Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread
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Diotima
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- Oct 14, 2016
- Location
- Cali desert
Big cook tonight!
4 half chickens, 3 tri-tips and two eye of round roasts. We are seriously loving the PBC. We don't like wasting coals, which is why we cook so much at a time. I freeze a bunch of it, and then we have easy meals for 2-3 weeks.
Hubs and I have discovered that he likes his tri-tip more done than I do, so we're trying to hit the sweet spot where the ends are done to his liking, and the middle is right for me.
I tried sauce on two of the chicken halves for the last 15 mins. We like that a lot! Forgot to crack the lid, though, so the skin wasn't as crispy as it might have been. Still darn good, though!
4 half chickens, 3 tri-tips and two eye of round roasts. We are seriously loving the PBC. We don't like wasting coals, which is why we cook so much at a time. I freeze a bunch of it, and then we have easy meals for 2-3 weeks.
Hubs and I have discovered that he likes his tri-tip more done than I do, so we're trying to hit the sweet spot where the ends are done to his liking, and the middle is right for me.
I tried sauce on two of the chicken halves for the last 15 mins. We like that a lot! Forgot to crack the lid, though, so the skin wasn't as crispy as it might have been. Still darn good, though!
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I knew you didn't but just in case someone else reading took it the wrong way and thanks for the kind words brother. :thumb:
And I agree that Noah puts a lot thought and work in before products go live so hopefully a video is in the works to make sure we're not missing anything.
I've been using my charcoal starter to sear after souse vide.
So I'm itching to try fried chicken on the PBC. So two recipes on this forum. Dredge batter or just coat in corn starch?
Pros cons? Also seems I think they removed one of the rebar to keep it T 350ish.
So I'm itching to try fried chicken on the PBC. So two recipes on this forum. Dredge batter or just coat in corn starch?
Pros cons? Also seems I think they removed one of the rebar to keep it T 350ish.
D&D BBQ
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- Feb 3, 2016
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- Redding, CA
Not sure if anybody has seen this yet but Amazing Ribs has a new page up on the PBC with some new tips and tricks. Their review and this thread (thanks Andrew!) convinced me to get a PBC, which I consider the best BBQ pit I've ever had. If you're a lurker thinking of buying a PBC, read this. And if you're a PBC veteran, you still might find this useful.
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tec...gn=Dec+14+2016+Smoke+Signals&utm_medium=email
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tec...gn=Dec+14+2016+Smoke+Signals&utm_medium=email
Thanks for posting! Good article with some interesting tips. Their suggestions for lighting are different from any I've seen before. Worth a try if your not happy with your current method.
D&D BBQ
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- Feb 3, 2016
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- Redding, CA
Yeah, I'm bookmarking this article to refer back to. The 15/10/10 lighting method sounds like the fix for those that get too much of a "charcoal taste" and/or have a hard time with maintaining temps as this method allows more coals to be lit before the meat dripping puts some out. I don't have those problems so I just light my mini-Weber chimney for 15 minutes, dump in the coals, and then wait 5 minutes with the lid off before I put the meat on. Works for me but YMMV... I like their idea of using a 10 gallon galvanized steel can and lower the charcoal basket in it to snuff out and save on charcoal. Will probably have to steal that as I use magnets and foil currently. This method sounds better and cleaner too.
Hey D&D, just pull the coal basket and put it in your Akorn with the intake and exhaust closed.....I put my coal basket in my kettle to snuff put coals. Only takes about 45 minutes to have them all extinguished.
I used Andrew's post as a guide but had some differences. I used bone-in and Boneless thighs. Mixed up some buttermilk with Louisiana hot sauce and dumped it over the thighs in a zip lock bag to sit overnight. Then I dredged in some Sylvia's fried chicken mix. I was afraid the coating would stick to the grate so I used hooks for the first 40 minutes or so then moved to the grate for the last 30 minutes or so. I have no idea the cooker temps but I had the rebars out the whole time and the lid cracked the last 20 minutes. I still had some stick to the grate a bit but the flavor was outstanding. Let us know how yours turns out.
Diotima
Well-known member
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- Oct 14, 2016
- Location
- Cali desert
The last several chickens we've smoked, I saved and froze the carcasses. Pulled 'em out today and made a pretty amazing, Southwestern-inspired chicken soup. I say Southwestern because in addition to the regular stuff one finds in chicken soup, I added a can of green chiles and a jar of green tomatillo salsa.
Nice hit of smoke, a touch of heat from the chiles, and a superb chicken flavor. Not sure I'll be able to make plain ol' chicken soup any more.
Nice hit of smoke, a touch of heat from the chiles, and a superb chicken flavor. Not sure I'll be able to make plain ol' chicken soup any more.
Sounds good! It sounds like something 16Adams would try!The last several chickens we've smoked, I saved and froze the carcasses. Pulled 'em out today and made a pretty amazing, Southwestern-inspired chicken soup. I say Southwestern because in addition to the regular stuff one finds in chicken soup, I added a can of green chiles and a jar of green tomatillo salsa.
Nice hit of smoke, a touch of heat from the chiles, and a superb chicken flavor. Not sure I'll be able to make plain ol' chicken soup any more.
luberconn
Full Fledged Farker
prime rib in the barrel. it turned out pretty good. my new phone cam is bad. it's really bad in lower light. this looks much more red in person.
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Priestmode
Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2016
- Location
- Bellingh...
18# Brisket
Am I crazy to try a 18# prime costco brisket this weekend? This will be my first brisket on the pbc. This was the smallest one that costco had and at 2.69/lb for prime i couldnt pass it up. Any tips/suggestions would be most appreciated!
As a bonus, here's a pic of beef back ribs that i did last night along with some chickens. Absolutely delicious!
Am I crazy to try a 18# prime costco brisket this weekend? This will be my first brisket on the pbc. This was the smallest one that costco had and at 2.69/lb for prime i couldnt pass it up. Any tips/suggestions would be most appreciated!
As a bonus, here's a pic of beef back ribs that i did last night along with some chickens. Absolutely delicious!
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BigKing
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- Jun 27, 2016
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- Belmont...
Beef short rib and chicken drumstick cook this weekend. Turned out well. Tossed a few brats in there for a quick lunch while the ribs were going. Not pictured but man, brats are always amazing out of the barrel.
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You're never crazy to cook a brisket! The only caveat is related to time. It is very sketchy predicting how long the brisket will take to probe tender. You don't want to try and time it to be done just in time for an important holiday dinner. The good news is that it will keep hot for hours if wrapped up and placed in a cooler with some towels for insulation. Read some of the fantastic brisket advice on the forum and you will not go far wrong! Good luck!
northeast bbqer
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- MA
TealStBBQKing
Full Fledged Farker
I tried the 15/10/10 lighting method tonight and here are my brief thoughts. First, I used the half basket and fire bricks and I think that played a big part in my results. I didn't monitor or even check temperature because I was just doing an hour for smoking nuts (Steven Raichlen recipe; pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and oh my god they are great!) I put hickory chips on after the 10minutes of lid back on and the chips basically went up in flames. I think leaving the lid off really brought up the temperature of the Pit and the lid on didn't bring the temperature back down quickly. I'd say it wasn't till 30 minutes after I put the lid on that the chips smoked instead of ignighting. As for the food my tester was my wife who typically doesn't love the smoke off the PBC but she loved the nuts and the smoke so I think the 15/10/10 might be great for what it was developed for. In summary probably better for a full basket cook or maybe do a 15/10/20-30 to significantly cool the charcoal if you're adding wood.
