Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) Appreciation Thread

[dadsr4]

Does anyone else see bats?

 

[AClarke44]

Does anyone else see bats?

I see some awesome looking chicken legs and wings cooked perfectly on a PBC...:becky:

 

[Thingfish]

I see a holy horseshoe on the far right!

 

[JBurn244]

Question folks, have any of you hung a pork butt all the way through without wrapping and setting on the grate? Not a fan of wrapping but I don't want the thing falling in the fire, either.

 

[Fwismoker]

Question folks, have any of you hung a pork butt all the way through without wrapping and setting on the grate? Not a fan of wrapping but I don't want the thing falling in the fire, either.

You mean like this?

 

[AClarke44]

Made a complete meal tonight in the PBC. Ribs, corn and sweet potato. Heres a couple pics and a link to the cook thread. Turned out awesome!

Cook thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214858

Plated

 

[jsmorrow2s]

i just received my PBC!!!! im excited to get started on it, but it will have to wait until thursday before i start.

 

[JBurn244]

Cooked on my new PBC twice this weekend. This thing is tank. VERY happy so far.

Let's start with the burn. I got over 8 hours on a full basket, and could have pushed it to 10 hours had I not been ready to be done for the night.

Next day, started with around half a basket. Got 8 hours, and was still holding at 260 when I opened the lid so it would burn out.

I LOVE how you can crack the lid for a few minutes to get the temp up.

I can tell the amount of time you let your coals go in the PBC with the lid off to start affects the burn A LOT. I did 15 minutes the first time, and had temps on the higher end before it settled in. I only did 12 minutes the second time, and had to crack the lid a few times to keep the temp from falling out in the first couple hours (and when I say 'falling out', I mean drop below 240-250).

My only concern will be keeping the pit under control when I need to open the lid and check several items at once. You have to work fast, or when you replace the lid it will shoot up to 350. I can just see potential issues when I'm trying to fish 8 racks of ribs out to check tenderness. Guess you just have to work quickly and get that lid back on.

Overall this cooker is a beast. Glad I went this route instead of going back to a WSM.

 

[AClarke44]

i just received my PBC!!!! im excited to get started on it, but it will have to wait until thursday before i start.

Congrats! You will love cooking with the PBC! Let us know how the first cook goes.

 

[AClarke44]

JBurn, are you lighting your coals with lighter fluid or a chimney? If you are using a chimney you DON'T need to leave the lid off for any time frame once you dump the hot coals over the unlit coals. Just dump and put the lid back on.

Also, if you are gonna leave the lid off to check several meats, cover your intake with a leather glove or something similar, take the lid off and check your meat, them put the lid back on and wait about 5-10 minutes and the temp should not run up on you like that. I've never had mine hit 350 after checking meat but it has gone to about 320. That's when I started the glove trick. Hasn't passed 300 on me since then and the temp will drop back down pretty quick.

 

[Fwismoker]

Overall this cooker is a beast. Glad I went this route instead of going back to a WSM.

View attachment 114471

Glad to see people hanging corn! Now let's see some foiled baked potatoes! If you do hang them down to fire level....1 hour @ 350 on my temp gauge makes the best baked taters. Foil and poke with a knife.

 

[agensop]

Welcome to the club, im a new memeber too, barely a month in, this thing is frigging awesome. You will love it.

i just received my PBC!!!! im excited to get started on it, but it will have to wait until thursday before i start.

 

[jjjonz]

I too have a PBC coming in the mail Friday. Planning to hang some ribs and corn on the cob Saturday. I'll post some pictures if I think of it.

I'm coming from the stick burning world and while that was a lot of fun, and the color you get alone is almost worth the trouble, I'm just not in the right life stage to be babysitting a fire all day long with two little ones at home. Need something I can get the smoke rolling and walk away.

I used a WSM for a few years and got bored with that, so tried stick burning. Now instead of going back to a WSM figured I would do something a little different. I have always been intrigued by the PBC and have done a lot of reading, so I'm excited I finally get to try it!

Cheers!

I have done it all to and a the same stage you are. The PBC is as good as it gets. I went at it like I like I knew how to cook, but the PBC is a different animal. Save yourself some time and watch some PBC videos. I kinow you will enjoy it.

 

[tpejza]

My First Cook

Used the PBC for the 1st time this past weekend. Did st louis ribs and a whole chicken. Just getting around to posting pics now. This has to be the easiest coal cooker I've ever used. I followed the instructions exactly, even the videos from the web site for the specific meat. Full basket of charcoal, 8 ounces of Weber Hickory Chunk evenly spread out, and lit 40 briquettes in my chimney. I had my thermoworks probe in the whole time just to be certain about the cooker temp. Did the ribs first, after I hung them temp was about 290. It fell to about 247 then slowly climbed back up to 288 over the 3 hour cook. I didn't mess with the cooker at all. Pulled the ribs off and hung the chicken. Temp was steady at 270 for the 2 hour cook. The last 10 minutes, I place the grill grate over the hanging bars right side up. The handles of the grate made a gap at the lid and I was able to get the temp up to 350. I was trying to crisp up the skin. The skin didn't get as crispy as I like, next time I'll try 15 minutes. Bottom line, the PBC gives amazing flavor and you can't beat the simplicity. Can't wait until the next cook.

