Where Does Your PBC Settle In At And Run Fairly Steady?
Hey all you PBC users.
Since correcting my out of round PBC barrel and using my lid clamps my barrel temp has been falling during the cook and I know that I will need to open the now lower vent a little to maintain fairly steady temps.
So if you could either advise me as to where your PBC settles in or advise me as to your "normal" desired PBC temp is for a normal not poultry cook.
Equipment:
Brinkman Gas/Charcoal duo with offset firebox
Pit Barrel Cooker
Maverick Remote Temperature Gizmo with Pit and meat probes
Thermopen Instant thermo
My cooker usually settles in 260-290 range and probably averages around 275 (setup for multi protein cook). If I'm doing just birds then I set it up to run hotter...
I prefer poultry to cook at minimum of 325-350 if possible.....
That being said... Many times I am cooking more than one type of protein at a time (especially at local backyard comps) and the bird still comes out great! If I can then I will crack the lid towards the end to crisp up the skin.
Never checked temps on mine. I just light it per the old instructions with lighter fluid, wait 12 minutes and find that my cook times are very close to what Noah has in his recipes.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
Equipment:
'88 Vintage Fire Magic gasser with over 4000 cooks to its credit
Large Big Green Egg
18 Inch Weber Kettle (Rescued from neighbor's trash)
Rotisserie for 18 inch kettle
Dyna Glo propane smoker
Pit Barrel Cooker
Smokey Joe with mini WSM mod
Garcima paella burner
Anova Sous Vide
Slaiya Sous Vide (gift)
LEM grinder, sausage stuffer and meat slicer (all gifts)
I have found that mine runs about 170º - 180º above ambient. Since ambient around here is frequently around 90º, that means the cooker's going to be around 265º or so. If I want it a little higher, I've added two 3/4" holes just below the rim that 1/2" pipe plugs screw in to. For chicken, I have to crack the lid with a match stick to get around 350º. I just use the PBC's lighting procedure with 2.2 pounds KBB (~40 briquettes) in the chimney and 4.4 pounds in the basket.
Smoker: PBC
Grill: A 20-year-old Webber 22.5" Kettle with a Slow and Sear
Thermometers: A Maverick ET732, A Thermapen, a few miscellaneous thermometers
Misc: I just seem to keep buying things.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Yup, my PBC luuuuves to rock and roll at 275 or so. It can hold that temp for 5-6 hours at least during long cooks. The only reason why it starts to fluctuate then is that's when I lift the lid and start to check the meat for wrapping/doneness. Once I start lid lifting, the temp stability sometimes falters. It's sort of like waking a sleeping baby--the result is still fun but more interactive.
Where do you take your reading? At the re-bar, lid, or more toward the middle of the barrel which is closer to where the food actually is cooking? I have a temp indicator I installed in the lid and it averages around 275, more on a hot day.
Al S.
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