Chuck Roast PBJ question

[Barabe]

I have a PBJr and I LOVE it for ribs, poultry (especially duck) and most things, but I recently did a Chuck Roast using a brisket/chuck recipe/application (I am pretty sure I found it on this group). I cooked it on the rack, not by hanging. I also did not wrap it in foil or anything at any point as I was going more for barbecued brisket than braised.
Anyway, it wasn't great as the temp around the meat got up to over 350F, so it cooked too hot and fast in my opinion. It was about 14 degrees F outside during the cook so I was very surprised it got that hot. I had a probe in the meat and also next to the meat in hte grill

So I have several questions for you all:

• Would I have been better off hanging it?
• Is that an unusually high temp for PBJ? Would a PBC not get as high because of the greater volume?
• Is there something I could have done to keep the temp down or is this just not a great way to cook brisket or chuck.
  
  Thanks in advance!

[cgrover60]

Since you were cooking on the grate did you leave the rebars out? If so the extra airflow would account for the high temp.

[Barabe]

Nope. The rebars were in the whole time. The inflow at the bottom looked normal but maybe it was open too much.

[RonB]

When did you pull the chucky? Did you go by time, temp, or tenderness?

[Barabe]

Kind of a combination. It was really an experiment and I was more testing the application than looking for a perfect result. I ultimately pulled it because the combination of the 3 seemed too far along, and I was right. I did not take notes on the temps (I will next time), but it was over 200 internal when I pulled it. It had been cooking low and slow before that so it didn't take long to jump up.

[Huskee]

I don't have experience myself with the PBJ, only the regular PBC so my opinion is based on it. Yes that seems a bit too hot. It's not abnormal for it to climb that high and there are steps you can take to minimize that climb, which I'm sure is rather obvious to you, such as keeping both rebars in or plug the holes with foil if it's still high or you don't need the bars, and ensuring the lid is seated properly. In my experience a chuck roast does way better with a lower climb instead of hot & fast, but it does handle a higher IT mighty fine (such as holding at 210 IT for pulled beef for instance), if it was a good grade fatty chuck to start. I am not sure hanging would've gotten you any better results. I only hang when something doesn't fit on the grate and i need that particular orientation or the capacity it provides (i.e. ribs) but that's me. Anyway, is this temp your typical experience when using it for poultry, or was this an extra high temp?

[Barabe]

Not sure about the temp with poultry, etc, as I had just used a thermopen on those. This was the first time I had probes in and outside meat during cook. It wasn't the fattiest chuck either, but was the best they had. I think you are right that the fast climb is what did me in. More experimentation needed

[RichieB]

Everything you want to know about PBJ.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ts-if-possible

There is more. Go to Channels and cookers. Select Barrels then PBC.

And you thank fzxdoc for this.

[Huskee]

It might not all apply apples-to-apples from the PBC to the PBJ.

[RichieB]

I'm no expert but other than food capacity I don't know what the difference is other than demensions. PBC 18.5 PBJ 14.

[HawkerXP]

This is what I use.... Chuck Roast on the Pit Barrel Cooker - Pitmaster Club (amazingribs.com)

[HawkerXP]

PBJ, PBC, PBX!

[Barabe]

That's pretty much what I did. Even used the same rub. I may have to adjust the intake, and maybe hang one and put one on the grate at the same time for a side by side.

[DTro]

Could it be that there was just enough drippings to fuel the fire hotter? If it wasn't the fattest chuck, anything that dripped off would just sizzle and burn potentially adding more heat than expected to the cooker. In my experience with a barrel cooker, lots of dripping can cool the fire but a few can add heat. Also, if using wood chunks you can get some unexpected spikes as the wood ignites.

[fzxdoc]

I have purposely done a hot and fast chuck roast cook on the PBC and in all honesty, it was not as good as cooking at 250-275° instead. It was neither as tender or juicy. I doubted that it was the roast itself since I don't buy chuck roasts that are not well-marbled.

I always use 2 ambient probes on the PBC, placed on opposite sides of the barrel, about an inch or two away from the wall. Often the temperature readings of those two probes differ by as much as 40 to 60 degrees, often throughout much of a long cook, and sometimes switching between higher and lower readings--that is the one reading lower eventually becomes the higher reading one. The higher reading at the beginning of the cook is not specific to a location in the barrel. Sometimes the vent side reads higher, sometimes the opposite side has the higher reading.

My point to this ramble is that with two ambient probes, I am able to take the average of the two readings and use that number to decide the actual PBC temp. It almost always is around 270-275° unless, of course, I have set up for a 350° poultry cook by removing the rebars and using a thin steel rod instead.

With a PBC, if it runs much higher than 300° on average, I suspect a lid leak. Putting a gasket around the rim of the lid or weighting the lid down solves this problem.

Kathryn

[Dan Deter]

Even as long as I've been on here, my first thought on seeing the topic was "why on earth would you pair chuck with peanut butter and jelly???"

[Jared49]

One would have to do some engineering on hook placement to hang a well marbled chuckie to keep it from becoming fuel on the bottom??

[fzxdoc]

Often I double serial hook each chuck roast and hang until about 150-160° where it starts to soften and is usually in the stall. Then I move them to the grate until they're about 180° and can be wrapped and cooked until probe tender. Ditto with pork butts except I don't usually wrap pork butts.

Kathryn