Throwing in the towel

[wmferg]

I have had enough of my COS. I have had it for a few years now and the one constant is the inconsistency, even with mods. Last night was an epic fail on a SL rack of ribs. After 5 hours half the rack was ok the other half was under cooked.
I have decided to go for a new PBC. I would dearly love one of the top of the line offsets. I just cannot justify the expense. Well I can but the SO mentions how many times we could go to the local rib joint for dinner on what I would spend on the new cooker. Sadly she just doesn't understand.
I do have a few questions though.
I have gone through the previous posts and don't see any discussions about adding chunks of wood during the cook. Maybe I missed it somewhere along the way. Does anyone do this or is the charcoal with meat dripping sufficient?
Also, I have read about chicken cooks but only see whole or half chickens discussed. No one in the family is particularly fond of white meat so I generally cook legs and thighs (mostly thighs). Is this easily done and still get bite through skin?
Any other advice would be appreciated before I drag out the credit card.

[doctorak]

I'm a relative NOOBIE with the PBC, but regarding wood:

My first cook (ribs) I added a bunch of wood throughout the cook, and found the end-product to be over-smoked. Granted I was used to "smoking" on my Weber Genesis, so I was used to using a ton of wood to get a little smoke flavor, but since then I've been much more measured in my wood use. I usually start with just a chunk or two of wood on the coals after they are lit and the fire goes down, and that has sufficed so far. You definitely don't need as much wood as you would on other cookers.

[wmferg]

Thanks for the heads up. I won't be using the same amount that I used with my COS

[MBMorgan]

Most of us use only a wood chunk or two ... or none at all ... in the PBC with great results.

[Wando52]

I am new to the PBC as well, but I throw would chips in with the unlit coals at the beginning, then throw the lit coals on top of that. Smoke has been good when doing that. As far as chicken pieces, you would need to use the grate instead of the hooks for that. I have not done that yet. I do recommend the PBC, I'm still learning, but so far so good!

[LarryO47]

I just got my PBC so not totally experienced, but there are plenty of You Tube videos showing both leg and thigh cooks on the PBC.

[EdF]

I don't have a PBC (so far), but for the price it seems pretty much fail-safe!

Your better-half unit really doesn't understand how much better than restaurant ribs yours will be.

[wmferg]

It is actually less that the cost of trying to turn my COS into a real smoker. She just doesn't understand the connection between men and fire.

[EdF]

I'll tread carefully here: you're the teacher! ;-)

[JPP]

The old COS should make a GREAT flower box!

[Rfhd69]

I love my PBC! It puts out great flavor without wood. I've found, however, that a small chunk or two makes it even better. As far as chicken goes I hang both halves. Turns out great every time but I haven't mastered bite through skin.

[lschweig]

As MBMorgan said most of us put in one - two chunks of wood. I just kind of make an educated guess as to how big of pieces I add dependent upon the cut, thickness, length of cook, and type of meat.

In any case you will love your PBC. Coming from another one that got rid of my fairly heavily modified COS last spring.

[Willy]

Consider a Weber kettle with a SnS.

[wmferg]

Too late I already took the plunge and ordered the PBC.
I do have a Weber 22 but from time to time I need more capacity than I could get with the kettle. I am looking at a SnS for other cooks however.

[Brewmaster]

you can't go wrong with the PBC, I have a weber kettle and 3 weber old school gassers, the PBC takes little or no effort to make great food and the help at AR can get you thru any cook, fxdoc has compiled such a great list of times and cooking temps, it is fool proff, by the way I have 2of the PBC's

[wmferg]

I am more than impressed with the information fxdoc has put out. I have read her dissertation on lighting the PBC three times now, by the time my PBC arrives I should have it memorized.

[Nate]

First off let me say Welcome from Indiana! Glad to have you here and glad to hear you may join the PBC cult!

In regards to your first question: YES, I add wood chunks at the beginning of a cook. Usually just one or two if I am using 2 different kinds of wood. I sometimes slice an onion in half and toss it in too...

In regards to your second question: You can obviously use the grate to do pieces, you have the option to get a hinged grate too so you can hang stuff while using some of the grate as well.

OR

I found some basket things at Wal-Mart and with some slight modifications (cutting down the longer handle) and using a stainless steel S-Hook from Lowes to decrease how low the basket hangs (completely optional as you can use your regular hooks as well).... you can easily do a lot of pieces! I have found that putting a sacrificial hot dog or sausage in what will be the bottom of the basket (when it is hanging) will keep the chicken from burning or turning a little darker. These baskets can hold 4 large thighs or 6 legs... or more depending on how you arrange. They only cost a few bucks each. These baskets also have 3 different settings so you can adjust for different thicknesses of meat. You can use them for other things but I mostly use them for chicken and sausages.

Here are a few crude pics of what I am talking about... Sorry I don't have pic of them in use though.

The first pic shows the longer handle still on. I cut that piece off because it doesn't fit right with it on (messes with lid and if you hang from it it is too low).





These are the 3 different places you can adjust for the thickness of meat.



Hope this helps!

Oh on a side note: Consider ordering an extra set of hooks and an extra hook grabber... I promise they will come in handy. The cover is nice to have as well as are the gloves.... I also have the hinged grate and ash pan.

[wmferg]

Thanks Nate, those grates look like they would work out rather well.
I did order the cover and ash pan with the PBC...I'll add some other goodies at a later date.

[cgrover60]

I like this idea Nate and will give it a try.

[DWCowles]

Welcome wmferg I agree on what's been said

[hogdog6]

Welcome to the pit and soon to the PBC "cult". One or two wood chunks work well for different flavors but not necessary. Some of my family wasn't fond of white meat earthier until they experienced PBC chicken, the meat come out moist and delicious. You will find to get the temp you want for chicken crispy skin leave out one rebar, also dry brine overnight uncovered in the fridge to dry out the skin. As you stated plenty of posts on how to get excellent chicken on this site and having found fxdoc you are already way ahead of the game. Looking forward to pics of your cooks.

[Spinaker]

The PBC is great for making chicken. Cook it Hot and fast. That is, 350 F to 400 F. Let it rip! And put some butter under the skin to help baste the meat. The butter will also drip down onto the fire and add complexity to the vaporized flavor coming back up from the fire.
Also, make sure you try out Meathead's Simon and Garfunkel rub for chicken. It is something special. Pair it with a high temp oil, such as Avocado or grape seed oil and it is really great.

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_...unkel_rub.html

[Huskee]

I used two fist sized chunks of wood on a rib cook, and tried to keep the cooker down to 240ish. The ribs smelled and tasted like hamburgers, no joke. Even my kids said it while I was thinking it. Made the house smell of burgers. I wouldn't believe it if it hadn't happened to me. I believe it was a combo of cooking too long (lower temp) in the drippings-smoke and too much wood smoke combined. I did a rib cook with no wood and at standard PBC temps closer to 275, and they were much better. PBC food has a strong grilled taste, which is good, but quite different than meat from a "smoker" with only convection smoke. So my personal belief is that one small chunk of wood is plenty, and that it's easy to overdo it. It's a unique cooker.

[abandonedbrain]

Agreed! My daughter commented recently that everything was tasting the same from the PBC, so I stopped throwing wood on, and she likes it better. With the wood, beef tasted the same as pork tenderloin to her, very odd.