Having owned my PBC since 2018, I'd already watched and become familiar with Noah's videos on the story behind how and why he settled on the design he did, why it ran at hotter temperatures, what happened with the fat and juices dripped down onto the lit coals, the whole concept. Since I'd had a weber for years prior, I was already familiar with smoking ribs, pork shoulders, etc... and two-zone setups, and (every once in a while) turning out good food. Plus I made a number of friends who were pretty darn good outdoor cooks. So I knew what good BBQ tasted like when it was done well. The PBC did not disappoint.
It all started when my Weber kettle bit the dust in the summer of '23. Whenever I needed low & slow, or direct grilling, I'd use the Weber. Knowing it would be awhile before I could replace the weber and eager to see how the PBC would perform (I already had the Signals), and being curious, I decided to try out the Billows.
So last spring, I purchased a Billow's fan to use with my Signals and the PBC. I wanted to try lower and slower on the PBC, without mangling my PBC so I could easily return it to it's original configuration. The Thermoworks product was ideal for this due to the fact they had an adapter for Billows (it's actually labeled for the Big Green Egg) to the air intake that required no drilling or cutting.
Other than using some high-heat tape, it was simple to mount the Billows adapter to the PBC. Simply use the same screw the default air intake plate uses, then tape around the adapter to seal it tite for airflow. Just don't skimp on the tape. 3-M makes a good high-heat resistant tape that lasts about a year or so through the seasons in Ohio. Once it starts to loosen up, peel off the old (should be easy at that point), and cut and trim new pieces.
However, this whole setup does somewhat defeat the designed purpose of the PBC, which is (as all you PBC owners know) is a hotter, faster smoker. And it adds more complexity to heat management. It's fun to play with fire, but not usually when the fire is way down in a barrel and the only way to reach it is top down! Arm hair does grow back, at least mine did (multiple times). I definitely learned quickly through some trial and error, better timing on when to do what.
So, for those wondering, does it actually work? Well, yes. You can keep the PBC running at a cooler temp, easily holding 225-250 'ish through a long cook. Now all this depended on how you'd start it! A wax starter is about the lowest and slowest way to start. That takes soooo long to get to a reasonable temp for cooking, but it's the easiest way to keep from overshooting your desired temp. Using a handful of briquettes (maybe 10-15) works better, and doesn't seem to overheat the PBC as fast as a half chimney does. Just don't leave the lid off for too long. I usually kept it cracked (per normal PBC instructions) until I was about 20-30 degrees shy of the target temp, added the wood, let it smoke for about 15 minutes, add the food and cover the PBC fully, then let the Billows manage the heat from there. The temps would swing high near the beginning maybe about 50 degrees, but after a short time, would settle down.
Did the low and slow improve/change/mess up flavor on the PBC? That's a hard call. I would say cooking things like chicken or turkey and expecting crisper skin like what you'd normally get with a PBC, is not going to happen. Several times I tried to amp up the heat near the end for those meats, but didn't notice much difference and usually charred the skin too much. Flavor-wise, once I got better at managing the fire/smoke, anything that was a large cut normally cooked low and slow didn't seem to have much difference. It was still a pretty darned good cook. From pork to beef, whole turkey and chicken (other than the skin) was pretty much the same. As long as I didn't try to rush the wood smoke or the cook. About the only thing it did was prolong the cooking time and maybe save from reloading some charcoal on long cooks. That part was nice if I was doing a lot of chores around the house and still needed to have dinner ready at a certain time.
So what did I learn? Background: The whole idea of lower and slower appealed to me because, once or twice I ran into a large cut of very fatty pork shoulder, I thought if I'd been able to cook to temp slower, it might be more tender. First, I've learned that prepping/trimming those cuts makes more difference at the end than trying to wrangle the PBC to do something other than what it's designed to do. Secondly, it's a good excuse to have more than one cooker/smoker and set those up accordingly based on your cook! Lastly, if you like to play more with fire, a quality offset stick burner or cabinet smoker may be a better addition to your backyard stable of cookers.
All in all, I'd still recommend a PBC right out of the box to anyone who wants to dip their feet into smoking food without spending a fortune to find out if you like it or not. And I plan on leaving the factory air flow management damper in place for the foreseeable future.
