First post from a long time reader of these forums...
I've been cooking on a Weber Original Kettle for many years now and absolutely love it. I cooked a brisket last weekend (which was pretty good), but I was quite exhausted by the end. I felt like I was constantly fiddling and adjusting throughout the cook to maintain stable temp.
I've wanted a PBC for a few years now, and while cooking the brisket I stumbled on a great PBC deal for NZ$399 (USD240). I couldn't get my order in fast enough. The freight company confirmed delivery for Friday. I had a rack of SLC ribs which had been in the freezer for too long (and by coincidence the best before date was today). I defrosted, prepped and dry brined overnight, ready for the cooker's imminent arrival. The cooker turned up and it was ready for action within ten minutes, the time now being 15:00. It's been said many times how much faster this cooker is so I thought to myself, challenge accepted! Let's face it, the ribs are old and the cooker is new so I set myself a low expectation and decided to do my first lap of the track. I'm a competent cook so I aimed to get the ribs done for dinner (hopefully before 20:00) with decent flavor, knowing there will be many years ahead for improvement.
I followed fzxdoc advice to the letter and her instructions are so clear and concise, it felt like she was standing right behind me the whole time; thank you so much for all your tips and tricks. 45 minutes after unboxing the cooker, my ribs were hanging over the coals. This all seemed to good to be true, and as I type this I know I sound like an informercial
. I filled the basket to the brim with briquettes (Heat Beads) and removed 40 for the PBC short chimney, which fired up nice and easy in about 25 minutes (it's midwinter here so outside temp is 50F with a cold southerly, feels like temp of 35F).
I didn't get the 350deg+ temp spike that had been suggested, it peaked out at around 310. I decided that half an hour into my first cook was not the time to be fiddling with the lid, vent or anything else, I preferred to just observe and record what was happening. Temp settled at 275F within 30-40 minutes and remained there for most of the cook, dropping off to 260F by the end when the lid had been opened a few times for temp checks. I swapped the ribs hanging positions twice during the cook as one seemed a little warmer than the other. I also piled a few potatoes on the hinged grate. A couple of hours in, it was pitch black (my outside light bulb popped) with driving icy rain, perfect conditions for a first cook.
After three hours the instant read temps were ranging from 180-190F, I've always struggled to get good consistent instant read temps on ribs. At this point I chose to put the thermometer away and trust in the process. I decided I would cook for another 45mins, sauce the ribs, rehang for 15 mins more with the lid cracked. So at 19:45, the ribs were rested for ten mins before serving, I temp checked them out of curiosity and had multiple readings of 190F+. Excuse my poor cut on the ribs in the picture, I just grabbed a bread knife and hastily sliced them up. I was in a hurry to serve (my hungry, long-faced son loitering in the kitchen), so I wasted no time selecting the best looking ribs and staging photos.
Well I was utterly blown away by the result. The meat was juicy and it pulled effortlessly and perfectly, leaving clean bones, but it wasn't mushy (which I've found can sometimes happen with a 225F cook). Always room for improvement but for a first cook in only four hours, I was gobsmacked. It actually felt like someone else had cooked them, was Noah hiding inside the barrel? I chose not to wrap and didn't detect any kind of lengthy stall. The potatoes were great too.
The rack was around 3.5lbs. I rubbed them with Meathead's Memphis Meat Dust. Apart from being a fantastic rub, it's better to use something I know very well and eliminate extra variables. I glazed with Morepork, a brilliant NZ made BBQ sauce. The briquette formula (full to the brim minus 40 for the chimney) seemed perfect for Heat Beads brand of briquettes. I added two fist-sized chunks of hickory onto the coal basket for ten minutes before the ribs were hung.
One initial concern I had was the amount of charcoal required to run the cooker. Charcoal isn't cheap in New Zealand and there isn't a huge amount of choice, but it didn't need as much to fill as it appeared in photos, and I probably have 50-70% left over to reuse. So this concern was alleviated and with more meat being used in future cooks, the relative cost will only decrease.
Again thanks to fzxdoc and plenty of other contributors here, for the wealth of resources available. On Monday I'll be at my favorite butcher shop loading up on my favorite cuts. If you're like me and thinking about this cooker, stop thinking and just go buy one right now.
