I’m very much a newbie. Finished third cook today made ribs and baked potatoes. They both got very ashy as if ashes and sooty from the charcoal. Using lump charcoal and a few pieces of hickory wood chunks.
Any thoughts or ideas on why and how to avoid this in future cooks.
Don't have any answers for you, but if you give these guys info they are asking, you will get the answers. By the way welcome to the pit from Winston Salem, NC.
I always use KBB (Kingsford Blue Bag) in my PBC as that is what the barrel is supposedly calibrated for. Still, I'm not sure if your use of lump would be the issue. Lump does spark quite a bit and perhaps might have landed some particulars on the food, though.
Your comment about hickory reminded me of my first few attempts at using it. Hickory is a very strong wood. The first cook I did with it was inedible -- it tasted like smoke!
Maybe that was the issue. I rarely use more than two four-ounce chunks of hickory for a 6+ hour cook and I'll use less for a shorter cook.
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Hrmm. Have you checked for leaks in the lid (e.g., not a proper seal) or otherwise open the lid a lot? Both of those would cause air to rush in and may kick up ash.
Besides that, perhaps the vent was too open and was facing directly into the wind so the breeze was flowing directly into the PBC and that might cause a similar issue.
I used lump charcoal- I followed the start up instructions by filling the basket then taking about 40 or so coals out started In chimney once lit poured out over cold charcoal and put couple hickory chunks in there. I cut the ribs in half and hung them. About hour in hung the potatoes.
it wasn’t really windy and I had cleaned out the ash from the other cook.
I've never used lump before in my PBC. I'm another Kingsford Blue Bag user.
I do remember someone here mentioning how much ash they saw swirling around when they opened the lid.
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Preparation: To make a foil liner for the bottom of the PBC: Take 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil and crimp them together. Use the lid of the PBC to make an
Here are some cook times that I've collected, either by direct experience or by reports by other PBC users. Hopefully it will help narrow the window of the ETA of getting the meat or veggies to the table.
Brisket:
2.5 lb (trimmed) Hereford flat at 225-250 degF PBC temp: 5.75 hours to 175 deg F, wrapped for 1.75 hours in 225
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I use KBB and for long cooks B&B briqs with a couple of Char Logs. Looks like you did everything correctly. The hickory or using lump could have caused the issue. Also it does take a few cooks to build up the gunk on the lid to get that airtight seal.
Welcome to the Pit!
I had ash issues with my PBC in the past, but I learned that I was causing it by lifting the lid off too quickly when checking the progress of the cook. Taking the lid off too fast caused a big updraft that got ash swirling in the drum. Now I take the lid off very slowly. Haven't had an ash problem since.
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