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**Huskee** · September 27, 2025, 12:35 PM

First piece of advice, don't try to compare the advice about 'thin blue smoke' or 'no smoke' to the PBC. Thin blue mostly applies to stickburners and a high-heat wood fire therein, and the absence of smoke from charcoal applies more to when you're lighting an entire substance of charcoal, such as a chimney or pile, and doesn't really apply to a pile of charcoal containing unlit coals which will slowly light over time, such as in a snake, or Minion method, and in the PBC. There will typically always be some smoke when the charcoal is setup to light coals over time.

The amount of smoke coming out of the rebar holes will be what it will be, unless you have your lid cracked the rebar holes are the only exhaust, so try not to worry about that.

Let me ask you this, what food did you cook when there was less noticeable smoke flavor, and what did you cook when there was more? The food, and therefore the cook time, drippings, can all play a big part in that. Methinks the greater smoke that you noticed, and the more smoke flavor, were the direct result of meat drippings. That's how the PBC, and even gas grills, add flavor. I wouldn't try to fix anything, sounds like it's working properly!

Also, not to nitpick, but cracking the lid doesn't let more air in, it lets more exhaust out and therefore pulls a lot more in the bottom vent to fire the coals up, thus increasing your temps.

**Bogy** · September 27, 2025, 12:45 PM

My first comment is to use it for a while, following the instruction, more or less. The PBC is a very simple cooker, but I think it still needs a little breaking in. And getting used to. I know the instructions put a lot of emphasis on not letting any smoke escape, but as Huskee said, its more about ventilatilon than holding in a lot of smoke. I see lots of pictures of people with bricks etc. on top of the lids. Those people must wash all the grease off their barrels when the cook is done, because have more problem getting my lid off the cooker, especially when cold than I do getting it to seal. I have used aluminum foil to seal the rebar holes in the past. Now I have a bunch of magnets of various sizes and shapes that I use, especially if I am not using a rebar.

BTW, what were you cooking that your family was complaining about? Some meat absorbs more smoke than others.

**Ace** · September 27, 2025, 01:28 PM

I've learned a lot since I bought a PBC a few weeks ago and tried several cooks. I don't worry too much about smoke escaping from the lid or rebar holes unless i need to adjust the temperature. If I need more heat, I crack the lid, less heat I plug the holes with foil or cover with ceramic magnets and spin the lid a little to get it to seal better. If no smoke escapes, the fire would die out due to suffocation. As mention above, as meat starts to render you get fats dripping on the hot coals and vaporizes, creating more smoke and flavor. Keep cooking and soon you'll have all the tricks down.

**Alan Brice** · September 27, 2025, 02:06 PM

I have a nearly fool proof method to start the PBC. It involves a #10 Peanut/Coffee can. Cut slits up the sides so it will go in the center of the coal basket. Place in the center of your unlit charcoal basket then fill said charcoal basket with unlit charcoal. Use the #10 can as a place holder. Light yer chimney as you would for the PBC. Once it is rockin and ready to go, pour the lit chimney into the placeholder empty can. Lift out the placeholder/can with tongs. Go ahead n hang/place yer protein, then place the PBC lid back in place n have a beverage. Slow even, temperature rise, with even burn from the center out. FoolProof. from a fool. PBC,Pbc, pbc!!!

**Alan Brice** · September 27, 2025, 02:08 PM

bc PBC pbc

**FireMan** · September 27, 2025, 02:11 PM

I like the use of the word therein by Huskee . First time I have seen it used in regards to BBQ.

**Bogy** · September 27, 2025, 02:31 PM

I'm now starting my barrels (PBC and Bronco) by recycling. Wipe down your flat top with paper towels til they are nice and greasy. Add some more grease by dipping the paper towels in the grease catcher. Put the grease filled paper towels in the barrel with about half a load of charcoal. Add the other half. Light the paper towels. Wait until the charcoal is ready and cook. Of course it requires you to have a cooker which creates and catches grease, but if you do, this removes the problem of what to do with it.

**shify** · September 27, 2025, 03:09 PM

The real (only?) key to the PBC is to make sure the coals are well lit before moving forward with the cook. Don’t worry about temps or about smoke coming out of the rebars unless you are worried about the meat falling off the hook (e.g., if you get a ton of smoke pouring out 4 hrs into your rib cook, it’s likely before a rack is sitting in the coals). The caution about smoke from the lid is about making sure the lid is sealed with no air leaking in/out which will make it burn hotter. It’s not about the volume of smoke.

