Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[BigKing]

The site somehow made it to the blocked site list here at my work but apparently I am back in business! Going to have to read through a lot of posts and check out the pictures.

Birthday came and went with the girlfriend getting me the turkey hanger, official cover, ash pan and a pizza stone. The ash pan is definitely worth it and saves me a little bit of foil hassle.

As for new items cooked on it, I did a 8 pound pork belly from Costco that was absolutely amazing. Had trouble getting it off of the grate since it was so tender it was falling apart on me. First thing that didn't hold up as well as leftovers...think I need to be delicate when reheating.

Cool to see more new PBC'ers in here. Good luck with your first cooks. This thing is so easy that you'll be pretty locked in after 3-4 cooks of any particular meat.

Anybody do pizza on these bad boys? Any tips?

 

[James32246]

Some PBC folks have gotten crispy rib ends (especially longer ribs) so here's something to consider from the folks that do a crap load of ribs per day @ chicken in a barrel

Was reading old posts. Does anyone remember what was in the pic? I'd be open to ideas.

 

[AClarke44]

Was reading old posts. Does anyone remember what was in the pic? I'd be open to ideas.

Nope and quite honestly it probably would not have helped you one bit. If you read the first 100 pages (or more) of this thread you'll see a lot of meaningless posts from that username.

My advice......read, listen to, seek advice from people who actually OWN a PBC......You'll probably be more successful that way. That's not to imply that you cant get useful tips from people who don't own a PBC, but there are some unique things that if you havent cooked on one you wouldn't know or understsnd....

 

[James32246]

Yeah just thought it might be something interesting on avoiding the burnt end of the ribs. Out of the 3 I cooked sat 1 end was pretty toasted. Not a big deal but figured I'd see. Thanks Clark you seem to always chime in when you can.

 

[AClarke44]

No problem...If you are burning the last part of your ribs, you are probably putting the ribs in when the coals are too hot. Especially if you use the lighter fluid method. Or you are causing the PBC to spike by opening the lid too often....No matter which lighting method you use, make sure your temps have settled at 300° or less. If you dont monitor temps, make sure you give the PBC enough time to settle. If you use the lighter fluid method I'd wait a good 30 minutes before putting the ribs in.....If using the chimney method wait at least 20......

 

[James32246]

Good to know. I'll give it more time to settle next time.

 

[Stlsportster]

You can also put the hook in one rib lower and get them off the coals a little too.

 

[James32246]

I'll give that a try as well. Thanks sportster

 

[Wombat]

These little barrels are amazing bits of gear. We were given the use of a couple for the Royal as we had flown in from Australia with a bag of clothes and a thermapen. We took them out of the boxes and fired them up and managed to destroy some chicken and ribs pretty quickly. A better read of the instructions and a little coaching from people who used them previously saw us cooking some great product on them. Mind you none of our team had ever used a drum smoker before the Royal so it was a sharp learning curve. The end result for us was top international team and a very respectable 71st out of 557 teams. I can't tell you how impressed we were with these little barrels going up against the Gateways, Jambos and other magnificent cookers. They have won me over

 

[AClarke44]

These little barrels are amazing bits of gear. We were given the use of a couple for the Royal as we had flown in from Australia with a bag of clothes and a thermapen. We took them out of the boxes and fired them up and managed to destroy some chicken and ribs pretty quickly. A better read of the instructions and a little coaching from people who used them previously saw us cooking some great product on them. Mind you none of our team had ever used a drum smoker before the Royal so it was a sharp learning curve. The end result for us was top international team and a very respectable 71st out of 557 teams. I can't tell you how impressed we were with these little barrels going up against the Gateways, Jambos and other magnificent cookers. They have won me over

Nice post Wombat. Good to hear that your team is kicking tail with the PBC at the comps!

Also, welcome! I look forward to hearing about more of your PBC cooks! :thumb:

 

[jefferson10940]

Yeah just thought it might be something interesting on avoiding the burnt end of the ribs. Out of the 3 I cooked sat 1 end was pretty toasted. Not a big deal but figured I'd see. Thanks Clark you seem to always chime in when you can.

Like they said, hang hook a rib lower but I also have been trimming off the last rib on my last few cooks. This way I am sure it is not too close to basket.

 

[Magichelmt]

My wife wants me to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving. I have never done one. I'm going to check out the PBC website, but does anyone have a recommendation?

 

[AClarke44]

My wife wants me to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving. I have never done one. I'm going to check out the PBC website, but does anyone have a recommendation?

Cook it similar to how you would chicken, just longer You can even split it in half if you want....though most don't. I'd invest in the PBC turkey hanger. If you monitor temps in the PBC run it about 300-325°. You can raise the temps to about 350-375° for about the last 30 min to crisp up the skin. Keep a probe in the breast and its done at 165°. Double check the temp in several spots in the breasts to verify. Use a milder wood, wood chunks. That shouod get you started. Im sure others will provide more tips too.

 

[luberconn]

i just got my PBC yesterday that bad part is they delivered it to my neighbors house, and i had to carry that dang box to my house. it was heavy.

i'm going to do my first cook on it this evening. just going to halve a couple of chickens and use the all purpose rub included. i'm pretty excited for this. i've been using a self-made WSM mini for the past year, so it will be nice to do full length racks of ribs, and a full brisket in the future.

i also got the ash pan and turkey holder. i think those are must have items.

 

[wormy]

i just got my PBC yesterday that bad part is they delivered it to my neighbors house, and i had to carry that dang box to my house. it was heavy.

i'm going to do my first cook on it this evening. just going to halve a couple of chickens and use the all purpose rub included. i'm pretty excited for this. i've been using a self-made WSM mini for the past year, so it will be nice to do full length racks of ribs, and a full brisket in the future.

i also got the ash pan and turkey holder. i think those are must have items.

Congrats on the new PBC. Welcome to the Club!

 

[luberconn]

My wife wants me to smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving. I have never done one. I'm going to check out the PBC website, but does anyone have a recommendation?

oh man, once you smoke a turkey, it's hard to go back to any other method. i just got my PBC yesterday so i can't comment on tips for that. but i've watched a few vids on youtube. you can choose to brine your bird or not brine it. you can also inject, or not inject. as mentioned, look for 165 internal temp and let it rest for a bit before hacking it up check out some of the vids on youtube when you get a chance, lots of good info there.

 

[luberconn]

Congrats on the new PBC. Welcome to the Club!

thanks wormy! i'm looking forward to this journey with the PBC.

 

[AClarke44]

you can choose to brine your bird or not brine it. you can also inject, or not inject.

Yes! Make sure you do one or the other for sure..

 

[luberconn]

it's really great to see this thread so active. this may become my new hangout

 

[luberconn]

quick noob question. doing a chicken cook this evening and they seem to take about 2hrs. do i still need to do a full basket? or can i get away with a half full basket? i read that full basket will keep temp 8-10hrs. i only need 2hrs