After Many Years, A Failure. What Happened?

[Jsrothstein]

Hi all. I've had a PBC for more than 10 years and have had excellent results with chicken, ribs and briskets, with nary a failure until today. I loaded 105 blue-bag briquettes in the basket, as I have for many years, with 35 more in my starter. Lit the starter, waited 20 minutes (I'm at 2850 feet), then gently poured the white briquettes into the basket, added two slabs of ribs and a full packer, and closed the lid. The temp spiked up as it usually does, to about 320, but then instead of settling between 270 and 300 it fell to 230. I have the louver set per Pit Barrel's instructions, at half open for my altitude. I pushed it all the way open for a while, no effect. I set the lid ajar for a few minutes to increase airflow and the temp went up to 245-250. I replaced the lid and the temp fell again. I didn't want to mess further so I let it go. After four hours the meats were stalled at around 150 and dinner was a couple of hours away. I removed the meats, wrapped them tightly in foil, and placed them in a 275 oven with a probe. Most of the brisket wound up ruined, but fortunately the ribs came out fine so the guests were happy.

What happened with my PBC, and what should I have done to correct it? I've had it run hot from time to time but have never seen the temp fall that low before.

Thanks!
Jeff

[Jared49]

Considering the info you gave, it certainly appears that you know what you’re doing. First thing that came to mind then is the briquettes. Possible they got wet? Had you used briquettes from “this” bag before?

[Jerod Broussard]

Don't mess with the bottom vent. Leave it set. If temps are a bit low crack the lid. I installed an adjustable vent on my lid.

[realdocBBQ]

I also jumped right to the thought about the charcoal - maybe you got a bad batch somehow. I'd run another 'test cook' with something non-critical with the same bag, then of course, you'll have to run another comparison cook with a different bag and/or brand. Even a brand you've used many times before, you can get a bad batch. Who knows, some yahoo left a pallet sitting out in the rain, or it's super old and you didn't know or just sub-par wood or pyrolysis. Hard to know for sure, but this is my biggest suspect.

[Jsrothstein]

Thanks for your thoughts. I think moisture is unlikely. We live in Tucson, and we always store charcoal in the garage. Yesterday was humid by Tucson standards, maybe 50%, but I use the PBC on July 4 pretty much every year, when this weather is typical, and this hasn’t happened before. Bad bag? Maybe, but I used the end of an open bag that didn’t cause any issues before.
I’ll look into the idea of a top louver or something like the TWorks Bellows.

Thanks for the thoughts and tips!

Jeff

[LA Pork Butt]

I don’t cook on a PBC, but it seems to me by your experience and description the only possible variables are the charcoal and the meat. While there is no evidence to support moisture in the charcoal, what else could possibly be different about this cook? You haven’t changed your settings. Unless there was something unseen going on with the meat, like it was still frozen, there must be something unknown going on the charcoal.

[N227GB]

Here's another vote for something up with the charcoal.


Posted from my phone

[HawkerXP]

Placement of the barrel temp probe? The pbc has different temperature zones.

More meat than you’ve cooked before? All that cold meat will drop your temp. If near the probe it will mess with your readings.

Charcoal.

[Alan Brice]

You may have gotten a bad briskie. All that success under yer belt, could just have gotten a bad cow, or the meat was subject to something you were unaware of. Sounds like yer batting .900

[TripleB]

I'm with Alan Brice, you got a bad brisket. You have too much experience, technique and time cooking on the PBC to be anything else. It happens to us all. Sometimes you get a piece of meat that just does not come out right, no matter what you do.

[realdocBBQ]

This is true - some cows are just stubborn and tough. No way to predict it.

[Jessterr]

How were the meat items oriented in the PBC? Were the ribs hung, with the brisket horizontal on a half shelf, or something otherwise? Just wondering if both the quantity and orientation of the meat may have inhibited the air flow, which in my experience can have a significant effect upon cooker temperatures in the PBC.