep pictures from turning side ways?

 

[16Adams]

iPhone or IPad hold the home button at 6 oclock for sideways photos. Hold the home button horizontal with home button at 3oclock for normal pictures

Nice cook !!!

 

[AClarke44]

Try giving it a little longer to crisp the skin. Like 30 min at ramped up temps. Also too much rub could possibly aid in preventing crispy skin in my opinion. Just realize it's not gonna be as crispy as fried chicken but definitely not rubbery. Also some people use a tad bit of baking powder to make crispy skin too....

Your chicken looks great though!

 

[Westx]

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

 

[ssv3]

Barely getting a chance to post but here's the belly. Came out amazing!!

Made a bahn mi style sandwich

 

[Westx]

Looks yummy.

 

[AClarke44]

I agree! Nice looking sandwich Sako! :thumb:

 

[Bob C Cue]

Pork Steaks on the PBC.

Pork steaks are a long-time St. Louis favorite. I believe today is the first time I've ever made them on the PBC.

Started with 4 pretty good sized steaks. Applied Yard Bird rub and placed on the grate with a full basket of KBB and a couple of Apple wood chuncks. Cooked the for about 90 minutes until the got a pretty nice char. Then placed them in a pan with a mixture of Maull's BBQ sauce (another St. Louis favorite), Sweet Baby Rays and some Zwickel Beer from Urban Chestnut (a fine local micro brewery). Put the pan back on the grate and plan to cook them for about 90 minutes.

Will try to post a picture of the final product. Looking forward to some nice tender fall of the bone pork steaks.

 

[Johnd170]

Second Cook: Pork Shoulder

Short version: now that I have the PBC I wanted to try something I have never tried before. Pulled Pork. Went with a picnic cut instead of the butt. Trimmed and dry brined overnight. Memphis Dust (Meathead's recipe). 3.25 hanging. About just over an hour wrapped in foil. Thought that was too quick but my thermometer read 202 is some spots and 190 in others. Rest for about two hours. Just pulled it apart and the wife was picking and said 'you don't need sauce, that would ruin this!' FTW!!!
https://m.imgur.com/a/Rtpzg

 

[Bob C Cue]

Short version: now that I have the PBC I wanted to try something I have never tried before. Pulled Pork. Went with a picnic cut instead of the butt. Trimmed and dry brined overnight. Memphis Dust (Meathead's recipe). 3.25 hanging. About just over an hour wrapped in foil. Thought that was too quick but my thermometer read 202 is some spots and 190 in others. Rest for about two hours. Just pulled it apart and the wife was picking and said 'you don't need sauce, that would ruin this!' FTW!!!
https://m.imgur.com/a/Rtpzg

Great to hear. Happy wife happy life.

 

[Westx]

That looks great.

 

[Westx]

Bob C Cue did you use shoulder steaks or ham steaks?

 

[AClarke44]

Nice job on the picnic John! Looks great! :thumb:

 

[Bob C Cue]

Bob C Cue did you use shoulder steaks or ham steaks?

Shoulder. Turned out pretty good but not as moist as I like. I think next time I will keep the rebar in while cooking them in the sauce. Fire was a bit hotter than I expected and the sauce burned around the edge of the pan a bit.