Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[ssv3]

I'll be durned. I've always sorta scoffed at resting too long but I'll make sure i factor it in next time!

Def factor in the rest time as well. Also, can't specify enough resting "tightly" wrapped in n foil after venting. If you're going to be resting it in a cooler wrap the wrapped brisket in an old towel. I don't go overboard with throwing bunch of towels in there either but just one towel.

Took me a while to figure out the key to an amazing brisket was the proper rest.

 

[Haole Pete]

My 'rest' technique is to put it in a crockpot with lid and stick in a cooler. Sorta a poor-man's cambrio.

I should still wrap it in foil?

 

[AClarke44]

My 'rest' technique is to put it in a crockpot with lid and stick in a cooler. Sorta a poor-man's cambrio.

I should still wrap it in foil?

Skip the crock pot and yes wrap it in foil...then stick it in the cooler. No sense getting the crock pot dirty just for a rest.....not to mention your brisket will rest properly without the crockpot.....:becky:

 

[SDAR]

A rest is important and I always rest for as long as possible. Wet aging is also very important in my opinion. 30 days for me.

 

[16Adams]

PBC Brisket. Opened about 10-15 minutes then covered back up for guessing hour+. During rest Juices tripled at least

 

[bobspencer123]

Hello all, new member and brand new owner of a PBC.

I did two cooks this past weekend.

First was Huli Huli chicken which I cooked according to a YouTube video posted on "Smoky Ribs BBQ & Southern Cuisine" channel.

Second was pulled pork which I hung until 165 then wrapped with foil and used a little beer and put on grate until ~200 and then wrapped in towel and put in cooler for 2 hours.

Both of these turned out absolutely fabulous. My cook times were pretty long, around 5 hours for the chicken and about 10 hours for the pulled pork. My PBC was running about an average of 260 for the cooks which from what I can gather is a little lower than most. I started the PBC with a chimney but I'm guessing I either didn't do "enough" briquets or let them sit long enough to get the higher temp cook. I did use Kingsford original blue. For the pulled pork I believe the 260 was actually a really good cook temp. For the chicken, if I had my druthers, I would probably have wanted it around 275.

Can't wait to keep cookin' on this thing and to learn a bunch from all of you guys / gals.

 

[Big-Joe]

^^^^ Y'all are nailin these briskets!

 

[BigKing]

Stoked on all the new owners! I think this is around the time of my one-year anniversary with the PBC so hopefully I can cook this weekend.

Couple of things from the last few pages:

-Great looking cooks!

-I kind of scoffed at the holding thing but I'm a firm believer now. Minimum 1 hour for both butts and brisket. If nobody else is with me and starving, I'll ride it as long as possible.

-Regarding lower temps, I screwed up the counting of briquettes into the chimney...think I only did 30 instead of 40. I put the lid on immediately and don't let the temp rise too much. I don't monitor the cooker temp, but everything was taking much longer than usual. Assumed that fewer coals at the start = lower temps. Can't confirm but the one time I did significantly less than the 40 coals, it didn't run as hot. I also let the chimney go for 12 minutes as opposed to 15.

 

[sniperfx]

pit barrels a great cookers... Try doing whole duck. savage!

 

[Servo]

-Regarding lower temps, I screwed up the counting of briquettes into the chimney...think I only did 30 instead of 40. I put the lid on immediately and don't let the temp rise too much. I don't monitor the cooker temp, but everything was taking much longer than usual. Assumed that fewer coals at the start = lower temps. Can't confirm but the one time I did significantly less than the 40 coals, it didn't run as hot. I also let the chimney go for 12 minutes as opposed to 15.

Newbie here that learned everything about PBC from this thread. Want to note on the briquette counting that if you use the short chimney to light, it is at 100% capacity with 40 coals, you really can't fit anymore than that. So, if you get the short chimney you don't really have to count anymore IMO.

This is the one I'm referring to: [ame]https://www.amazon.com/Weber-7447-Compact-Rapidfire-Chimney/dp/B009IH0ICG[/ame]

As far as how long to let the chimney go, I find I've been having to go longer than 15 minutes (every time) to get the briquettes to look like what Andrew had shown in his pics of what it should look like when you dump it in. I find needing 20 minutes for the top layer of coals to have some gray and maybe that also affects temps.

