Controlling barrel temperature

[Jim Burgin]

I'm getting conflicting advice. What do you think:
1. Let the PBC do its thing (ranging from 275 -310. Don't worry about the barrel temp. Just check the internal temp of the Pork Butt till it reaches 203.
2. BBQ must be "low and slow". Keep the temp at 250-275 degrees (Good Luck!). This keeps me baby-sitting the PBC about every ten minutes to cover the exhaust holes a little more, uncover them some, etc. etc. etc. Worn out!
FINALLY: Will advice number one yield a good bark, make the bone slip out easily, Produce tender meat that can be "pulled," and not dry out the meat. Thanks! Jim Burgin

[BBQ Hooligan]

Don't burn calories trying to keep it 250-275. Let it naturally burn and do its thing. If the temp dips too low, crack the lid to bring it back up. The only time I ever cover the inlet is if it is running 325 or higher. Yes, that 275-310 range will make beautiful bark, and the only time I ever had a butt that didn't pull well was when I ran out of time, and pulled it before target meat temp.

[PBCDad]

I agree, let it do its thing. With a caveat, use a leave-in pit thermometer as well just to make sure the coals don't start dying out (temp drops too low) or it starts running away from you due to a leak in the lid (temps getting too hot). I've used my PBC in that range for all of my long cooks so far, and bark and texture are awesome.

[Jerod Broussard]

I've cooked butts from 250-375. ALL good.

[Huskee]

Regarding #1, it will still cook just fine, but remember pork butts will always benefit from an hour or three hold (faux cambro) this is just more time to melt, or render, the fats & collagen in the butt after the cooking phase is complete. It's not a requirement, as many people will cook unwrapped butts and then dig in, but if you find the butt to seem rather dry try doing that. Often part of what we sense as moist & juicy is the rendered fat, and that simply needs time. Happy smoking!

[Nate]

Jim, I figured it would be easier to respond here to the question you left me on another thread about this topic and controlling the temp.

Trust and let your PBC do what it was designed to do. If I remember right in one of the interviews on here that Noah from PBC did he mentioned about not being too concerned about the temp as long as it was staying in a certain range as that was normal for it. A member of a facebook group I belong to that is dedicated to PBCs told me I had to remember that the PBC is a Cooker not a Smoker and that the same rules don't completely apply. Gateways are drum cookers and a lot of guys say they settle in at 300.... and they are winning competitions.... so don't worry about quality.

I believe Jerod Broussard or fzxdoc did a test and found that the temp in the cooker was hotter on the air intake side of the cooker for part of the cook and then migrated to the other side or vice versa... and that one of them looked more at the average temp over the duration of the cook. They could confirm or deny that.

As far as control goes... if it dips too low for my liking then I will use an extra hook to prop the lid open... if it gets too hot then I will try to foil over exhaust holes.

[MBMorgan]

Jim ... you're getting such good advice here that I don't feel compelled to chime in. Instead, I'll point out that because you're right at 2000 ft. elevation (the cut-over point between 1/4 and 1/2 open for the bottom vent, you might consider shutting yours down to about midway in between ... say about 1/3 open. Not to control temp but to make sure your PBC is "breathing right" for your altitude.

[Jerod Broussard]

The briquettes near the vent hog all the oxygen and burn hotter than the rest of the briquettes in the barrel.

But there is a flow of heat to the other side of the barrel that kinda helps to even things out somewhat. The heat flows because the air coming into the intake kind of pushes it to the other side of the barrel.

[Bob's BBQ]

Like Jerod says above, the coals near the vent burn 1st and hotter. I've modified my charcoal basket by tack welding a band of steel about 120 degrees around the dia. It goes from the body of the ring down to the level of the feet. The center of this band faces the intake vent. The intake oxygen now has to travel both directions around this band and gets under the basket from each side. My coals now burn from both sides evenly toward the middle and no matter where I hang the meat it cooks very consistently. Beyond that change, I don't monitor temps and find my cook times are in line with what Noah has on the PBC website.

[jecucolo]

I sure would like to see a photo of your mod.i don't quite understand.

[Bob's BBQ]

I'll take a few picks - I'll try to get them posted in the next few days jecucolo

[kill2grill]

I've had a lot of luck with burning a half chimney (20 Kingsford briquettes) and letting it go for about 15-18 minutes (until its nice and ashy) and then following the 10-10 style suggested by @fzxdoc. Not sure if it works for everyone, but now that I've switched to that my PBC settles in to 330-ish within the first 20 minutes and then slowly adjusts to 290 for the next 5-6 hours. Crack lid to get unlit coals going again when it finally dips into the 260's...jumps back up to 290 and close lid. All good.

[PodunkFarm]

I use a small piece of aluminum flashing, bent to 90 degrees, which I place in the bottom of my PBC underneath the coal basket and optional tray that hold it in place. It deflects the draft and equalizes the temperatures throughout. It faces the vent but does not block it. No temp problems since. Think about an "L". The bottom of the "L" gets held in place by the coal basket rig. There's plenty of room in the PBC to do this, just ensure that you don't get too close to the vent so as to block airflow. The idea is to deflect it, not restrict it.

[mayapoppa]

One thing that I have been thinking about when it comes to trying to chase temps in the PBC is that both blocking a rebar hole and cracking the lid affect the airflow in the cooker. If your temps are out of control hot, or dropping below 225, then certainly you want to take action. But otherwise I think you do more harm to the cook by messing with the designed circulation in the PBC, than you do by being a few degrees outside the traditional BBQ temps.