Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[Kanco Connection]

Here they are! Haven't done 'em before, so we'll see how they turn out in just a short while.

 

[Kanco Connection]

Pretty good for a first try!

 

[AClarke44]

Looks good Kanco!

 

[talls6]

Those look good to me Kanco. Great work.
Darren

 

[Bob C Cue]

Agree Kanco did great. Me hungry!

 

[luberconn]

those look good, but did you seriously only cook 2 ribs? lol

 

[Kanco Connection]

Yeah, embarrassing, right?! Shows how much confidence I had in my maiden voyage with those.

By the way, I was very happy with how I cooked them, and they were good, but they couldn't hold a candle to my PBC pork ribs. I know some guys think beef short ribs are nirvana, but they weren't anywhere close for me. Seemed like they were shy on flavor--I went just straight S/P--maybe need to go for a more complex rub next time.

One other note: I wasn't going to mention this since no pics, but I also cooked some crispy Cornell chicken thighs earlier this week. And...not sure what to say other than they were AMAZING. Some of the best stuff I've ever cooked in my career. The whole family went wild. My son did a happy dance. My daughter was begging me to make more today. My wife's eyes popped out with the first bite. I woke up thinking about that chicken! You gotta try it, if you haven't yet.

 

[Twisted T's Q]

@ kanco connection care to go into more detail about the crispy cornell chicken thighs ?

 

[Kanco Connection]

@ kanco connection care to go into more detail about the crispy cornell chicken thighs ?

Sure thing, Twisted.

Following are 2 links to the preparation. They are pretty much the same, except Meathead uses less salt than the original. I like salt, so I used the original, and I'm glad I did.

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/cornell_chicken.html
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstr...d=C4B9C78129A634C3A5A295EB6039DAAC?sequence=2

The recipe calls for halves or quarters, but I had thighs, so that's what I went with. Doesn't make a difference.

Since the PBC was handling 2 big beef ribs I actually started the thighs on the kettle, but once the beef ribs were off I switched over to the PBC for the 2nd half of the cook just to get a little PBC magic going on.

FYI: I was just messing around with the chickens--had no real expectations. I actually wanted the home run to be the ribs, but nobody even mentioned the ribs once they had the chicken.

And there are other threads on here for Cornell chicken. I like crispy skin--this gets it in spades.

 

[hedge]

those look good, but did you seriously only cook 2 ribs? lol

How much for just one rib?

 

[Kanco Connection]

How much for just one rib?

It was a 2-pack at Costco. Almost 2.5 pounds between the 2. I think they were close to $19--prime.

Makes it all the more head-scratching that they got "eclipsed" (hardy har) big-time by some humble chicken thighs.

 

[dano]

I know this topic has been discussed but with over 450+ pages of thread I have found it difficult to find a recent answer Since it looks like Stubbs is no longer available, which briquettes do you guys prefer over KBB (haven't had a lot of luck with them over the years).
Thanks guys and sorry to be beating a dead topic!

 

[unixadm]

I have no issues with KBB but today I'm running a 100% Royal Oak lump cook. So far, so good.

Prepped a rack of baby backs with Oakridge Dominator rib rub, with some Oakridge crucible lightly dusted on top. Into the PBC at around 275 degrees with a couple handfuls of pecan and cherry wood chips. Chips work so much better in the PBC for me than chunks.

Last pic is about 90 minutes into the cook. Will post a followup when they finish. I'm curious to see the flavor difference between KBB and Royal Oak. In addition, I'm cooking the ribs more to the indirect side, since I have a firebrick in the charcoal basket, since I've found I never need a full load of charcoal for a rib or chicken cook.

 

[unixadm]

Ribs are done. Lightly sauced during the last 40 minutes with Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle. These were the best ribs I've made on the PBC yet. Cooking with lump was a bit finicky though and I needed to add another small chimney of lit lump to keep the temp up above 240 degrees. Total cook time was around 3.5 hours.

I liked cooking more towards the indirect side of things, since it reduces that "grilled" flavor which I'm not a huge fan of. It was about half what it normally is. I also had more of a wood smoked flavor by using more chips this time. I'm stuffed!

 

[Bob C Cue]

Ribs are done. Lightly sauced during the last 40 minutes with Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle. These were the best ribs I've made on the PBC yet. Cooking with lump was a bit finicky though and I needed to add another small chimney of lit lump to keep the temp up above 240 degrees. Total cook time was around 3.5 hours.


I liked cooking more towards the indirect side of things, since it reduces that "grilled" flavor which I'm not a huge fan of. It was about half what it normally is. I also had more of a wood smoked flavor by using more chips this time. I'm stuffed!

Glad it turned out the way you like it. Looks great.

 

[Bob C Cue]

My best ribs ever

Wanted to cook something on the PBC today, but wasn't sure what. Decided to run to the local grocery store and see if anything caught my eye. They had St. Louis style ribs on sale for $2.99 a pound, which is not bad for supermarket prices. Got two medium size racks, pulled the membrane, rubbed with Plowboys Yardbird and put them on the PBC.

Took about 4 hours to get close, applied some Pappy's sauce and cooked them another 20 minutes are so.

For some reason they were probably the best I have ever done. Pulled from the bone perfectly, were moist and had the great flavor. I was a happy camper. And best part is I have a left over rack. Will be hitting the again tomorrow.

Unfortunately I only took a couple of pics, and they are not nearly as good as the flavor. But I'll share anyway.

 

[TealStBBQKing]

I got two cooks in this week (sorry not good pictures). Both were a bit of an experiment for me
First cook was swordfish where I lit a 3/4 full chimney and grilled the fish. Flavor came out fantastic and it was easily the best swordfish I've cooked. 2nd cook I counted and lit 35 KBB for smoking tri tip. A couple small cherry chunks and 50 minutes later they were thrown on the gasser for a sear. They were used to make steak and cheese subs it was great. My biggest take away from the cooks was another tool to cook with less charcoal so I don't feel I'm wasting KBB. Sure it's cheap or I could cook more food for the week but I like knowing I can just light one chimney worth and grill or smoke a quick cook. Love my PBC

 

[Haole Pete]

I rarely use an entire basketful of charcoal. Ribs and chicken (and I'm sure fish too) just don't require that much.

I did a full basket of charcoal today (for brisket), and it's still at 250-ish after 8-1/2 hours :thumb: Brisket was done after ~6 hours...

 

[Haole Pete]

Dang, forgot Brisket Pron:

1) During the cook with some ABT dip (dip details in Q-talk)

2) With a spinach/mushroom/dried cranberry/blue cheese salad my wife made up

3) Seconds on brisket without any stinking salad :wink:

 

[Haole Pete]

(and even though it's only Preseason, it's good to have football back in the Cantina during the cook!!! :grin: :grin: :grin