Thanks

 

[agensop]

thats the exact one i use ... works great. i orginally bought it with a jumbo joe. now its my pbc or kettle coal lighter.

Newbie here that learned everything about PBC from this thread. Want to note on the briquette counting that if you use the short chimney to light, it is at 100% capacity with 40 coals, you really can't fit anymore than that. So, if you get the short chimney you don't really have to count anymore IMO.

This is the one I'm referring to: https://www.amazon.com/Weber-7447-Compact-Rapidfire-Chimney/dp/B009IH0ICG

As far as how long to let the chimney go, I find I've been having to go longer than 15 minutes (every time) to get the briquettes to look like what Andrew had shown in his pics of what it should look like when you dump it in. I find needing 20 minutes for the top layer of coals to have some gray and maybe that also affects temps.

Thanks

 

[BigKing]

Newbie here that learned everything about PBC from this thread. Want to note on the briquette counting that if you use the short chimney to light, it is at 100% capacity with 40 coals, you really can't fit anymore than that. So, if you get the short chimney you don't really have to count anymore IMO.

This is the one I'm referring to: https://www.amazon.com/Weber-7447-Compact-Rapidfire-Chimney/dp/B009IH0ICG

As far as how long to let the chimney go, I find I've been having to go longer than 15 minutes (every time) to get the briquettes to look like what Andrew had shown in his pics of what it should look like when you dump it in. I find needing 20 minutes for the top layer of coals to have some gray and maybe that also affects temps.

Thanks

I had already purchased the full size chimney so I just keep going with the counting. I pour the coals in the basket outside the barrel and then put it in the cooker so I avoid the issue with the full chimney leading to missing the coal basket when pouring them in. In hindsight, I wish I would have bought the smaller one but oh well. It's not a big deal except when I look up to watch a girl walk by and jump ahead ten coals hahaha.

Customer service told me to do 12 minutes due to my location so I've just stuck with it :thumb:

God damn coming back in to this thread and looking at all this brisket!

 

[bobspencer123]

Hello all, new member and brand new owner of a PBC.

I did two cooks this past weekend.

First was Huli Huli chicken which I cooked according to a YouTube video posted on "Smoky Ribs BBQ & Southern Cuisine" channel.

Second was pulled pork which I hung until 165 then wrapped with foil and used a little beer and put on grate until ~200 and then wrapped in towel and put in cooler for 2 hours.

Both of these turned out absolutely fabulous. My cook times were pretty long, around 5 hours for the chicken and about 10 hours for the pulled pork. My PBC was running about an average of 260 for the cooks which from what I can gather is a little lower than most. I started the PBC with a chimney but I'm guessing I either didn't do "enough" briquets or let them sit long enough to get the higher temp cook. I did use Kingsford original blue. For the pulled pork I believe the 260 was actually a really good cook temp. For the chicken, if I had my druthers, I would probably have wanted it around 275.

Can't wait to keep cookin' on this thing and to learn a bunch from all of you guys / gals.

Apparently I didn't link my pictures correctly ... take 2

 

[SunnyInTexas]

What was your start up procedure? How many coals did you light, when did you pour them over, how long did you let them burn before you put the meat in, etc.....Also, is your vent cap set at 1/4 open??

If your food tasted like charcoal its usually from a "dirty" burn meaning your fire wasn't hot enough. Could also explain the low temp from the start. Its important to get a good fire in the PBC from the beginning.....

I filled the basket level and then removed 36 coals to a chimney. I lit it using two paper towels with a bit of cooking oil and then waited 15 minutes before dumping them on to the rest of the coals. Then I immediately inserted rebar and put the lid on. Temp quickly rose to 320, and after 20 minutes or so was at 300. Then I dropped in a handful of wood chips and hung the meat, and temp dropped to 220. It then eventually rose to 250 over about an hour and stayed around there for the rest of the cook.

