Should I get a PBC?

[HawkerXP]

PBC and your gas grill are a great combination. I use Weber kettles as my hot and fast / grilling cookers.

I use my PBC for things like Wibs, briskets, chicken, turkey, pork butts, and did I mention, Wibs? Up to 8 racks can be done at the same time. Party anyone? 

PBC, PBC, PBC!

[Allon]

Wibs huh? Okay, works for me. 8 racks is impressive. I doubt I'll need to cook that many (I say that now...) but you never know. My daughter likes Wibs and she has a LOT of friends.

Thank you.

[Panhead John]

Allon I’ve read this post and all your replies and I’m generally pretty shy, but I’ll give you a couple of suggestions that I think would work best for you. I’m taking into consideration your comments about budget and being physically limited in abilities. And just to be sure, you’re mainly looking for a smoker right? Both of these would make a great smoker, with the ability to grill as well. I’ve never owned a PBC, but I do own both the Weber Master Touch 22” kettle and the SNS 22” kettle. As most of us here will tell you, the kettle grill is the most versatile cooker you can get. With the SNS insert and the addition of a vortex, there isn’t much you can’t do with a kettle, smoking or grilling wise. That being said, if you’re considering an affordable kettle, without getting into the high end Webers, I’d go with the SNS kettle all day long.

In addition to some cool features found on the SNS which the Weber doesn’t have, my SNS also seals better than the 2 Webers I have owned. I have no smoke leaking from the lid at all, which both of my Webers do. Not a serious issue, but the SNS just doesn’t leak. A kettle grill is also lightweight and easy to maneuver, if that’s an issue for you. The SNS kettle which includes their SnS insert is within your budget.



My second suggestion is the Oklahoma Joe Bronco, which others have mentioned also. It is maneuverable with its wheels, but is also heavy, at 130 pounds. But if you leave it in one place, that shouldn’t be an issue. As many other Bronco owners will attest, this thing is a smoking machine and holds incredibly steady temps. It comes with several features which aren’t available in the PBC. One of which is an ash pan which catches all your spent coal ashes. It’s an additional cost with the PBC. It also has a heat diffuser included which I think contributes a lot to the steady temps this thing holds. No worries with food juices dripping on and possibly extinguishing some of your coals. Of course you can hang meat with it also or it has 2 cooking grate positions you can use, with the purchase of an additional grate, it comes with one.

One of my favorite features is the hinged lid, which the PBC doesn’t have. This would make it incredibly easy for you to access your food, no picking up a lid and having to set it down somewhere. The adjustable intake and exhaust dampers are also a feature not on the PBC, and they work incredibly well! This thing is just so much better than a stock PBC in my opinion. [sorry PBC owners] Everyone who’s bought a Bronco here absolutely loves theirs and I’ve heard of no complaints from any other owners. Oh did I mention you can grill on it also?…….And I almost forgot, the Bronco comes with a side shelf, not found on the PBC. The Bronco is also within your budget of $450. Good luck my friend.

[Panhead John]

Allon We ALWAYS have spirited discussions and lengthy posts, when someone asks about what cooker they should buy. It’s all in good fun, enjoy the ride. Home Depot sells the orange Bronco in the regular size, and I agree, love that color. If that’s what you like, get it. I promise you…..you’ll love it!

[Panhead John]

As mentioned here before, the Orange Bronco is $399. at Home Depot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/OKLAHOMA-JOE-S-Bronco-Drum-Charcoal-Grill-and-Smoker-in-Orange-with-Cover-pack-284-sq-in-Cooking-Surface-22202159/320821163

[Sid P]

Allon It’s the reverse: you can’t lose. You’ll make amazing food on both smokers. Don’t sweat it too much and if all else fails flip a coin and see if you find yourself hoping for a certain result.

[shify]

Love my PBC and would heartily recommend it for anyone. Crushes ribs and chicken, I do wings and sausage on the grate. Pretty close to set it and forget it and outside of monitoring temps, pretty hands off. That being said, if you are one of those that want to cook at a particular temp (e.g., 225 degrees or bust) it’s not for you. You can manipulate it a bit - like higher temps for chicken - but if you are ok the camp is of it has to cook at a certain temp, you won’t like the PBC

[Allon]

I haven't heard that before. I am pretty picky about things like the temperature.
Curious.

Thank you

[jfmorris]

Yeah Allon you really do not have temp control on the PBC without working hard at it. It is meant to run with a set vent opening based on altitude, and the only other way to control temp is messing with removing one of the rebar's or plugging holes around the rebar with scraps of foil. Some folks spend money on temp controllers, but that pushes it out of your budget.

Kettles and the Bronco both have adjustable intake and exhaust vents, letting you dial in the temp you want to cook at.

