Overwhelming Charcoal Flavor

[Pit Barrel Cooker Co.]

Are you using lighter fluid to start your coals? Do feel free to call us as well.

[Pit Barrel Cooker Co.]

Thanks. I'm not ready to give up yet. I also think if I could have seared the outside of the tri-tip this evening, that would have drastically altered the flavor. One thing I could do with a kettle and a S&S that I can't do with the PBC.

Actually, you can grill and sear on the Pit Barrel Cooker. For grilling and searing, the lid will remain off and the rebars will be left out. This will increase the internal temps of the PBC and is perfect for steaks, burgers, wings etc. Please feel free to check out all our videos on our website at www.pitbarrelcooker.com, it is a great source of information.

[Potkettleblack]

I am unable to get a PBC for my condo, but the fact that you answer questions here and the great support reported makes a PBC the first cooker I'll get if circumstances changes.

[kill2grill]

Hmmm.... are you using a marinade or adding wood? I ask because the only times I've had something that comes close to what you described is having excess fluid dripping on the coals and causing a lot of smoke. The only way I got too much smoke from the pit barrel was when I experimented with cold smoking a tritip for 3 hours before cooking. The methods outlined by fzxdoc for starting the grill have worked great.

[freddh]

Well sports fans, I ran across this in today's email from Thermapen and just had to share it. My Tomahawks from SRF were ordered last month and will arrive this Friday. This is what I'm cooking for Father's Day. They indicated that they used the PBC, but I cannot figure out how the temp was regulated down to 225-250. I will call PBC on Monday. In the meantime, any suggestions? If not I'll use my Weber and SNS. http://blog2.thermoworks.com/2016/06/grilled-tomahawk-steaks-temp-tips-for-oversized-cuts/?utm_source=Nl-2016June11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Featu re&utm_content=inbox&utm_campaign=June201 6-Oversize-Cuts-cs

Fred

[fzxdoc]

freddh Fred, I've run my PBC in the 225 to 250 range. It stays there pretty solid. I do it by adding the meat 10 minutes after pouring the coals with the lid on and rebars in for that 10 minute burn. When necessary I foil the rebar holes during the cook, if it's a long cook. Usually I only have to foil 2 holes. Make sure your lid fits nice and tight with no leaks and you should be good to go.

Let us know what the fine folks at PBC tell you. I'm always eager to learn.

Kathryn

[freddh]

Will do, thanks Kathryn.
Fred

[freddh]

fzxdoc OK, I talked with Noah (PBC) this afternoon. He was quite helpful, but his suggestion went in a different direction. He suggested cooking the Tomahawk at the regular PBC temp (270 or so) cooking it on one side then flipping to the other. I mentioned reverse searing and he still went with the high heat and fast method. PBC still rocks with product and customer service!! BTW PBC is in partnership with Thermapen and SRF for this promotion. However, I think for this cook I'm going to go with the Weber and SnS and reverse sear. These steaks are a bit too pricey to experiment with ($95 ea.). Kathryn I will, however, take your suggestion next time on PBC as I have another prime packer brisket and a couple of ribs to tackle next. So we'll see how this works out on Sunday and I'll definitely post pics.
Fred

[fzxdoc]

Thank you, freddh , for the additional information. It's good to know that Noah stuck to his guns from a technique aspect, because the PBC does what it does best at the temperature at which it likes to cook. That's what he's selling. You can fiddle with the temp to get it where you want it, but it takes a bit more attention.

Plus I find that some people don't like the reverse sear idea (because it takes longer and they like cooking steaks the way they know how) until they taste a steak done that way.

I've done one long cook and a few short cooks at the 225-250 range. In fact, I just did one this past Sunday, a 2 hour cook of bacon and a pork tenderloin. The key to keeping the fire that low is to start out with fewer coals in the chimney and to not let the fire get going too much. I used a half-full basket and 25 coals in the chimney, KBB.

Chimney burn was still 15 minutes and I let the fire burn 10 minutes after pouring the coals (lid on, rebars in) before adding the meat. Since I know the temps are lower on the side opposite the vent, I positioned the meat accordingly, on that cooler side. The ave pit temp was 250 for just over 2 hours and then it started to climb, partly because I had to lift the lid to final temp the meat and take the lid off to remove the pork tenderloin first, then the bacon later. I would have had to rebar the holes after 2 hours to get the temp back below 250. As soon as that fire got a whiff of more oxygen from lifting the lid, the PBC wanted to run back up to its normal operating temperature.

The long cook I did (brisket) at 225-250 went great, with judicious rebar hole-foiling. With a brisket, you don't have to lift the lid for hours, since the remote digital readout tells you all you need to know. I just didn't like the looooonger cook time when the meat tastes just as good or better when the PBC is allowed to run in its 270 deg F range and the cook times are much shorter.

All of this is to say that using the Weber/SnS choice is a wise one, because those $teaks deserve a great reverse-sear. I'm eager to see the photos. Have a great cook!

Kathryn

[PBCDad]

Noah's video on the PBC site shows him cooking the steak with the lid off. Due to that and the comment, "he still went with the high heat and fast method," I'm led to believe this is what he was trying to advise. With the lid off, I think the temp would be much higher than 270*

[fzxdoc]

Oh, waaaay higher, PBCDad ! With the lid off for any length of time, the temps are in excess of 400 degF, usually. The temps would be about 270 with the lid on, rebars in. As Potkettleblack says, that's not too high, as reverse searing goes, though. I'd be tempted to give it a go at 270, but not with super pricey tomahawk ribeyes.