I generally follow the lighting instructions you linked but looks for signs rather than strict times/temps. Below are my tips/tricks

1) if you use a chimney, as soon as the top layer has grey ash on the corners of the briquettes they are ready to dump
2) always use a full (half size) chimney regardless of the cook length. More coals in basket = longer cook time but I always light a full chimney
3) after you dump, let it burn with nothing in - no rebar, no lid for about 10 min until the fire is really going.
4) put in the rebars and lid - then I go back inside and get my food and move right to cooking with no waiting outside of time to get my food.
5) don’t chase temps and let it go. If you follow above, the temps will start high and then settle down within ~20 min. The only time I’m concerned with temps is if the barrel is fully loaded and I’m worried about the fire getting snuffed out at the beginning.

**FireMan** · September 27, 2025, 04:54 PM

When in trouble ferget the smoke juss burn baby burn and if'n ya git in trouble call Betty, formerly known as Huskee !

**Duanessmokedmeats** · September 28, 2025, 10:20 AM

I use the 12-10-10 method.
Put 40 briquettes in a chimney (I have a Pit Barrel chimney).
Fill the basket with the amount you need for the cook.
More than 6 hours -120 in basket, 40 in chimney.
Between 4 & 6 hrs - 80 in the basket, 40 in the chimney.
Between 1 & 4 hrs - 40 in basket, 40 in chimney.
Less than 1 hour - 10 in basket, 40 in chimney.
These above measurements are thanks to fzxdoc.

Light the chimney for 12 minutes.
Dump around evenly (as possible) an leave lid and rods out for 10 minutes.
Put in wood chunks and put lid on for 10 minutes.
Put in rods and food, and place lid on firmly.
Sit back and relax.

It usually starts out in the 325 to 340 range, but settles down to @275.
I use this method all the time. Tried other times, but keep coming back to this.

**Ace** · October 1, 2025, 06:20 PM

Originally posted by Alan Brice View Post

bc PBC pbc

Thanks Alan Brice This has inspired me to give this a try and it'll be interesting to see the results. I'm guessing that this method will extend the cook time capability but I'm not sure how it'll affect the temp. I'll give it a go this week.

Cut the slots:

Drilled a couple of holes to remove the can via a hook:

Pic of a hook that's attached to an old muzzle loader cleaning rod:

In the PBC:

**dpearce** · October 2, 2025, 12:45 PM

I know some folks don't add wood chunks/chips to the PBC and you didn't mention if you did or not, so this might not apply.

I've noticed with chicken in the PBC, I have to be careful how much wood I add to the briquettes for smoke. I usually use a couple small bits of hickory chunks (about 2-3 inches across, maybe a half an inch thick?) and about 2-3 slightly larger chunks of apple. For pork, I add a bit more of each, but always less hickory than apple.

Also noticed the same with cherry. Seems the meat picks up a decent amount of flavor from a small bit.

I usually let that smoke for about 10 minutes with the lid cracked before loading in the food and closing the lid.

When I was using chips of wood, I'd use about a handful of each and put the lid on tight, then wait maybe 5 minutes before loading the food. Longer than that, and/or with the lid cracked, the chips would burn up too fast.

I've got some pecan I'm planning on using as well, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm sure you'll get there with a few more cooks. The advice fzxdoc has written up is a big help, that's for sure!

**fzxdoc** · October 5, 2025, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by jasonwilliams14 View Post

What I noticed on several of my cooks is that my temps would dip pretty good, below 250. When I would glance ad the charcoal basket, it looks like I was not getting even burns in the basket. I point this to me not doing the lighting process correctly

Secondly, my family said they noticed the smoke was a little more intense than usual and I point that to mistakes I made during the cook. Specifically, I think what was happening is that I would see the temps dip low and then to counter that and raise the temps, I would crack the lid to get more air in. However, I noticed that a lot of smoke would start to billow out.

All that being said, I had some down time this morning and I decided to practice the lighting method (no food) just get the core concept down.

The guide is grate and I followed it as written. I had a couple of questions
One specific question I had was on step 15:

Ok. So I got to this point, but I did still see smoke coming where rebar holes are and I am pretty sure none from the lid.
One question I have is, how much smoke coming out from the holes is acceptable?