[hogdog6]

The PBC Pit Barrel "Cooker" and that is what it is. Unless you really want to fool around with temps something I find unnecessarily with this guy then do not get it. If you want basically set and forget it's for you. I've had my PBC since they 1st came out so I do know it well. as long as I light it correctly which is no big deal to do I go to church while it's running with no concerns. If you want full temp control go for the bronco.

[Huskee]

They are a fun 'extra toy', or 'other tool' (depending on how you look at it) and they are chicken machines! Man they make the best chicken on the planet.

[Allon]

My wife and I love chicken. I make some killer chicken wings.

Thank you

[Alan Brice]

Turkey, as well! I have done a spatchcocked 20+ pounder in just over two hours! Incredible! Hang that bad boy, Enjoy!

[grantgallagher]

Ill go from the slightly different perspective of owning neither. If i was going to buy a drum style cooker it would be the Bronco based on user response and feedback here. Now remember, this is from the perspective of not owning either but from reading posts here, the bronco seems to be better at holding temps, and holding different temps at that. Doesnt SEEM to require the tricks of cracking the lid, potentially needing clips to get a tight seal to keep temps down, rebar in and out, etc. Im pretty sure the PBC was here first and honestly it just looks like the bronco improved on it. If i were gonna get either the bronco would be it.

All that said, you really cant know until you have it in your hands and that is just my interpretation of what people have said here. Best of luck in your search.

[Steve R.]

You touched on a point I forgot to make. The learning curve on the Bronco is almost nonexistent for anyone who is at all familiar with low and slow cooking with charcoal. I have owned and cooked on both the PBC and Bronco, and just prefer the Bronco. If you can get a chimney lighter of charcoal lit and dump it in the charcoal basket, you're golden. Or you can just light it in the charcoal basket, even easier.

[Allon]

Yes. It seems like a lot of little issues in the PCB. I'm just keeping in mind that no one has mentioned any 'little issues' with the Bronco that I recall.

I really appreciate your insight.
Thank you

[Alan Brice]

Put your coal in around a number ten coffee can n pour your hot chimney into the coffee can centered in the coal basket. Use a pair of tongs to pull the can n you are ready to go!(slots to allow the can to sit in the center, over the handle.)

[FireMan]

Well, once again I end up late to the party & there then becomes a lot to wade thru. But early on it appears that you answered yer own question. I agree wiff ya. Git the PBC. I do not have one BTW, I do have as I call it a Ho-Made one or whut is referred to as a UDS. Chicken mochine it is. Wibs are mighty fine to. Go ahead. It won’t hurt a bit. 🕶

[Allon]

Thank you. I have read many of your posts and I appreciate your insight.

At this point, I am sufficiently confused to go take a walk and think. Then more research...

Thanks again.

[FireMan]

Yessir, walks are good!

[Spinaker]

Is a PBC the way for me to go?

I have used and cooked on both the Bronco and PBC. I have 3 PBCs and then I have one Bronco out at the place I stay in MT. I prefer the PBC all day, they are easy to run, no moving parts. Simple and easy to assembly right out of the box. Excellent customer service. The lid from the PBC hangs from the side handle on the barrel, the hinges on other smokers tend to bend, and not fit properly after time. When it comes to these things, sometimes, less is more. Remember you saying repairs get expensive. On the PBC, there is pretty much nothing to wear out or repair. I like the PBC as well because it is compact. You don't have wheels, shelves and handles sticking out. I know this seems irrelevant but space matters. It is just a barrel with a basket, a lid, some rebar and some hooks. Very little can go wrong there. The PBC does offer an ash pan for all the models, and its extra, but it is really not totally needed. i only have one for my XL PBC. There is no heat diffuser, but you do not need one in a barrel smoker. IMHO, that is just another thing to break, bend, loose or have to replace over time. And those dripping on the fire? That is where the great flavor comes from, if you ask me.

The PBCs are also cheaper at every level.
The 18" PBC $400/Bronco 17.5" $450
The 22" PBX $599.99/21.5" Bronco $849.99

There is much less fiddling than with other smokers. You pretty much put the lid on and it goes. You set the bottom damper to your setting and you go. I find that more spots to adjust your smoker only makes for more confusion, especially when you are starting out in smoking. Being able to have a smoker that is designed to run "easy" is key. Most of the hard work of figuring it all out has been done for you in R&D.

Accessories?
A chimney starter (You might already have one with your charcoal grill)
Pit Mitt

Sure i am biased, I guess. But having cooked on both, I would take the PBC all day. There is just less moving parts to the system. If you want to hang the food hang it. If you want to use the grate, you can do that too. There is no meat racks to install in order to hang the meat.