For now, I have my replacement Weber 22" kettle with a bunch of accessories (will be adding an SnS soon, last one for sure, I tell my wife!), a gasser I got for free, and the PBC. This setup still gives me plenty of options. I have a few more cookers/smokers I'm eyeing, but at least with this setup I can turn out decent food!
It all started when my Weber kettle bit the dust in the summer of '23. Whenever I needed low & slow, or direct grilling, I'd use the Weber. Knowing it would be awhile before I could replace the weber and eager to see how the PBC would perform (I already had the Signals), and being curious, I decided to try out the Billows.
So last spring, I purchased a Billow's fan to use with my Signals and the PBC. I wanted to try lower and slower on the PBC, without mangling my PBC so I could easily return it to it's original configuration. The Thermoworks product was ideal for this due to the fact they had an adapter for Billows (it's actually labeled for the Big Green Egg) to the air intake that required no drilling or cutting.
Other than using some high-heat tape, it was simple to mount the Billows adapter to the PBC. Simply use the same screw the default air intake plate uses, then tape around the adapter to seal it tite for airflow. Just don't skimp on the tape. 3-M makes a good high-heat resistant tape that lasts about a year or so through the seasons in Ohio. Once it starts to loosen up, peel off the old (should be easy at that point), and cut and trim new pieces.
However, this whole setup does somewhat defeat the designed purpose of the PBC, which is (as all you PBC owners know) is a hotter, faster smoker. And it adds more complexity to heat management. It's fun to play with fire, but not usually when the fire is way down in a barrel and the only way to reach it is top down! Arm hair does grow back, at least mine did (multiple times). I definitely learned quickly through some trial and error, better timing on when to do what.
So, for those wondering, does it actually work? Well, yes. You can keep the PBC running at a cooler temp, easily holding 225-250 'ish through a long cook. Now all this depended on how you'd start it! A wax starter is about the lowest and slowest way to start. That takes soooo long to get to a reasonable temp for cooking, but it's the easiest way to keep from overshooting your desired temp. Using a handful of briquettes (maybe 10-15) works better, and doesn't seem to overheat the PBC as fast as a half chimney does. Just don't leave the lid off for too long. I usually kept it cracked (per normal PBC instructions) until I was about 20-30 degrees shy of the target temp, added the wood, let it smoke for about 15 minutes, add the food and cover the PBC fully, then let the Billows manage the heat from there. The temps would swing high near the beginning maybe about 50 degrees, but after a short time, would settle down.
Did the low and slow improve/change/mess up flavor on the PBC? That's a hard call. I would say cooking things like chicken or turkey and expecting crisper skin like what you'd normally get with a PBC, is not going to happen. Several times I tried to amp up the heat near the end for those meats, but didn't notice much difference and usually charred the skin too much. Flavor-wise, once I got better at managing the fire/smoke, anything that was a large cut normally cooked low and slow didn't seem to have much difference. It was still a pretty darned good cook. From pork to beef, whole turkey and chicken (other than the skin) was pretty much the same. As long as I didn't try to rush the wood smoke or the cook. About the only thing it did was prolong the cooking time and maybe save from reloading some charcoal on long cooks. That part was nice if I was doing a lot of chores around the house and still needed to have dinner ready at a certain time.
So what did I learn? Background: The whole idea of lower and slower appealed to me because, once or twice I ran into a large cut of very fatty pork shoulder, I thought if I'd been able to cook to temp slower, it might be more tender. First, I've learned that prepping/trimming those cuts makes more difference at the end than trying to wrangle the PBC to do something other than what it's designed to do. Secondly, it's a good excuse to have more than one cooker/smoker and set those up accordingly based on your cook! Lastly, if you like to play more with fire, a quality offset stick burner or cabinet smoker may be a better addition to your backyard stable of cookers.
All in all, I'd still recommend a PBC right out of the box to anyone who wants to dip their feet into smoking food without spending a fortune to find out if you like it or not. And I plan on leaving the factory air flow management damper in place for the foreseeable future.
For now, I have my replacement Weber 22" kettle with a bunch of accessories (will be adding an SnS soon, last one for sure, I tell my wife!), a gasser I got for free, and the PBC. This setup still gives me plenty of options. I have a few more cookers/smokers I'm eyeing, but at least with this setup I can turn out decent food!
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