Hi Jason--as you have noticed, the temp of the PBC can fluctuate during the cook. This is not usually a problem unless it goes unusually high or low. That is, for a standard cook, going over 325° (if not cooking poultry or meatloaf), or below 220° are the trigger points for me.

The important thing, if you're concerned about the stability of the PBC ambient temps, is to place 2 ambient probes opposite each other about an inch or two from the side of the barrel, hanging at the same level as the meat. As your cook progresses, you'll see that the temps on these two probes can vary from each other by as much as 40 to 60° or more. You'll also see that the high temp may switch between probes. Take the average of these temps, and most of the time you'll see that your PBC stays in the 250° to 290° range, right where you want to be for non-poultry cooks, or meatloaf, maybe. The moral of this story is that mostly you should let the PBC do its own thing.

If the temp goes too high at the beginning, most likely the lid is not tight. If it goes too low, most likely you did not get a good light on the coals. The temperature depends on other things like how many wood chunks you use, or whether the meat you're cooking throws off a lot of moisture, like chicken.

For me a 2 to 3 inch wood chunk is good for short cooks like chicken and meatloaf and 2 or 3 of those 2 to 3 inch chunks are good for longer cooks. It doesn't take much wood. In fact, some people here say they can't tell the difference in a PBC whether or not wood has been added. Me, I can tell.

It's very common to have an uneven burn pattern in the coals, even with a good initial burn on them. For example, at the end of a poultry cook, I have had half the basket coals completely burned while the other half is only partially burned--like there is a line down the center of the basket. Weird, I know. But other people have reported the same thing. For me it only happened twice. So burn patterns can be extreme like that, or spotty. No worries either way.

About the smoke--I know I sound like a broken record here, but the important thing is to get a good initial burn on those coals in the basket, especially if you're using Kingsford charcoal. If you add the meat too soon, you can get an oily creosote-y taste on the meat because the Kingsford coals have not come up to a good hot temp yet. That's why, in my 10-10-10 lighting method (or some variation of that), I let the coals burn for a while before putting the lid on.

I like to add the meat when there is fluffy white smoke coming out of the rebar holes. For me, the amount of smoke doesn't make much difference--whether it's a lot or a little, barely visible, you'll get great flavor and pretty smoke rings with the PBC. Sometimes the white smoke intensifies right after hooking the meat on the rebars. I wonder of some of this can be condensation, since the meat I add is usually 35° or less initially. A lot of cold mass in that hot barrel makes white smoke billow for a while, then it settles pretty quickly in to wispy smoke.

As Huskee says, back when I first joined The Pit, everyone was talking about getting pretty blue smoke out of their cookers. Now they don't talk much about that any more unless they're using stick burners. The important thing is that the smoke isn't grey-ish or worse. IIRC, I've never seen grey smoke coming from my PBC when I follow my lighting procedure, giving the coals some time to heat up before adding the meat.

If you see a little smoke leaking out the lid, I'd probably leave it alone as long as the temps are not skyrocketing. No point obsessing about every wisp of smoke. Trust your two ambient probes and let them tell you whether to mess with modifying the temp.

After you've used two ambient probes for a while and become confident about the PBC temps during most cooks, you'll probably just go back to one ambient probe. Some folks here are so comfortable with the PBC that they don't monitor ambient temps at all. I like to monitor them because they help me determine the ETA of getting the meat on the table.

The take home message here is not to worry to much about burn patterns or the amount of smoke coming out of the rebar holes. If you're concerned about the ambient temp, drop a second probe in the barrel, opposite the first one and watch the average of the two during the cook. It almost always stays pretty steady.

I really enjoy reading about your learning curve as you continue to work with your PBC, because it tells me that you're making good food and having fun doing it. Those are the two most important things about PBC (or any cooker's) cooks.

Kathryn

**jasonwilliams14** · October 16, 2025, 10:00 AM

Originally posted by fzxdoc View Post

Hi Jason--as you have noticed, the temp of the PBC can fluctuate during the cook. This is not usually a problem unless it goes unusually high or low. That is, for a standard cook, going over 325° (if not cooking poultry or meatloaf), or below 220° are the trigger points for me.