K.

[rototiller78]

I have reached 500 deg F plus temps w/ my PBC

[freddh]

fzxdoc I finally went to the Thermapen email and under the comments section, the answer was provided how they got the PBC down to 225. They only used 1/2 chimney full of briquets. However all of you comments are valid, although I think cooking a Tomahawk Steak at 270 is a bit too high-at 2-3" in thickness. Not sure if the inside will be at medium rare. Again, I will experiment with a much cheaper cut, not too cheap mind you, as see what happens at 270 or so.

Thanks again,

Fred

[John Tanner]

I've had my PBC for a few years and cooked well over a 100X on it. I typically use KBB charcoal like they suggest and it's fine. I've tried others and some are too hot, and some are actually too "cool". You can alter the temp of the hot-running charcoal by limiting the air intake on the bottom damper, it does work....my Maverick says so :-). I've never experienced a "too charcoally" taste. The most important thing to know about the PBC, IMHO, is that it produces the absolute best food it can produce when it is full of food cooking. The best ribs it has ever produced were when I had 8 racks going during a couple of my superbowl parties. It sort of like when you're curing parma hams or dry aging meat--the more, the better. Just 2 cents.

[JPP]

I have to concur... especially for ribs. I get better ribs when I cook four or more racks... around 14 lbs or more total for what I get at bj's. The exception would be big thick items such as a shoulder or most recently a brisket which ( for the one I cooked) was about 10 lbs.

[freddh]

The Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye was awesome! Followed all the instructions implicitly with only one hitch-it was recommended that only 25 or so briquets were to be lit in the chimney. Bad idea because they burned quite quickly so I had to start another chimney full. Then I was cooking’ with grease!! My first step was to add the salt dry brine and let it sit in the refrigerator for about 2 hours following Meathead’s template. Then I brushed the steaks with melted Waygu Tallow and let them go until 120F was reached. Set the steak aside until the grill reached a searing flame (literally), then placed on the SnS side for about a minute rotating after 45 seconds then flipped over to repeat. Most importantly was the use of thermometers-Thermanpen for close in work and Maverick for monitoring the grill and the steak as it slowly came to temp. Photos to follow. Last photo is Nuevo Puerto Baja Style lobster tails (split and fried). fzxdoc I will follow your lighting and cooking instructions on the PBC this weekend. Thanks to all for their generous input. BTW the steak was awesome!!

[fzxdoc]

Congrats, freddh on your successful cook. That steak looks amazing.

I've had good success with starting with 25 lit coals in the chimney poured into a half-full basket of coals for short cooks to achieve a 225-250 degF PBC temp. How many coals did you have in the basket?

Kathryn

[Lonestar007]

I have the PBC, and will soon be posting a question about it. I LOVE my PBC!!! You confirmed that you are using the recommended Kingsford, just want to confirm that it is the standard blue and white bag that your are using. Also want to confirm that your vent is adjusted properly to your altitude.

Taste is subjective, so this can be challenging to reply to. First time I used PBC, and reading about the required ( think) 40 briquettes, thought have some ribeyes later in process, and cook a pork butt for later.

Yes, the longer cook time of pork butt was a bit smokey, but to me, no offensively so. My mistake was combing their enclosed seasoning, with a few I had on had, which yielded in excessively salty outside. Ay, yi, yi, those seasonings get ultra concentrated with longer cooking times. I was able to salvage by trimming of part of the crust. I did not finish with BBQ sauce, and decided to add it on the side or atop sandwiches the next day. Following day, I removed a portion from the fridge to get the hard chill out, so that reheating time was minimal. I found that the next day, found that smokiness mellowed. Lol, hardly helpful, if you want to eat it that day.

My PBC had been in use for hours cooking that butt, and was plenty hot when I took butt out to cook the ribeyes. Very rapid cook to 145, about 5 minutes each side. The smokiness was perfect to me, and that expected extra flavor you expect from grilling outdoors, but not overwhelming at all.

Agree with advice to call the number on your grill for help. Meat is pricey, so we need to protect our investments. Plenty of good advice here too, but if problematic, would start with advice via PBC, first.

[Lonestar007]

Nice input about PBC, but please consider stating if you are cooking a lower, higher altitude, etc. That can be the game changer with PBC. Yes, I always monitor temps of meat, etc,but still helpful if I know your results are at what ever altitude.

[freddh]

@fzxdov Kathryn I misread the 25 part. I thought that was what I was cooking with. That's why this forum is so valuable, the information is there, but one must "read" the entire post. So now I know definitively and I won't make that mistake again. In any case it did turn out OK, but again as I've stated in the past, "this is a work in progress and not the final exam".

[Potkettleblack]

In some ways, every cook is a work in progress. If you are not getting better, you are likely getting worse. If you're getting worse, you have to figure why and solve it.

[freddh]

That's but one reason this forum is invaluable, make a mistake and there's a ton of information available to correct it.

[kill2grill]

If you feel like playing with fire - reverse sear it until internal temp is about 110-115 for medium rare, take steak off, pull the charcoal basket out with some well insulated gloves, put a cinder block vertically in the barrel, and place the charcoal basket on top. The PBC grate should just barely fit on top. After a few minutes your coals will be blazing hot and you can get a gorgeous sear on your steak/tritip/etc. The finish temp should be right in the medium rare target zone.