Hanging ribs on the PBX ?

[Lynn Dollar]

I'm smoking 4 racks of St Louis cut today on the PBX.

I cut out the bottom of an old coffee can. Then I cut slots in two sides, so it would fit over the handle to the charcoal basket. I'm gonna put the can in the middle, fill up the outside of the basket around the can with unlit briqs, then put a chimney of lit briqs ( about 25 B&B's ) inside the can. Then take the can out.

So I figure, this will put all the heat in the middle of the basket/cooker The outsides will get less direct heat. I'm thinking that when I hang the ribs, I put them around the outside ? Then I might even avoid scorching the bottom of the racks ?

Good idea or not ?

[Alan Brice]

Excellent! You will be amazed at your results. Rem, If yer lookin' ya aint cookin.
Besides lookin will cause temp spikes. Run those bad boys up to 190* and see how they look.

[Lynn Dollar]

I found out about the temp spike. Cooker settled in at 295* in the first hour. But I wanted to rotate the racks of ribs, so I got into it quickly and moved them around. Cooker spiked to 320 or so, then came back down to 305*.

I wanted to cook under 300, so I stuffed some foil around the rods in a couple of holes and brought it back down to 290*, and it ran there the rest of the cook.

[Spinaker]

It will work very well. That is very similar to how I set up my charcoal basket. I never thought of using the coffee can though. That is a great call.

Give the lit chimney a good shake to knock off the ash and then pour the charcoal in.

[Spinaker]

Yep, all by hand, it doesn’t take that long. Ye two rows stacked. They interlock and stand up well once you get going. TomfromtheSoo

[TomfromtheSoo]

Thanks Spinaker,

I’ll give it a try.

[Michael_in_TX]

That image should be a poster on your wall.

[RonB]

I suggest using a metal, not plastic coffee can.

[Lynn Dollar]

Ohh no, that means I cut that plastic one up for nothing .

The old metal ones are so hard to find.

[Alan Brice]

Lynn Dollar Costco sells Fancy Virginia Peanuts same size can.

[Lynn Dollar]

I had to call an audible. Unexpected T-Storms moved through today. Tomorrow will be better.

[RonB]

And you will have time to find a metal can.

[Lynn Dollar]

Was very happy with the result of my PBX rib cook . The ribs came out great, no scorching on the bottom, and they cooked fast, done in 3 hours.

I was gonna sell the PBX. I bought it last fall from Academy for $150. I thought it would make a great direct heat chicken cooker. I cooked on it twice, ribs and chicken, and did not like the results, it was not what I thought. I stored it in the garage till I got the right time to sell it. And then I watched this conversation ......

This inspired me to give the PBX another shot. Not only was two cooks not enough, but I made two major mistakes.

First, was using it how I wanted to cook on it, instead of how I should've cooked on it. I was thinking high direct heat, instead of following the excellent advise in this forum.

Second was using too much wood. I over smoked the meats and I learned that drum smokers are not about using wood for flavor.

I hung some chickens last week and the small piece of wood I added, did not even burn. And the chickens were great. Had a really good flavor. I've done a lot of yardbirds and these were some of the best I've done.

So I gave it another shot. I think this cooker is a keeper. I can't say these ribs are better than others I do, but its a different flavor in a good way. Its another option for whatever mood I'm in.

[Purc]

Glad you gave it another try. I don't have a PBX but a Bronco and I love to hang ribs and chickens in it.

[Sid P]

Thanks, I really enjoyed the video. Very interesting that they think the taste ceiling for a drum is higher than an offset…

[Smoked Transistors]

Those are some beauties. Now i want to go get some ribbys to smoke.

[Lynn Dollar]

And here, Malcolm only puts two small chunks of wood in his Gateway. I'm hopin this starts at 1:59, ( but it doesn't, will need to FF to that point ).

[Michael_in_TX]

First, was using it how I wanted to cook on it, instead of how I should've cooked on it.....Second was using too much wood. I over smoked the meats and I learned that drum smokers are not about using wood for flavor.

Yep....the PBC family are not only drum smokers, but a specific "style" of drum smoker, meant to be cooked on in a very particular way. (It is their strength, but also, perhaps their limitation.)

When I was shopping for mine, I remember watching a lot of the Youtube content creators to which Noah, the owner of the company, had gifted a PBC for a review. I can only imagine his frustration when a good portion of them utterly ignored the lighting and use instructions! One video that comes to mind is on Harry Soo's channel and he spends a lot of time adjusting the bottom vent, as if he were using one of his famed WSMs.

I also had that experience in which I over-smoked something by putting too much wood in. I think Noah is right that for one of one's early rib cooks, one should do them with no wood, so one can get a baseline for what the smoke flavor of fat vaporizing on the coals tastes like.

I've been very surprised at how smoky my food tastes when half of my wood chunks don't even ignite!

[Lynn Dollar]

I bought my first WSM in 2002. Cooked on it for 15 years till I got curious about stickburners.

I thought I understood drum cookers. I don't, this PBX has my head spinning. I've been watching a lot of WSM vrs PBC Youtube vids and I think some of those YT creators don't get it, either.

[TomfromtheSoo]

Thanks for this thread and all the comments!

I have a standard PBC and also did ribs on Sunday. When I first started cooking ribs on the PBC, I cooked them whole and usually flipped them about half way through. A while ago I started cutting them in half and cooking that way. I also do not use wood for ribs on the PBC and allow the meat sauna to provide the smoke.

This is also the first time I used Spinaker's method of stacking coals in the basket and included a large coffee can to help hold the hole open in the center. This worked well and provided for a longer overall burn time. After the ribs we did baked potatoes and corn on the cob with the leftover coals. I would take the time to stack briquets like this any time I wanted a longer burn time.

Waiting for the chimney of coals:



Coals dumped from chimney into basket:



Coal basket after two hours of burn time. I rotated the basket 180 degrees after this photo:



Two of the four dry rub ribs halves:



The four sauced rib halves:

[Lynn Dollar]

I've thought about cutting the racks in half. Could not think of a reason not to. Still can't.

[dpearce]

Ever since I saw someone post about cutting the ribs in half, I've been doing it that way for a hang cook. Works great!

[Lynn Dollar]

On my chicken cook from last week, I lit up the PBX as to the sticky at the top of this forum. I had 60 unlit coals and 20 lit. But I did not put the lit in the center, I scattered them around.

I put one 8" stick of pecan. It was half of half a split, not very big around. And I guess cause the lit coals were scattered, it never really burned. But as I said above, the birds had great flavor.

This was the split I had left over, the lighter in the pic for size perspective.