After buying a house a couple of months ago, I finally decided on the PBC last weekend and had it delivered yesterday. I was very excited to unbox and get started with my first smoke yesterday and the results were solid.
I knew I wouldn't get started until around 530-6, so I wanted something quick and easy and decided to go with a whole chicken for the entree and ribs for dessert (I'm guessing that's normal around here?
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I also decided to stick with standard operating procedure for the first cook, so I used PBC's recommended chimney method and applied the recommended rubs to the chicken (after splitting in half) and ribs. This is where my primary problem started I think, in that I got a little carried away in preparing the meat while the chimney was running and I think it went about 20-25 min (I'll time it next time) before being dumped on the coals.
After dumping the coals I placed the rebar and top on and checked the temp after about 10 min (318) and decided to put the meat on. After 15 min, temp was 370 and then 400 at 23 min and then 420 shortly thereafter. I frantically search the site and discover the sticky for lighting, seeing that I will likely experience a spike in temps but not quite that high. So over the next 30 min, I stuff 1, 2, then 3 rebar holes with foil and close the dampener slightly (it was 1/4 open, I went to 1/8). PBC hit 275 at the hour mark and then I removed foil every few min (one at a time to see how it would react) until the PBC no longer looked like it was warding off aliens.
I was relieved to see temps hold steady in the 265-275 range until 1:40 when I checked the chicken, which needed another 20 min (I was surprised by this given the higher temps earlier on). Temp was 243 at the 2hr mark when I pulled the chicken at 160.
Temps held steady around the 240-275 mark thereafter for the ribs, which I basted with bbq sauce at 3:35 and pulled at 4:00.
I failed to take a pic of the bird... But the chicken was fantastic and the prep work was practically nil. The breast was a touch dry but the wing, thigh, and leg were out of this world good and incredibly juicy. The skin was oddly chewy and a little crispy/tough at the same time (but still delicious) - is this a function of the high temps at the beginning and lower relative temps at the end? Usually this is flip-flopped for crisping up the skin, correct?
The ribs were delicious. They probably should've gone another 30 min. The last rib closest to the charcoal was a bit like jerky, but overall I was thrilled at making my first rack of ribs that were tasty, juicy, and tender (except for that last guy).
Next time I plan to be more precise with lighting as it sounds like that can be a big driver of performance. Also, has anyone noticed a difference in performance if you place all your meat on one side? I'm wondering if the PBC ran a little hotter on the side opposite the meat because of that (the coals were definitely hotter on the opposite side when I lifted the lid at 420 degrees to see what was going on).
I think I'm going to enjoy this hobby...
Temps:
0:00 - 318
0:15 - 368
0:23 - 399
0:26 - 420 - Adj dampener to 1/8 and plug 3 rebar holes w/ foil
0:31 - 360
0:44 - 296 - one hole unplugged
0:59 - 274 - all rebar holes unplugged
1:12 - 270
1:37 - 284 - checked chicken
2:00 - 243 - pulled chicken
2:48 - 252
3:47 - 276 - based bbq sauce on ribs ~10 min earlier
4:00 - 262 - pulled ribs
I knew I wouldn't get started until around 530-6, so I wanted something quick and easy and decided to go with a whole chicken for the entree and ribs for dessert (I'm guessing that's normal around here?

I also decided to stick with standard operating procedure for the first cook, so I used PBC's recommended chimney method and applied the recommended rubs to the chicken (after splitting in half) and ribs. This is where my primary problem started I think, in that I got a little carried away in preparing the meat while the chimney was running and I think it went about 20-25 min (I'll time it next time) before being dumped on the coals.
After dumping the coals I placed the rebar and top on and checked the temp after about 10 min (318) and decided to put the meat on. After 15 min, temp was 370 and then 400 at 23 min and then 420 shortly thereafter. I frantically search the site and discover the sticky for lighting, seeing that I will likely experience a spike in temps but not quite that high. So over the next 30 min, I stuff 1, 2, then 3 rebar holes with foil and close the dampener slightly (it was 1/4 open, I went to 1/8). PBC hit 275 at the hour mark and then I removed foil every few min (one at a time to see how it would react) until the PBC no longer looked like it was warding off aliens.
I was relieved to see temps hold steady in the 265-275 range until 1:40 when I checked the chicken, which needed another 20 min (I was surprised by this given the higher temps earlier on). Temp was 243 at the 2hr mark when I pulled the chicken at 160.
Temps held steady around the 240-275 mark thereafter for the ribs, which I basted with bbq sauce at 3:35 and pulled at 4:00.
I failed to take a pic of the bird... But the chicken was fantastic and the prep work was practically nil. The breast was a touch dry but the wing, thigh, and leg were out of this world good and incredibly juicy. The skin was oddly chewy and a little crispy/tough at the same time (but still delicious) - is this a function of the high temps at the beginning and lower relative temps at the end? Usually this is flip-flopped for crisping up the skin, correct?
The ribs were delicious. They probably should've gone another 30 min. The last rib closest to the charcoal was a bit like jerky, but overall I was thrilled at making my first rack of ribs that were tasty, juicy, and tender (except for that last guy).
Next time I plan to be more precise with lighting as it sounds like that can be a big driver of performance. Also, has anyone noticed a difference in performance if you place all your meat on one side? I'm wondering if the PBC ran a little hotter on the side opposite the meat because of that (the coals were definitely hotter on the opposite side when I lifted the lid at 420 degrees to see what was going on).
I think I'm going to enjoy this hobby...
Temps:
0:00 - 318
0:15 - 368
0:23 - 399
0:26 - 420 - Adj dampener to 1/8 and plug 3 rebar holes w/ foil
0:31 - 360
0:44 - 296 - one hole unplugged
0:59 - 274 - all rebar holes unplugged
1:12 - 270
1:37 - 284 - checked chicken
2:00 - 243 - pulled chicken
2:48 - 252
3:47 - 276 - based bbq sauce on ribs ~10 min earlier
4:00 - 262 - pulled ribs
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