I think the vent is roughly 1/4 open, but may be a little less. I'm around 500 ft. I only used 36 coals in the chimney because it was a hot day and in the sun, but maybe I should have gone with the recommended 40 coals. Also, I dumped the chimney after 15 minutes because the directions make a big point of that. However I'm not sure they were ready. They were still totally black on top, and even the bottom coals were not completely ashed over.

I'm planning to do another cook Saturday so any tips are appreciated. Thinking about a brisket, but not sure yet.

 

[glacerais]

Nice! I want one!

 

[BigKing]

Apparently I didn't link my pictures correctly ... take 2

Pork looks killer!

10 hours in the cooker is a lot. You mean 10 hours from entering the cooker until pulled, adding in hold time or simply ten hours of cooking in the PBC.

I find the heat generated after 8 hours or so starts to get pretty weak.

Regardless, looks real nice. Way better than my first cook on the PBC :thumb:

 

[AClarke44]

I filled the basket level and then removed 36 coals to a chimney. I lit it using two paper towels with a bit of cooking oil and then waited 15 minutes before dumping them on to the rest of the coals. Then I immediately inserted rebar and put the lid on. Temp quickly rose to 320, and after 20 minutes or so was at 300. Then I dropped in a handful of wood chips and hung the meat, and temp dropped to 220. It then eventually rose to 250 over about an hour and stayed around there for the rest of the cook.

I think the vent is roughly 1/4 open, but may be a little less. I'm around 500 ft. I only used 36 coals in the chimney because it was a hot day and in the sun, but maybe I should have gone with the recommended 40 coals. Also, I dumped the chimney after 15 minutes because the directions make a big point of that. However I'm not sure they were ready. They were still totally black on top, and even the bottom coals were not completely ashed over.

I'm planning to do another cook Saturday so any tips are appreciated. Thinking about a brisket, but not sure yet.

A few tips:
1. When lighting your chimney let the coals all get glowing hot before you dump them. They way you lit your chimney I would think it would take longer than 15 min to get them red hot.
2. Light 40 coals next time and see what happens with temp. You may also need to very very slightly tap your vent cap a tad more open...
3. Probably the most important tip to help prevent the charcoal taste.....Put your wood in the unlit coals and dump the hot coals over it. Don't put the wood in after. Or don't use any wood at all. You'll get a smoked flavor just from the juices hitting the coals while your food is cooking...
4. After dumping the hot coals in, put your lid on and wait at least 15 min before putting any food in. You don't have to be super fast getting the lid on but I would have the lid on within about 1 min of dumping the coals in...

Try that out and see how it goes...:thumb:

 

[SunnyInTexas]

A few tips
...
Try that out and see how it goes...:thumb:

Thanks a lot Andrew! I'll try those suggestions and see how it goes. I didn't think my chimney was ready to dump after 15 minutes, but the directions were pretty adamant to go only 13-15 minutes, so I did anyway. Wonder why the directions are written like that. Seems odd...

 

[bobspencer123]

Pork looks killer!

10 hours in the cooker is a lot. You mean 10 hours from entering the cooker until pulled, adding in hold time or simply ten hours of cooking in the PBC.

I find the heat generated after 8 hours or so starts to get pretty weak.

Regardless, looks real nice. Way better than my first cook on the PBC :thumb:

About 9-10 hours total time in the cooker and then 2 more wrapped and put in cooler.

I had to add about 15 briquettes at the maybe 7 hours mark. I was cooking pretty low, like around ~250 the whole time.

If I remember correctly it took a long a time from 145 or so to 165 before I took it off hooks and foiled it and put on grate.

After reading some comments on this thread I'm thinking that my starting coals in my chimney were on the low side, I did not count them, but my guess is I was closer to 30 instead of 40. I can't argue with the results though. I'm going to do a brisket this weekend and may try to add a few more coals to the chimney for the initial start up.

 

[AClarke44]

Thanks a lot Andrew! I'll try those suggestions and see how it goes. I didn't think my chimney was ready to dump after 15 minutes, but the directions were pretty adamant to go only 13-15 minutes, so I did anyway. Wonder why the directions are written like that. Seems odd...

I believe the directions are the basic setup just to get you started. I think they also think most people will leave the lid off the cooker longer than it probably should be. My experience has always been to get the coals as hot as possible to help prevent dirty smoke.....