[Dadof3Illinois]

I've never cooked on a Bronco but I've burnt a ton of charcoal in my PBC and once going it doesn't need a whole lot of oversight.
As far as a gasket goes, I put one on my PBC and it made a huge difference. I know nothing about the Customer Service for the Bronco but I couldn't ask for a better response the two times I've called Pit Barrel.

[Spinaker]

No, but you really do not need one after a few cooks. You get a gasket made out of grease after a few cook on the lid. I always run my probes through the rebar holes, never really had any problems there. Murdy

[hogdog6]

Spinaker you said it all brother. As I stated above I have both cookers and hands down PBC is my go to. But if you want full control a fair amount of tending time and moving parts
the bronco turns as good of food as the PBC. Also the PBC is self cleaning other than dumping the ash.

[jfmorris]

Something else that comes to mind is this: Ash collection and cleanup.

I don't own either a PBC or a Bronco. I do own an offset, a kamado, and a Weber kettle.

I don't know about Allon 's disabilities or physical limitations, but with both the PBC and the Bronco, ash collects in the bottom, and you either have to reach down in there and remove an ash basket, or dump the PBC upside down, vacuum it out with a shop-vac, or something.

Contrast this to the easy operation of a Weber Kettle or SNS Kettle, where you work some ash sweeps, and the ashes drop into a metal bucket, which you can empty into the trashcan before the next cook. So from a cleanup perspective, the kettle wins as a smoker I think. I've gotten used to shoveling ashes out of the bottom of my SNS Kamado every half dozen cooks, but do miss the ash collection on my Weber Performer every time I find myself doing that.

[Allon]

Excellent point.

Thank you

[fzxdoc]

I have never lifted the PBC to empty it nor have I ever vacuumed out ash. No need. Before every cook I line the barrel with a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil. I make a template for shaping it into a circle by pressing the double sheets against the barrel rim. Then I fold on the curved line impressions, and drop it into the bottom of the PBC first. Cleanup of every bit of ash and grease collected on the foil takes about 1 minute. This works better for me than the PBC ash catcher.
Kathryn

[Alan Brice]

I just pull a new piece of foil every cook, to place in the bottom under the coal basket.
First use it to reach over the edge as a guard to not get any grease on your arm sleeve. Fold the corners on the old piece n lift out to put in your garden! Spend the money for an ash pan on protein or MCS!
Sorry fzxdoc did not see your response.

[Panhead John]

tstalafuse How’d you know?

ACTUAL UNTOUCHED PHOTO OF ME




​​​​​​​

[tstalafuse]

Well, it isn't because I am stalking you or at least not that you know of..

[RickyBobby]

Allon , I do NOT envy your decision, sir! Here’s my 1/2 cent worth of knowledge to share….. can’t ever go wrong with a kettle and SnS. I bought the most basic/cheapest version of the 22” kettle and added the original SnS and drip n griddle combo when they ran a sale. Total investment was less that $200. I use that set up religiously and absolutely love it! I’ve done ribs, fish, chicken, Chuck roast, pork butt, and plenty of other stuff with excellent result.

I was wanting to add a barrel smoker to the mix and spent a good 2 years trying to decide between the PBC and the Bronco. They both have their strengths, and honestly, you will be turning out amazing Q in very short order no matter which direction you go. (I know that doesn’t help much, lol!). My wife made the decision for me and bought me a Bronco for Christmas and I think she paid less than $300 as she got it on some kind of holiday promotion sale. I have never personally cooked on a PBC, but there is no shortage of drool worthy pictures from or brothers and sisters of the pit who cook on them lots.

my experience with the Bronco has been amazing! Assembly was required, but it only took my dad and I about 30 to 45 minutes. I like that it comes with pretty much all of the accessories. Ash pan, charcoal basket, grate, diffuser plate, removable hangers, 6 meat hooks, pre installed lid gasket, side shelf, handle, and the hook tool to reach down and very easily pull up the ash pan and charcoal basket for cleaning. Also kinda nice that with the hook you can move everything even if it’s still hot. The design also allows you to purchase a second shelf that can replace the handle for a little extra surface area if needed. During my initial burn in/seasoning, I got a whole basket of coals going and set the vents for maximum warp per the instructions. After whatever the given time was, I started playing with the vent to try and figure out the temp control. I was absolutely shocked (and still amazed every time I use it…) at how responsive the unit is to vent adjustments. I make a vent adjustment and the temperature adjusts, stabilizes, and holds literally rock steady in minutes. Like less than 10 for minor adjustments. Also during my learning curve, I made a note of the vent settings, which are conveniently marked, and now I can set it to the marks and be within 5 or 10 degrees of my target temp every time I fire it up.

