1st PBC cook - spare ribs - not quite right, what am I doing wrong?

[jfmorris]

I've noticed a few folks say that he cooked too long - and 5 hours does seem awfully long on a PBC, *but* I also noticed that impishgrin says he was at 250 to 275 pit temperature for most of the cook. I am wondering how he measured this, and where the probe was. My understanding is that often the PBC runs hotter than 275, up around 300 or higher, and that this is where the shorter cook times come from?

I guess it could very well be that where the PROBE was hanging, the temperature was 250 to 275F (121C to 135C), but being a vertical cooker, the temperature was higher above that spot, and lower below that spot. Or does the convection inside a PBC make it even out?

I've done a LOT of full spares on an offset, and spares trimmed to SLC on a kettle with the Slow 'N Sear, or on my kamado. On *those* cookers 5 hours for a rack of spares does not seem excessive at 250 to 275 grate level temperature.

I will add to the others and say that the cartilage in the rib tips does NOT soften. It's little white pieces. These days I trim that off the rack and square them up into SLC style ribs, and cook the rib tips as a separate piece, which usually doesn't need to cook as long as the full rack of ribs. You just gotta know when eating those that those pieces of cartilage are in there, and deal with it. I prefer them separate for that reason.

[FireMan]

Yup, the cartilage is fer spittin!

[mnavarre]

It's kinda hard to get an accurate read on the ambient temp in the PBC just because of how it works, how the fire burns, etc. It does average about 275 over the life of the cook though. As far as time, spares usually take about 3.5 hours in the PBJr. versus 5ish in the kettle even if I run the kettle at 275. I think the PBC just moves a lot more air around than the kettle does.

[impishgrin]

After taking some advice around the forum I'm not sure the placement of my probes was conducive to getting a good temp reading

[drobinson]

Can't think of anything other than a bad rack of ribs. I use both St Louis cut and full rack depending on the price. I'm a 3-2-1 guy. BUT, NO SMITHFIELD FOR ME ANYMORE. THE COMPANY IS OWNED BY THE CCP AND I REFUSE TO SUPPORT THE CCP OR THE PLA. That's just me. Keep us posted on the next cook.

[impishgrin]

So, cook number 2. Some lessons learned from last time, some new ones this time. Decided on tri-tip for this cook. It was about 2.5lb 3lb and cooked in around 75 minutes. Cook was complicated by the rain (not an uncommon issue on this side of the pond) and a slight lack of prep on my part. Ended up propping the bowl from my fire pit over the top to keep the rain off it. I did have some lovely temp graphs for you kind folk, but I failed to realise they don't save on my thermometer / its app once the probes are disconnected. I did get one screen grab before the cook was over which tells most of the story anyway, red line is back of cooker, green line is vent side of cooker. Thanks to fzxdoc I placed my ambient probes a little lower this time and think I got a better read than on my first cook.

The cook itself started hot (clear of 400) it did come down slowly but I was a little worried about drying out the meat. I'm not sure if this was to do with reusing most of the recovered coals from my rib cook or my starting timings (I'd let the chimney run for 12 then the barrel lid cracked for 20 because I was worried about the recovered coals not catching). Lesson 1, don't try to be smart when you're only on your second cook. I plugged 2 of the rebar holes with tin foil to try to settle it faster. Unfortunately I didn't keep paying attention enough and it was at 250 before I really took notice again. Lesson 2, see lesson 1 and don't second guess yourself. At this point time was becoming a factor, I'd guessed based on the PBC video it would take half an hour, but when I investigated the cook times thread I realised I'd probably be over an hour for my weight. Coupled with the dropping temp this was going to spell trouble for our evening plans. I rearranged our plans a little, cracked the lid and threw in a chunk of oak for good measure. This brought the temps steadily back up and they settled around 330 which is hotter than I'd have liked to be cooking but time was a factor now. Lesson 3, be prepared ahead of time.

Finished product was a little dry around the edges (as expected given those temps) but still very juicy and very tasty. Will be doing that again. Thanks to everyone for all their help. Hopefully things will continue to improve.

[fzxdoc]

Nice cook, even though you had to chase temperatures due to rain and hungry folks. Each subsequent cook will get much easier for you, and before long you'll be closer to the set and forget situation that the PBC can often provide. By that I mean you'll be more comfortable letting the PBC do its own thing, within reason.

Good idea to give your PBC a rain hat. When I first got my PBC, it was out in the open. I was doing a chicken cook, and the skies opened up in the middle of it. PBC temps dropped like a stone. It took forever for that yardbird to reach 165°. Not long after that I moved the PBC under a covered deck where it has lived happily ever after.

Kathryn

[Huskee]

Not much I can say that hasn't been mentioned above. I too use a rain hat on mine- I use my Weber kettle lid. Rain wreaks havoc on all smokers' temps.

[MarkN]

I'm fairly new to the PBC (got it earlier this year) but I have made the SLC ribs around 6 times now. Temp fluctuated between 275-300. Each time I left it alone for 3 hours. At that point the meat was pulling back from the bone and I experimented with a couple of different ways from that point on.

First time, after 3 hours I followed the PBC video and sauced it, rehung it and about 40 minutes later it was probing over 200 on several spots. I was happy with the results.
Second time, after the 3 hours hanging I squirted a little apple juice/apple cider on some butcher paper, wrapped it tight around the ribs and let it go for 30 minutes. Then unwrapped, sauced and put it on the grate and checked 20 minutes later and they were done. Here too I was happy with the results. My wife preferred these to the hanging only way.

I've not yet had a problem with the low hanging ribs burning. Part of that may be because those are my Cook's Test Samples, have great bark and don't cook quite as long as the rest of the rack.