My Pit Barrel journey has just begun
I've been cooking on a Weber Original Kettle for many years now and absolutely love it. I cooked a brisket last weekend (which was pretty good), but I was quite exhausted by the end. I felt like I was constantly fiddling and adjusting throughout the cook to maintain stable temp.
I've wanted a PBC for a few years now, and while cooking the brisket I stumbled on a great PBC deal for NZ$399 (USD240). I couldn't get my order in fast enough. The freight company confirmed delivery for Friday. I had a rack of SLC ribs which had been in the freezer for too long (and by coincidence the best before date was today). I defrosted, prepped and dry brined overnight, ready for the cooker's imminent arrival. The cooker turned up and it was ready for action within ten minutes, the time now being 15:00. It's been said many times how much faster this cooker is so I thought to myself, challenge accepted! Let's face it, the ribs are old and the cooker is new so I set myself a low expectation and decided to do my first lap of the track. I'm a competent cook so I aimed to get the ribs done for dinner (hopefully before 20:00) with decent flavor, knowing there will be many years ahead for improvement.
I followed fzxdoc advice to the letter and her instructions are so clear and concise, it felt like she was standing right behind me the whole time; thank you so much for all your tips and tricks. 45 minutes after unboxing the cooker, my ribs were hanging over the coals. This all seemed to good to be true, and as I type this I know I sound like an informercial
. I filled the basket to the brim with briquettes (Heat Beads) and removed 40 for the PBC short chimney, which fired up nice and easy in about 25 minutes (it's midwinter here so outside temp is 50F with a cold southerly, feels like temp of 35F).I didn't get the 350deg+ temp spike that had been suggested, it peaked out at around 310. I decided that half an hour into my first cook was not the time to be fiddling with the lid, vent or anything else, I preferred to just observe and record what was happening. Temp settled at 275F within 30-40 minutes and remained there for most of the cook, dropping off to 260F by the end when the lid had been opened a few times for temp checks. I swapped the ribs hanging positions twice during the cook as one seemed a little warmer than the other. I also piled a few potatoes on the hinged grate. A couple of hours in, it was pitch black (my outside light bulb popped) with driving icy rain, perfect conditions for a first cook
.After three hours the instant read temps were ranging from 180-190F, I've always struggled to get good consistent instant read temps on ribs. At this point I chose to put the thermometer away and trust in the process. I decided I would cook for another 45mins, sauce the ribs, rehang for 15 mins more with the lid cracked. So at 19:45, the ribs were rested for ten mins before serving, I temp checked them out of curiosity and had multiple readings of 190F+. Excuse my poor cut on the ribs in the picture, I just grabbed a bread knife and hastily sliced them up. I was in a hurry to serve (my hungry, long-faced son loitering in the kitchen), so I wasted no time selecting the best looking ribs and staging photos.
Well I was utterly blown away by the result. The meat was juicy and it pulled effortlessly and perfectly, leaving clean bones, but it wasn't mushy (which I've found can sometimes happen with a 225F cook). Always room for improvement but for a first cook in only four hours, I was gobsmacked. It actually felt like someone else had cooked them, was Noah hiding inside the barrel? I chose not to wrap and didn't detect any kind of lengthy stall. The potatoes were great too.
The rack was around 3.5lbs. I rubbed them with Meathead's Memphis Meat Dust. Apart from being a fantastic rub, it's better to use something I know very well and eliminate extra variables. I glazed with Morepork, a brilliant NZ made BBQ sauce. The briquette formula (full to the brim minus 40 for the chimney) seemed perfect for Heat Beads brand of briquettes. I added two fist-sized chunks of hickory onto the coal basket for ten minutes before the ribs were hung.
One initial concern I had was the amount of charcoal required to run the cooker. Charcoal isn't cheap in New Zealand and there isn't a huge amount of choice, but it didn't need as much to fill as it appeared in photos, and I probably have 50-70% left over to reuse. So this concern was alleviated and with more meat being used in future cooks, the relative cost will only decrease.
Again thanks to fzxdoc and plenty of other contributors here, for the wealth of resources available. On Monday I'll be at my favorite butcher shop loading up on my favorite cuts. If you're like me and thinking about this cooker, stop thinking and just go buy one right now.
My Pit Barrel journey has just begun
Comment