I think bottom line is that no matter what you end up choosing, there will be a slight learning curve, as there is with any cooker. Once you know your cooker and her unique quirks though, you’ll fall in love and be making your neighbors jealous with the aroma of smoked meats! Oh, not to mention, the rest of us here in the pit get to live vicariously through your joy of breaking in a new pit!!!

…….lol, I’m not helping am I? Looking forward to seeing your new rig!

[Panhead John]

Very well written Ricky! But you left out…..can’t get the PBC in orange.

[Allon]

Yes, you are helping. Quite a bit actually. I looked over some reviews for each of the contestants. The results are telling (if in fact they are genuine).
Bronco had two reviews that were below all 5's.
One was a 4. The other was a 3 but the comment said "Love it". Go figure.
The other's were a shotgun discharge. All over the place.

The pendulum swings again.

[Mosca]

First thing I thought was Weber Kettle, too.

Central Massachusetts Craigslist has 11 Weber Kettles, ranging from $50 to $160, and one nice Performer for $300. Offer that guy $200, the gas assist and table is worth it.

[Allon]

Thank you very much. I will look them over and see what's what.
Thanks again

[Mosca]

Allon my Weber will do everything my kamado will do. The setup is different, but the results are indistinguishable.

[fzxdoc]

You would love the PBC. Easy to use, cleanup in fewer than 5 minutes, ready to go right out of the box, portable, and the capacity to cook a bunch of delicious food. If, down the road you get an automatic temperature controller for it, it will truly be a set/forget cooker.

Kathryn

[Allon]

Any interesting tidbit.

Thanks again

[Purc]

Well, I was looking at a PBC or a WSM and asked the Pit for advice(see under WSM Forum). I have a Weber MT Kettle with a SnS, Vortex and a Canjun Bandit rotisserie. I LOVE my Kettle and I can do everything on it. BUT after the advice of alot of people I looked at the Oklahoma Joe Bronco and Bronco Pro. I could not pay twice the price for the Bronco Pro vrs the regular Bronco. I bought the Bronco and I love it. No regrets. You can hang meat, put meat on the grate to smoke, and you can also grill on it. I smoked a pork butt for 10+ hours on one load of charcoal. The Weber Kettle and the OKJ Bronco are great together. I don't have any bad to say about either the PBC or WSM but I am pleased with the Bronco and the Weber MT Kettle. As always YMMV. It's great to have choices between great cookers. You will be pleased with either.

[Panhead John]

Allon Seriously, don’t buy something just for a great deal, buy what you think will best serve your needs. You should consider what you’re going to be cooking, how easily you can work with it, how much time and effort you want to put into a cook, and what will best work for you. Don’t buy something just because of price. Remember, you want to get something that will give you years of enjoyment, not something you bought just because it was cheap and you might later regret.

[Panhead John]

Purc You made a good point, a kettle and the Bronco are great together. I’ve got the SNS kettle, vortex, SnS insert and rotisserie. Combined with the Bronco, they really are a perfect combo, for me anyway. There’s nothing we can’t do with that combination, IMO. Now, all you need to get is a Pit Boss griddle!

[Purc]

Panhead John a griddle is next on my list!

[tenphases]

What i love about my PBC's is that i can put the rebar, grates, chimney starter, hooks, firstarters all in the barrel with bungee cord and throw it in my trunk.

I love it, and it cooks great, that being said if it was going to be stationary id get the ok joe

[Allon]

I'm not very portable myself. Whatever I get is going to stay put... Unless the wife's disagrees!

Thank you

[ILMsmoke]

I wore out a PBC (6 years and rusted out) and it will cook unbelievable chicken and ribs. I also own a Gateway drum cooker now. It was a lot more with very similar results of the PBC. In hindsight I would 100% buy the OKJ as my drum cooker. I think its the best per dollar out there in this category. Just be prepared to learn to cook "hot and fast". All drum cookers tend to want to cook around 300 degrees. You can choke them back, but it will be at the expense of dirty smoke.

No matter what you buy they will all cook amazing food!

[Panhead John]

I agree with your assessment of the Bronco, except that it doesn’t WANT to cook hot and fast. I’ve had no problems doing 225 when I wanted to, which isn’t very often, because I usually do 250-275. I’ve found dirty smoke usually happens when first lighting the coals. If you give it 30 minutes after lighting, that usually dissipates. Also, I’ve found that B & B charcoal is much better than KBB for long cooks. Once you learn how to cook on the Bronco, which won’t be long, 225 is as easy as 275-300

[Panhead John]

Wanted to add….personally, I’ve never had a problem with dirty smoke from the Bronco, and I always smoke below 300. Once the cook gets going, whether it be 225 or 275, everything’s cool beans.

[ILMsmoke]

I've found that if you control temp at the intake rather than exhaust it burns cleaner.