Light my (PBC) fire: tips on lighting and maintaining temperatures

[2-7]

Thanks for the tip/feedback. That's how I will probably do it to make sure I have a good startup. I never had any issues before, but the size of these briquets threw me off a bit, count-wise.
Thanks again to all, and that's what makes this forum so grate! (lol)

[Alan Brice]

Pics or it never happened! ; - ))

[2-7]

Pics or it never happened! ; - ))

It happened! ;-))
Thanks to all for the help.
Now if I could only learn how to take a decent pic...

[fzxdoc]

NIce job!

[2-7]

Took your advice to make sure it was well lit before adding meat, worked out great! Thanks again!

[Alan Brice]

Very Nice! Looks My-T- Fine from where I am sitting!

[x56351]

Has anyone noticed a difference in lighting/cooking on the PBX vs PBC? Do you find that the PBX burns hotter and how do you alter your lighting/cooking methods compared to the great recommendations on this forum for the PBC?

[yakima]

Where did the PBX that Spinaker reviewed go?

[N227GB]

If it's any help, the lighting procedure worked well with my PBCjr.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

My PBX runs between 280 and 300, for the first few hours, but settles into the 270 range.
I fill the basket , for the amount and time I need, and put 30 in the chimney. I do the 15-10-10 method.
I just did a turkey (13.5lbs), with 70 briquettes in the basket and 40 in the chimney (I knew I wanted to go hotter). 15-10-10 method. Only one rebar diagonally. It ran at @360 the whole cook. Took one half to reach 160 IT in the breast at 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The second half took 2 hours.

[Jdean]

Apologies if this has been answered anywhere, but does anyone adjust their lighting technique based on the volume of food?

Yesterday I did 4 half chickens by lighting 40 KBB coals in the PBC chimney for 12 minutes, and immediately adding the meat. Temp initially fell to something like 164 then spiked to 322 by 30 min and finally settled between 240 and 260 within an hour.

So next time I was set to let the coals burn a little bit more, but then I kept monitoring the temperature after removing the chickens when they were done, and an hour after removing the chicken the empty cooker's temp had settled in to 340-350. This has me second guessing my plan.

I'm getting ready to do 6 slabs of st. louis this Saturday. Any advice would be most appreciated.

[jecucolo]

It seems to have dropped pretty low. You might try using the 10-10-10 lighting method developed by fzxdoc. Basically you light 40 coals in chimney and let it burn 10 minutes. Then place the lit coals on top of basket in the barrel. Let it burn 10 minutes with lid open. Then put the bars in and put the lid on and let it burn for 10 minutes.
That usually will get a good light.
Chicken has lots of moisture so you may crack the lid with a twig to keep temperature up.

[fzxdoc]

I agree with jecucolo . Chickens throw off a lot of moisture and are notorious fire-dousers. For that reason, it's especially important that you get a good light on your coals. Adding the meat right after pouring the 40 coals in over the unlit coals does not give the unlit coals a chance to grab hold of a good light. Even a short 10 minutes' wait before adding the meat can ensure that your fire will burn more steadily for the length of the cook.

Chicken loves to be cooked at 350°, so let your temps get up there and, as jecucolo says, crack the lid if the temps try to fall much below 325°. With 4 split chickens in the barrel, they should be done in just over an hour, with the breast meat at 160°ish and the thighs and legs perfectly done at 180°ish.

FWIW, whenever I smoke chickens, I add a sausage hanger or two full of brats, andouille, hot Italian, chorizo or other sausages. I poke the lowest one so its fat drips into the fire as it cooks adding great flavor to the chicken as well. That "sacrificial" sausage still eats pretty good. I take sausages up to 180° so their casings are nice and snappy to the bite. They're usually done in 45 to 60 minutes, depending if I start them fresh or frozen.

Your 6 slabs of ribs will do just fine, as long as your fire is well lit from the start. They don't throw off as much liquid as chicken does, so your 250-290° typical PBC temp will serve them well. Enjoy your cook!

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

Burntfood , sometimes that happens, but not often. Was your chicken done in under an hour? I seldom go over 350°, but a lot of folks here take the temps much higher. Most of the time, I find that the skin is bite-through right after slicing off pieces but tends to get soggy as it sits for a while. I put a mix of rub and baking powder on the skin to help it get crispy. Some people use baking soda, but I find that taste off-putting.

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

...continued Burntfood .
For dry-brining, I separate the skin from the muscle and slide my hand under the skin to get a salty rub onto the muscle. Then I smooth the skin back down (it's still attached in a few places) and rub the skin itself with a mixture of 1 tsp baking power and 1TBL rub. You may want to read this post for more info:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/charcoal-drums-barrels-and-bullet-smokers/pit-barrel-cooker/905464-smoked-chicken-advice?p=905823#post905823

HTH,
K.

[Burntfood]

fzxdoc - wow, excellent writeup. I'm a little late to the party. I will try your approach to dry brining.

[jasonwilliams14]

This is a fascinating thread. I almost am wondering if I should create a spreadsheet and share with the community. Folks could add items etc. Might be a great place to share and store PBC lighting guides?

[Jdean]

Thanks fzxdoc and jecucolo! I used fzxdoc’s lighting method, and it worked great.

At first, I thought I was struggling with getting the temp up, even with the lid cracked. But realized it was a probe location issue. Moved it around and it settled in at 280-290 for the haul. Think the lesson is I need to get another air probe to be able to average them like fzxdoc does and to be more systematic in my probe placement.

But three racks finished at 4 hours 15 min and the other three at 4 hours 45 min as planned.

Thanks again!!

[RichieB]

Looks fantastic! It's trial and error and settling in on what works for you. Based on your results, you're on the right track.

[fzxdoc]

Nice job on those ribs, Jdean ! They look delicious. I bet they didn't last long.

I'm glad that the few tweaks you made to your procedure helped with your success. I bet the compliments poured in. Get used to it!

Kathryn

[Burntfood]

Anyone here with experience in cooking chicken in pieces on the PBC grill grate instead of hanging?

[dpearce]

Burntfood Sure! Do that all the time with thighs, legs, and breasts.

I light about half a chimney of coals to get it started, my bottom vent is typically 1/4 open (for my altitude above sea level), and the PBC usually runs between 350-375 with that configuration.

I like the skin a little more crispy than what the PBC achieves with this setup, so I tend to run a direct heat area in my weber (a gas grill would work as well), in order to crisp the skin up.

That means I'm shooting for about 10 degrees under what done would be, since that direct heat at the end is going to get you there in a hurry.