PBC for Competition? (and a few general questions)...

[Bootheel]

Hey, y'all. I don't have a PBC, but I have been looking at one. I recently started competing (just for fun--nothing serious), and here is my dilemma. Really, this isn't just a competition dilemma, but one for every sort of cook I do (I cook for lots of folks around our place, often). Let's say you're cooking brisket, butt, and ribs at the same time, and both big chunks hit "wrap time" around the same time--around 160ish (I don't always wrap these cuts, but for the sake of argument, work with me). Where do you put the meat to let it finish up? Just use the whole grate and pin the ribs into a U shape or something to let them finish more horizontally? I know that might seem like an odd question, but I'm just trying to get to point of asking "where do you do your wrapping/pushing through the stall when space is limited?" This obviously isn't a big question at home (I can just use the oven), but it's a bit more of an issue on the road. I guess I could just take one of my kettles and heat it up and use it for the last part of the cook.

A couple of other questions....

1.) What is the *real* capacity on one of these? I hear folks saying all sorts of stuff, and I'd love to get a conservative estimate on what you can do at once. How many briskets? (4?) How many butts (2?) Ribs, I'm sure you can go crazy on.

2.) Has anybody ever had to re-fuel mid-cook on one of these?

3.) Are the crazy fast cook times people talk about legit? I saw a guy do a 16-pounder on YouTube in about 6 hours, total. That seems almost too good to be true.

4.) What about meat breaking late in the cook? I was talking to a guy at a comp a couple of weekends ago who was using his PBC (along with a couple of UDS's), and he said he loves it, but sometimes has ribs fall off and down into the fire. And this guy is a multiple time grand champion, so he's no novice. I can only imagine what might happen if you don't wrap a butt and let it get to around 200. That could spell catastrophe. Anybody with any insight on these issues?

5.) I am torn between this and a 22.5 WSM. Trying to balance my home needs with what I do in competition. Either way, I am just tired of staying up all night babysitting kettles (with all sorts of mods), and these seem to be the two front runners that combine (relative) portability, cost, and quality. Not really a question here--just letting you know where I'm coming from.

I know that's a lot. Thanks for your wisdom!

[Jerod Broussard]

I'll tackle some of this on my lunch break.

[fzxdoc]

Well, let me see if I can answer your questions in order

First: Where to finish up the meat. Usually, I try to finish up my meat in the PBC. But by the time it's wrapped, it doesn't know where the heat is coming from: the oven, a gasser, another smoker, an indirect-heat charcoal grill. So if you run out of room in the PBC, there's always a way to finish it up. I've used a Hovergrill-type device to finish up a couple of large pieces of meat (sometimes I smoke 3 or 4 chuck roasts at a time) which works OK. As far as hanging ribs goes, you can always use a Great Grate as seen here, or as the PBC folks sell a rendition of.

Now for the other questions:

1. Capacity: one of our members here Jerod Broussard , smokes 5 briskets or more in his PBC. I've done two packers at a time in my PBC. I can hang 4 smallish or 2 large pork butts, but finding the space for them after wrapping becomes the issue unless I use my Hovergrill accessory or move one or more to a 225 degree oven. You can easily do 8 racks of ribs on the PBC.

2. I have re-fueled mid cook. With Kingsford Original, I get 8 to 12 hours of good cook time. Usually by that time it's ready to wrap. I have no problem adding another chimney of coals then, when the meat is wrapped. But when the meat is still hanging, I don't like the fine ash stirred up by adding more charcoal, so I remove the meat, add the charcoal, let the ash die down, and then add the meat back to the barrel.

3. For crazy fast cook times, see this topic that lists cook times at various PBC temps for various cuts of meat/veggies. This is real life data from our PBC members. I personally have never been able to match many of Noah's cook times (on the PBC website) for speed. My PBC loves to hum along at about 260-280 for much of the cook, so of course my cooks go faster as compared to those who cook at 225. That's not to say that you can't cook at 225 on the PBC. I have, but I don't prefer it. To me the meat cooked at that lower temp has been no better than the ones cooked at the 260-280 sweet spot of my PBC.

4. Meat breaking: I'm happy to report that I've never had a piece of meat hit the coals. Knock wood. However, some here have reported that unhappy incident in their PBC cooks. I am very careful about hooking the meat. I use what I call a "double serial" hooking method (two hooks, one linked into the upper hook in the meat) for all of my ribs, briskets, pork butts, chuck roasts etc. I don't serial double hook poultry, since for a whole bird a hook goes into each armpit.

5. WSM and other smokers: For other smokers/cookers with the versatility of a grill, if you haven't already, you may want to take a look at a Weber Kettle plus a Slow 'n Sear accessory. People here rave about that combo. Just enter Slow 'n Sear into your search engine and take a peek at what comes up. Read what Meathead and Max Good say about it. I've been tempted by that combo for quite a while now to add versatility (and more room) to my PBC. I had a WSM back in the day (my ex got custody of it), but I love my Pit Barrel Cooker much better. It all works out in the end. Seriously though, there is a smoker for every BBQr's mentality. You just need to dial in on the one that suits your needs and your concept of BBQ in your life.

Best of luck in your hunt for a good all-in-good-fun competition smoker. One thing about the PBC, you'll most likely end up using it at home even if you eventually decide to go big time on the BBQ circuit.

Kathryn

[Jerod Broussard]

Kathryn got you covered.

[jecucolo]

Everything Kathryn says.
I have done several competition and you do feel like the Lone Ranger surround by the big rigs! I'm still learning but I never come home with left overs.
1. This weekend I smoked a 15 lb packer brisket, 3 racks of ribs and a half of a chicken at the same time. It takes a little thinking but there is room.
2 and 3 I cooked all of this plus the other chicken half from 5am until 3pm. I still had some hot coals.
4. Never had anything break off. I have dropped a chicken half.
5. I just bought a Weber and a slow and sear for this weekend. I love it too. Almost as easy to use. I will say this, with the PBC all the grease is burned up and I have never had to clean up a grease puddle. It all turns in to a fog. The side get sticky but I don't clean the sides.
Just my 2 cents.

[Bootheel]

Thanks y'all. Much obliged for your insight!

[JeffJ]

As far as PBC vs WSM 22.5....hopefully Ernest weighs in. He has both (or had? I seem to recall he gave his PBC away). Regardless, he's cooked extensively on both so he's a prime candidate to offer a compare/contrast analysis.

[BrentC]

Just to add on max capacity, I've done a few cooks where I've used all eight of the hooks that came with the PBC:

- 8 racks of ribs
- 8 half chickens
- 4 rib racks and 4 half chickens

I still had room to maneuver in all of these cases. I probably could have squeezed in two more racks of ribs in all of these scenarios, if I had the hooks, but more than that would be tighter than I am personally comfortable doing.