Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[AClarke44]

Man that all looks great Jbkilg2! :thumb:

 

[Jbkilg2]

Man that all looks great Jbkilg2! :thumb:

Thanks, Andrew! I did get some crispy ends on the babyback tip closest to the coals. I think I opened the lid too much checking the shorties.

Jon

 

[MJB0301]

Spareribs trimmed down and rib tips, waiting on coals to be ready

 

[ssv3]

Ok guys,

Had to run out yesterday but here are some pics. People loved the pork burnt ends. It other than a 30 mins temp dip and a 30 temp rise it cruised at 255 most all of the 8 hours. My firebox wasn't packed full and I'd say about 3/4 full.

So yes, you can make it run lower temps but will I do it again? Probably not because it drags your cook out with lower temps and ultimately it's the same product at the end.

Sliced the butt first then chopped to cubes for the burnt ends. Crazy moist

PS

and Andrew, it burnt very evenly

 

[ssv3]

Fellows it's been a few months since I was last on the Brethern. This was not due to choice but rather work and life events. With that said, I'm glad to see the PBS thread is alive and well and sitting on the first page. It remains one of my very favorite posts ever. Glad to be back and hope to be cooking and posting again real soon.

Brother SGH,

Great to see you back.

 

[AClarke44]

Great stuff Sako! I think your deflector helped keep the temps more stable than with my experience. I also wasn't trying to go low. I was just seeing how it would burn using the minion method like a UDS.

I'm gonna have to try pork burned ends though! Those look delicious! :hungry:

 

[MJB0301]

Into the cooler for a 30 min rest....

 

[AClarke44]

Nice MJB!

 

[MJB0301]

Not too shabby....

 

[TheMoth]

I mentioned that I used Bob C Que's trick for raising the coal basket onto the grate then placing a second grate on the rebar. However, with the ash catcher the coal basket is too high for the rebar to fit. I had been putting the rebar on the side of the drum but putting a grate on 2 round bars is not a good idea :shocked:

I now use a couple of pieces of square tube that I picked up from Lowes and cut to size. Here is a pic of this in use, along with me stealing another idea from Bob, grilled romaine lettuce.

 

[SGH]

Brother SGH,

Great to see you back.

Thank you brother. And it's great having the time to be back on. Now I need to get to cooking!

 

[Thingfish]

Did a Sunday cook to provide some meals this week. I didn't do the best job documenting, but here are the results!

A chicken rubbed with Oak Ridge Gamebird & Chicken.

A couple of fatties and a small pork butt. One fatty is JD Hot with Everglades rub. The other is a JD Maple with Sucklebusters. The butt was rubbed in yellow mustard and Plowboys Yardbird.

The fatties and a few ABTs.

Pulled the butt at 175 F and let it rest. It sliced up nicely.

Almost forgot to get a sammich pic (the other one was already down the hatch!

I will eat well this week and hope you all do the same.

 

[SGH]

Thingfish
Brother, I would make an a$$ out of myself eating that. Awesome job.

 

[ssv3]

Great stuff Sako! I think your deflector helped keep the temps more stable than with my experience. I also wasn't trying to go low. I was just seeing how it would burn using the minion method like a UDS.

I'm gonna have to try pork burned ends though! Those look delicious! :hungry:

Thanks Andrew! The deflector and minion method worked like a charm. Thinking back, the flavor profile was more like a kettle indirect or uds style since the drippings didn't hit the coals. More of a true indirect. As for as moisture, bark etc goes, it was the same. I actually prefer the true PBC taste better.

 

[Bob C Cue]

I mentioned that I used Bob C Que's trick for raising the coal basket onto the grate then placing a second grate on the rebar. However, with the ash catcher the coal basket is too high for the rebar to fit. I had been putting the rebar on the side of the drum but putting a grate on 2 round bars is not a good idea :shocked:

I now use a couple of pieces of square tube that I picked up from Lowes and cut to size. Here is a pic of this in use, along with me stealing another idea from Bob, grilled romaine lettuce.

Great idea and by using the bars the food is a bit further from the coals which should make it easier to keep down any flair ups. I was thinking about trying the grate from my 22inch Weber Kettle and placing it on top of the barrel.

 

[SeaSalted]

Another brisket on the PBC. This was a 14.6 lb choice from Sam's, which was no where as marbled as the last I had. After trimming this brisket weighed in at about 12 1/2 pounds.

Used the 2:1 pepper and salt rub and placed on the PBC at 0430 @ 275 degrees anticipating a 10 to 11 hour cook. At just about 5 1/2 hours it entered the stall at a much lower temperature than anticipated ~ 142 in the thickest part of the flat. The stall lasted almost 2 hours before the temp started rising again. The color and bark texture I was looking for came in at just about 160 at which time I wrapped in foil, although I must admit that I considered just letting it hang naked.

The temp came up to ~187 and seemed to be staying there and much to my surprise it jumped to 203 when I turned my back. I probed the brisket and found it probe tender in "most" areas, but learned later that I should have left it on for another 1/2 to 1 hour as it didn't turn out as tender as I had hoped. Total cook time was about 8 1/2 hours. I must admit that I panicked when seeing the 203 and pulled it prematurely.

I would rate this one "pretty good" as compared to the last one which was out of the park. I was real happy with the bark and smoke ring nevertheless.

 

[Thingfish]

Oh, I'm pretty sure I could "choke down" a pound ... or two. Each one is different. You'll settle in on how best to handle them on your terms!

 

[BBQuest]

Howdy folks! Sure making my mouth water looking at these pics. I'll try to return the favor :grin:

Had another great weekend of PBC fun. Fed friends Sat and coworkers today (Monday).

Did a small pork shoulder with Head Country rub:

Grabbed some meat claws from Bass Pro. I used KC Masterpiece for my coworkers although my wife and I really love Blues Hog. This photo is zoom worthy for the moisture Bone fell right away.

Also served some cedar plank salmon to some very picky eaters and they loved the PBC Beef&Game rub with butter combination

The shoulder took 6 hours (great smoke ring and tender) and the salmon took an hour to pass the "flakiness" test.

 

[dcimike125]

So it's been a while since I stopped by here. I've been really busy on the house and the heat & humidity took its toll on me.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235468

I took Sunday afternoon off and fired up the PBC since I was missing it.

I marinated a pork loin in bourbon, stuffed it with bacon and topped it with an bourbon/maple glaze over a bacon wrap.

I followed that up with some fresh sea scallops:

Yum!

 

[Jbkilg2]

I got a little too aggressive on my spatchcock cuts so I just halved it and took the legs off. A short bath in some orange chili ponzu and lime juice was followed with some yardbird rub.