First Bronco Cook in the Books—Report and Observations

[Reds Fan 5]

3 racks StL ribs, BB briquettes, pecan chunks, modified MMD on two racks, my own rub on one. Used hangers, no diffuser plate. Cut racks in half to hang. Some temp fluctuations due to wind, cooker ran around 230-235 for most of the cook.

Overall, very pleased with the results for a first cook. Great flavor, good texture.

A touch over smoked. Used 3 chunks. May only need two with the smoke fog.

I expected racks of this size to take 6-8 hours, they were done in 5.5 hours. One half rack was done in under five (the thinnest half rack and close to the exhaust).

Half slabs did not cook as evenly as I expected.

I put a foil pan under the drain cap to head off any grease leak. There was a grease leak in the bottom but not around the drain cap and I ended up with a stain on the patio.

Pleased with how easy the Bronco is to set yup, light, and control. Met my hopes for how much less attention it requires than Weber Kettle/SnS. Would have been even easier if not for 35mph wind gusts.

There was a leak around the logo plate and around the thermometer cable when it was first coming to temp. Once it settled at cook temp leaks seemed to disappear.

Adjustments for next rib cook:

Use diffuser to see if it cooks more evenly and changes cook time.

Use 2 chunks, not 3.

Rotate racks on hangers during cook to help cook evenly.

Investigate bottom leak

Final note: Love the BB. Cooker tan for over 6 hours and burned only half load, even in unpredictable wind. But, it’s pricey so will likely stay with KBB for grilling and shorter cooks, reserve BB for low/slow.

Welcome any reactions/advice from Bronco vets.

[58limited]

Very nice!

[Greygoose]

I’d eat’em,,,

[jfmorris]

Looks great, and sounds like a good first run, aside from the grease leak on your patio!

Something you may try, with the cook like that with no diffuser, is no wood at all. Since you ran without the diffuser, you basicaly replicated a PBC setup, and the PBC folk say you get plenty of smoke without wood, just from the smoke fog from that grease dripping on the charcoal. Sure, its a different taste, and I've not experienced it short of charcoal grilling ribs (something I used to do). Just repeating what fzxdoc and other PBC users seem to do.

[DTro]

Ribs look good! Five to five.5 hours is typical for ribs in the Bronco. Two nice size wood chunks is plenty to infuse the smoke flavor of your choice. As to the leak, check the leg, intake, and wheel screws at the bottom of the barrel and the screws holding the two pieces of the barrel together for tightness. I am pretty close to, if not past 30 cooks in my Bronco. I have had to tighten those bolts at least two times since the initial assembly.

[bbqLuv]

Cook well done.

[Uncle Bob]

Good job of recording actions/outcomes...........good way to learn.

As DTro mentioned, those bottom leaks are likely from the fastener holes of the leg/wheel brackets. Now that they are greased up you won't be able to use a sealant on them. I use a large, industrial door mat under my cookers. These are available at most big box stores. Along with offering drip protection, they also give a little cushion for leg comfort, are easily washed, and aren't very flammable (yes, I've accidentally "tested" this). Another alternative (though not as convenient for roll on/off) is a metal drip pan for under automobiles.

To control the draft impact of wind on the exhaust stack, if you have a charcoal lighting chimney, place that over the stack.........it blocks the cross wind and still allows venting.

[Reds Fan 5]

The chimney is a good idea. Under normal circumstances I would not have cooked outdoors yesterday. These were not normal circumstances. I had already waited a week to use the new smoker!

I'll check the leg/wheel brackets. I bought it assembled, loaded/unloaded it, and transported it about 30 miles in the back of my SUV so probably should have tightened everything up pre-cook given how much it had been moved/handled.

[rlozinak]

The ribs look great! Nice write up by the way.

[Steve R.]

I would definitely recommend using the diffuser. I'm not a big fan of the PBC-like flavor created by grease dripping on burning coals. The diffuser makes it cook much more like a WSM.

I even go a step further most of the time and put a drip pan on a lower grate (picked up a Weber 22" grate for this) above the diffuser. I don't want anything burning down there except charcoal and wood chunks.

[Panhead John]

I’m also a big proponent of using the heat diffuser plate. It actually does what it’s supposed to do, spread the heat more evenly throughout the barrel. If you think about it, for low and slow cooks, the fire is usually started in one area and “slowly” spreads to the rest of the coals. Without the diffuser, the heat from the coals goes straight up, creating a hot zone above it. Using the diffuser, it spreads the heat more evenly throughout the barrel. No need to rotate the meat now.

[Reds Fan 5]

I'm definitely going to use the diffuser for the next cook. Opinions here and on several other Bronco forums are 50/50 on the diffuser so thought I'd try it without just to see how the cooker performed and then adjust accordingly for the next cook.

My smoking experience is with a 26" Weber kettle and SnS insert. I thought the Bronco ribs were a touch over smoked but my family did not. I suspect no diffuser and 3 wood chunks was too much smoke.

[Panhead John]

Great job on the cook! One of our first members to buy a Bronco and post about it, mentioned that he usually found 3 or 4 wood chunks to be too many for his tastes also. He said he usually sticks with just 2 wood chunks. Everyone has different tastes of course, but I use 3-4 hickory chunks on most of my cooks. I like a little more smoke.