The important thing, if you're concerned about the stability of the PBC ambient temps, is to place 2 ambient probes opposite each other about an inch or two from the side of the barrel, hanging at the same level as the meat. As your cook progresses, you'll see that the temps on these two probes can vary from each other by as much as 40 to 60° or more. You'll also see that the high temp may switch between probes. Take the average of these temps, and most of the time you'll see that your PBC stays in the 250° to 290° range, right where you want to be for non-poultry cooks, or meatloaf, maybe. The moral of this story is that mostly you should let the PBC do its own thing.

If the temp goes too high at the beginning, most likely the lid is not tight. If it goes too low, most likely you did not get a good light on the coals. The temperature depends on other things like how many wood chunks you use, or whether the meat you're cooking throws off a lot of moisture, like chicken.

For me a 2 to 3 inch wood chunk is good for short cooks like chicken and meatloaf and 2 or 3 of those 2 to 3 inch chunks are good for longer cooks. It doesn't take much wood. In fact, some people here say they can't tell the difference in a PBC whether or not wood has been added. Me, I can tell.

It's very common to have an uneven burn pattern in the coals, even with a good initial burn on them. For example, at the end of a poultry cook, I have had half the basket coals completely burned while the other half is only partially burned--like there is a line down the center of the basket. Weird, I know. But other people have reported the same thing. For me it only happened twice. So burn patterns can be extreme like that, or spotty. No worries either way.

About the smoke--I know I sound like a broken record here, but the important thing is to get a good initial burn on those coals in the basket, especially if you're using Kingsford charcoal. If you add the meat too soon, you can get an oily creosote-y taste on the meat because the Kingsford coals have not come up to a good hot temp yet. That's why, in my 10-10-10 lighting method (or some variation of that), I let the coals burn for a while before putting the lid on.

I like to add the meat when there is fluffy white smoke coming out of the rebar holes. For me, the amount of smoke doesn't make much difference--whether it's a lot or a little, barely visible, you'll get great flavor and pretty smoke rings with the PBC. Sometimes the white smoke intensifies right after hooking the meat on the rebars. I wonder of some of this can be condensation, since the meat I add is usually 35° or less initially. A lot of cold mass in that hot barrel makes white smoke billow for a while, then it settles pretty quickly in to wispy smoke.

As Huskee says, back when I first joined The Pit, everyone was talking about getting pretty blue smoke out of their cookers. Now they don't talk much about that any more unless they're using stick burners. The important thing is that the smoke isn't grey-ish or worse. IIRC, I've never seen grey smoke coming from my PBC when I follow my lighting procedure, giving the coals some time to heat up before adding the meat.

If you see a little smoke leaking out the lid, I'd probably leave it alone as long as the temps are not skyrocketing. No point obsessing about every wisp of smoke. Trust your two ambient probes and let them tell you whether to mess with modifying the temp.

After you've used two ambient probes for a while and become confident about the PBC temps during most cooks, you'll probably just go back to one ambient probe. Some folks here are so comfortable with the PBC that they don't monitor ambient temps at all. I like to monitor them because they help me determine the ETA of getting the meat on the table.

The take home message here is not to worry to much about burn patterns or the amount of smoke coming out of the rebar holes. If you're concerned about the ambient temp, drop a second probe in the barrel, opposite the first one and watch the average of the two during the cook. It almost always stays pretty steady.

I really enjoy reading about your learning curve as you continue to work with your PBC, because it tells me that you're making good food and having fun doing it. Those are the two most important things about PBC (or any cooker's) cooks.

Kathryn

@fzxdoc
This is incredibly helpful post! TYVM!

About the smoke--I know I sound like a broken record here, but the important thing is to get a good initial burn on those coals in the basket, especially if you're using Kingsford charcoal. If you add the meat too soon, you can get an oily creosote-y taste on the meat because the Kingsford coals have not come up to a good hot temp yet. That's why, in my 10-10-10 lighting method (or some variation of that), I let the coals burn for a while before putting the lid on.

I have been thinking a lot about my cooks on the PBC of late and I am starting to think that, not lighting the coals and letting them get hot is what is happening to me. It would explain the creosote-y taste you mention that gives off an overly strong smoke smell I think.

I am going to do a cook or two this weekend and try out the 10-10-10 method and give it a go. I need another probe also (i have one), but be nice to check it out.

Lastly, i think at the end, when i get the lighting method down correctly and the PBC up and running, after I hang the meat, I just leave it a lone. I cant help but wonder if me fiddling with the lid a bit during the cook , could also be an issue.

Thank you again!

Jason

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Couple questions on lighting the PBC

Couple questions on lighting the PBC

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