Lighting Methods for Temperature Variance

[Matt L]

So I'm hoping to get some tips from the pit barrel vets on here on how different lighting methods work to keep the running temperature either hotter or cooler. The hotter seems easier, since cracking the lid and lighting hot to keep it hot seems to run quite smooth (did it to play with chickens, worked great).

So if you want to keep the barrel on the 275 or below side, is there an advantage to using the pbc official method (putting food on right away after dumping the 40 briquettes onto the coals) vs letting it burn with the lid off for 10, closing it up for a bit, then adding food.

Would it be beneficial to let it "settle" to a lower temp before adding the food or just adding it when hotter and letting it settle with the food on?

What about using less charcoal? Would this even have much of an effect?

Any other lighting methods to control temperature throughout the cook that have been well proven at this point?

Did a pork butt yesterday and decided it would be better to fly blind and just use the fxzdoc method outlined above without using any thermometers--mostly to get myself comfortable with just using the dang thing. I could tell it was running hot for the first 1.5 hrs so I ended up snuffing it a bit with foil over the holes then it ran great at a lower temp for the rest of the cook. Maybe thats just my answer, light it up, use foil to let it settle, then roll through the cook.

[Voodoo]

That's a "hot topic"!
Seems there are several different but effective lighting methods, and yes, they do ultimately effect cooking temp and burn time. I personally choose to follow Noah's guidelines fairly closely. Works for me. You decide. I would work, however, on getting it good without resulting to foil. Air flow is essential for good smoke. The PBC really does better a little hot than a little cool. Drippings singe nicely when the fire is stoked. Flavors are spot on.
As far as using less charcoal to burn cooler, that is typically not recommended. Since the fire catches drippings, you need plenty of coal to keep the fire from being overwhelmed (see above). The only time it's ok to short change charcoal is on really brief cooks where you might have rebar out or the lid cracked a smidge to amp up temps, such as with shrimp or flank steak. Even then, don't skimp too much on your fuel (charcoal) or the results won't be that great.
Best of luck.

[Matt L]

That echoes a lot of my thoughts honestly. I don't want the coal to be burning without a lot of good airflow since I think it might be inviting more stagnant or even acrid smoke from unlit/barely lit coals. That being said, it struck me as potentially good to get it down to the lower temperature in the first 20-30 minutes then let it go without foil blockage to see if it maintains a lower temp consistently at that point while still having that good air flow.

[MBMorgan]

FWIW, I'm not aware of anyone employing different lighting techniques to control (or at least influence) the PBC cooking temp. Instead, the emphasis for most PBC users is on consistency. If you can get it lit consistently every time, there a couple of variables that you can use to help with temp control:

1. Charcoal brand/type - Kingsford Competition burns hotter than Kingsford Original. I've not used it myself but I've heard that B&B also burns hotter (and perhaps longer?).
2. Ventilation - plug rebar holes to cool down, remove one rebar and/or crack the lid to heat things up. Some folks ( Jerod Broussard comes to mind) have even added ball valves and chimneys to reduce the need for fiddling with lids and rebar.

Also FWIW, I've not seen much discussion around here about how to get the PBC to go really low-and-slow. By design, it should cruise along in the 275 - 300 degree range while producing really excellent results even for traditional low-and-slow meats like ribs, pork butts, etc. Instead, the challenge for me (and others) is how to get the PBC up into the 330 - 350 degree range for things like poultry.

You've probably already seen it, but just in case, there's a really comprehensive discussion about PBC lighting techniques here in the PBC thread:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...g-temperatures

[Jerod Broussard]

The PBC is really a different animal. I only require a high temp for poultry. I don't require low temps for things that are typically lowed and slowed.

[fzxdoc]

Matt L , I'm with MBMorgan : for me the goal is to get a good light every time. After that, if I choose to fiddle with the temperature during a cook, I will.

The reason for letting the coals get good and hot (for me anyway) is that when I add the cold meat to the PBC, I don't get a lot of that billowy white smoke that can result from a "cooler" basket of coals. That's why I do 10 minutes with the lid off, rebars out, and 10 minutes with the lid on, rebars out after pouring the burning coals from the chimney into the basket. Then I add the rebars and the meat.

I use a slightly overfull basket for long cooks and a slightly underfull basket for short cooks if I think about it. Usually I figure that the cost of charcoal is the least of my smoker expenses, so I opt for consistency by using a full basket every time.

And finally, for me at least, when my PBC runs hot it's because the lid is not on tight. Sometimes it's hard to see those little wisps of smoke coming out from under the rim, but when my PBC is hotter than I expect, I check and each time find some smoke leaking out. If I can't get the lid to seat well by pounding it with the heel of my rubber shoe, I foil the area of concern around the rim, and the temp drops right back to the PBC's cooking sweet spot every time.

Kathryn

Edited to add: I try never to starve a fire by foiling early on. That can result in some unpleasant tastes: people have mentioned the meat "tasting like charcoal" or "tasting bitter" as the result of a starved fire. Usually adding the cold meat drops the PBC temp pretty quickly, and depending on the mass of meat, it doesn't get that hot in the first half hour or so as the PBC temp settles in. Just IMO.