We ate the ribs too fast and I forgot to get a picture of the whole rack. lol.

 

[Fwismoker]

To reiterate...Andrew posted that there is a hanging or spinning thread going on. Hang it or spin it! Basically any cook in a rotisserie or hung on/in a homemade or commercial brand cooker.

Ssv hangs in his PBC or his warmer cabinet in his Shirley Fabrication
Bob hangs meat in his PBC
Ebijack hangs meat in his UDS
Larred rottiseries great meats on his homemade rotisserie camping kit
I hang lots of food in my Jumbo mini cooker and spin/hang meats and veggies on another.

There are so many neat setups to hang and spin, hopefully we'll all get some ideas on how to improve what we do now!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214632

 

[AClarke44]

Used the PBC for the 1st time this past weekend. Did st louis ribs and a whole chicken. Just getting around to posting pics now. This has to be the easiest coal cooker I've ever used. I followed the instructions exactly, even the videos from the web site for the specific meat. Full basket of charcoal, 8 ounces of Weber Hickory Chunk evenly spread out, and lit 40 briquettes in my chimney. I had my thermoworks probe in the whole time just to be certain about the cooker temp. Did the ribs first, after I hung them temp was about 290. It fell to about 247 then slowly climbed back up to 288 over the 3 hour cook. I didn't mess with the cooker at all. Pulled the ribs off and hung the chicken. Temp was steady at 270 for the 2 hour cook. The last 10 minutes, I place the grill grate over the hanging bars right side up. The handles of the grate made a gap at the lid and I was able to get the temp up to 350. I was trying to crisp up the skin. The skin didn't get as crispy as I like, next time I'll try 15 minutes. Bottom line, the PBC gives amazing flavor and you can't beat the simplicity. Can't wait until the next cook.

We ate the ribs too fast and I forgot to get a picture of the whole rack. lol.

Sounds keep you did great on your first go! Now we just gotta teach you how to post pics...lol. It all looked like it turned out very good. And yeah another 5 minutes at 350 would have probably gotten your chicken skin where you wanted it.
I'm diggin that Coast Guard logo too! :thumb: I have the AF version.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Used the PBC for the 1st time this past weekend. Did st louis ribs and a whole chicken. Just getting around to posting pics now. This has to be the easiest coal cooker I've ever used. I followed the instructions exactly, even the videos from the web site for the specific meat. Full basket of charcoal, 8 ounces of Weber Hickory Chunk evenly spread out, and lit 40 briquettes in my chimney. I had my thermoworks probe in the whole time just to be certain about the cooker temp. Did the ribs first, after I hung them temp was about 290. It fell to about 247 then slowly climbed back up to 288 over the 3 hour cook. I didn't mess with the cooker at all. Pulled the ribs off and hung the chicken. Temp was steady at 270 for the 2 hour cook. The last 10 minutes, I place the grill grate over the hanging bars right side up. The handles of the grate made a gap at the lid and I was able to get the temp up to 350. I was trying to crisp up the skin. The skin didn't get as crispy as I like, next time I'll try 15 minutes. Bottom line, the PBC gives amazing flavor and you can't beat the simplicity. Can't wait until the next cook.

We ate the ribs too fast and I forgot to get a picture of the whole rack. lol.

Awesome job. Welcome to the PBC family.

 

[jbounds286]

aclarke and bob...u guys need to stop conning these guys into this cooker!!!!!


















:wink: jk...u guys are doing it right! lots of positive reviews on this thing! i ALMOST wish i had one....ALMOST lol

 

[AClarke44]

aclarke and bob...u guys need to stop conning these guys into this cooker!!!!!


:wink: jk...u guys are doing it right! lots of positive reviews on this thing! i ALMOST wish i had one....ALMOST lol

Lol. Almost! You can pretty much duplicate what we are doing in the Shirley. You should hang something in that warmer box and see how you like it. Ssv3, does it on his LSG with excellent results. Although he still cooks in his PBC. ....:becky:

 

[Fwismoker]

Lol. Almost! You can pretty much duplicate what we are doing in the Shirley. You should hang something in that warmer box and see how you like it. Ssv3, does it on his LSG with excellent results. Although he still cooks in his PBC. ....:becky:

Besides the Shirley he's gonna have another cooker that can do it all....spin over fire, hang, grill and hang/spin over charcoal if he wanted. I'm gonna be jealous.