Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[Haole Pete]

Talls6 - Good cook all the way around!


The ABT picture reminds me of a party we once had where I had the Keg loaded up like that with ABT's. Went inside to download some beer and came back to an ENORMOUS greasefire. :shocked:

All of em burnt to hell.... :mad2:

 

[talls6]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Haole Pete - I never even considered they would start a fire like that?!? I think the distance between the grate and the coal on the PBC might save them from totally torching?
Darren

 

[talls6]

I am sure people have done this, so I am asking if anyone has mounted a dial Thermometer to their PBC, where did you put it and does it work? I don't have the funds right now for a digital probe unit and would like to monitor temps. I know People will say you don't need to but I sorta like to track things for future cooks and for knowing what each coal load temps out at.
Thanks for any input.
Darren

 

[unixadm]

I am sure people have done this, so I am asking if anyone has mounted a dial Thermometer to their PBC, where did you put it and does it work? I don't have the funds right now for a digital probe unit and would like to monitor temps. I know People will say you don't need to but I sorta like to track things for future cooks and for knowing what each coal load temps out at.
Thanks for any input.
Darren

Personally, I don't like not having a temperature view of what's going on. I graphed my first few cooks with a Tappecue and found quite a bit of variability. While I do intend to run my PBC "electronicless", I do want to understand how different fuel loads work, how different types of fuels produce different results and how ambient temperatures affect the cook. Lastly, determining how long it will run on a fuel load is nice, since I hate to waste fuel for no good reason.

I installed my thermometer right below the "PBC" data plate. I first used a thermometer which had a 2.5" stem, but found it made getting the charcoal basket with the ash pan into the cooker a bit more difficult. I replaced it last night with this model:

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ACJOG2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]

It has a much shorter stem (1-3/8") and fixed that issue.

It's cheap and all you need is a center punch, a drill, some drill bits and a wrench to install it. Takes five minutes at the most.

The picture below is of the first thermometer I installed, but like I said, I replaced it last night with the model I linked to on Amazon.

 

[talls6]

Thanks Unixadm,
You mounted yours exactly where I would have mounted mine. I have a 2.5" stem dial leftover from my Mini WSM build. Didn't even think about getting the charcoal basket in and out. Thanks for the heads up.
Darren

 

[Kanco Connection]

Good info, Unixadm. I've been trying to ignore my urge to install a thermometer but I share your POV on why I want one. Sometimes I go thermometerless, but more often I rig some wired probes in there, and it's a little bit of a pain. I think I'm going to break down and install one.

 

[BigKing]

I never use a thermo for the cooker temp but I just like the way that looks on the PBC and would be interested to know the actual temp without fussing with probes and whatnot. I just might break down and install one.

As for grease fires, I've only had one but it was spectacular. While taking a brat off the grill, it ruptured and sent a large stream of juices right into the fire. Flames shot up high enough to go over the grate. I had a butt going at the same time so I was a little worried but everything still turned out okay in the end. Just sent a lot of smoke billowing down the street.

 

[Haole Pete]

Dammit! See what you guys made me do?!! :wink:

I grabbed one of these BBQ thermometers off the shelf at Lowe's a couple days ago but forced myself to put it back. However, I succumbed today and bought TWO :shocked:

$8.99 each. Fairly low-profile: Only need a 3/8" hole to mount and will intrude about an inch in. Attaches with a wing nut on the back.

Why two? Gonna mount one mid-barrel where the meat hangs, and another up near the rebar for monitoring rotisserie temps once that gets here. (Or heck, I could mount it to the roti-ring itself...)

I SWEAR I'll be looking at temperature for amusement only, and not trying to micro-manage it. Honest....

 

[th3r00st3r]

Hey guys, it's been a while. No excuses.

Wife picked me up a new cutting board. I like it.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[JAGX123]

Hey guys, it's been a while. No excuses.

Wife picked me up a new cutting board. I like it.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

That's a nice looking cutting board :thumb:

 

[pharp]

Did a little PBC Brisket practice cook today...I was pretty happy!

 

[Kikaida]

Did you hang it or use the grate? Looks great

 

[pharp]

Did you hang it or use the grate? Looks great

Used the grate. Fat side down for two hours then wrapped with fat side up for 2:15 more! Thanks!

 

[Haole Pete]

Brisket "practice"?

I think you got it.... :thumb:

 

[pharp]

Brisket "practice"?

I think you got it.... :thumb:

Thank you! When I cook them at home I seem to do pretty well, but then at a comps I seem to find a way to screw it up in a different way each time...so I have adopted the "practice til you can't get it wrong" philosophy.

 

[Haole Pete]

I just got done doing my first 'practice' on my new rotisserie -- a $50 OnlyFire unit from Amazon. Tried some brats prior to doing a pork loin for Meat Sunday.

Went with the same setup Sako has -- the roti ring with a Weber Jumbo Joe lid. All of it fits fine -- definitely not an airtight seal between the PBC and the roti, but I don't see that as a problem just yet. The basket I bought clears the lid so I can run covered. :thumb:

My problem was that I didn't get hot enough temps for the brats. Ended up pulling them off and finishing on the gasser. That said, I was only running a half-basket of charcoal, so I can try a bigger fire tomorrow for the pork loin.

I'm going to mount my dial thermometers to the PBC and roti prior to the cook tomorrow to get some temperature feedback as I cook. May also move the charcoal basket up if the temps still run too low.

 

[Kanco Connection]

Did a little PBC Brisket practice cook today...I was pretty happy!

True beauty there. Nice work, Pharp.

 

[Kanco Connection]

HP, solid work there. I'm jealous of your little Arizona grilling oasis.

I just did a little head to head yesterday. St. Louis styles cooked on PBC vs cooked on the kettle. Sorry no pics--kind of a frantic busy day. Kettle did well but PBC ribs were the unanimous winner in our house. I love cooking on this thing.

 

[SeaSalted]

I just got done doing my first 'practice' on my new rotisserie -- a $50 OnlyFire unit from Amazon. Tried some brats prior to doing a pork loin for Meat Sunday.

Went with the same setup Sako has -- the roti ring with a Weber Jumbo Joe lid. All of it fits fine -- definitely not an airtight seal between the PBC and the roti, but I don't see that as a problem just yet. The basket I bought clears the lid so I can run covered. :thumb:

My problem was that I didn't get hot enough temps for the brats. Ended up pulling them off and finishing on the gasser. That said, I was only running a half-basket of charcoal, so I can try a bigger fire tomorrow for the pork loin.

I'm going to mount my dial thermometers to the PBC and roti prior to the cook tomorrow to get some temperature feedback as I cook. May also move the charcoal basket up if the temps still run too low.

Nice set-up, thanks for sharing your ideas and mods. Good looking Q too!

 

[PNWSmoke]

Made some ABTs for the first time ever. Started simple, cream cheese, mozzarella, a bit of PBC chicken/pork rub, in jalepeños, and a few poblanos for those that dislike any spiciness.

These were my first, I was surprised at how mellow the cored and smoked jalepeños were. Some were completely mild.

I don't think my probe was placed properly on this one, it kept reading low, but these were completely done in an hour and a half, and I probably could have taken them off 15 minutes earlier. The peppers were quite soft. I imagine it was the grease drippings keeping temps up. There was a lot of white smoke coming out of the barrel after the first 45 minutes. So delicious though. I wish the grate could hold more!