First Go Around

[wmferg]

Well my PBC arrived as scheduled this afternoon. I was amazed at how easy it was to get up and running.
My first cook was a whole chicken cut in half.
I followed fzxdoc's advice to the letter on lighting the PBC and her info on chicken cooks. Thanks Kathryn you are a tremendous help.
It was a hurried up affair, I ran to the store this morning to pick-up the chicken so I only was able to dry brine for about 5 hours.
I dusted with MMD, but completely forgot to use Spinaker's tip with the butter.
I was able to settle the temp at 350F and was surprised that it only took an hour for the breast to reach 162F. Although I may have not had the thermocouple placed in the breast just right. I think it could have gone a bit longer.
but the chicken was moist and tender and had a wonderful flavor. The skin however was a bit rubbery. But all in all it was a great first cook. This weekend...Ribs.

[RonB]

Congrats on a successful cook.

[DWCowles]

It will get better and better and better and....

[hogdog6]

Great 1st cook!!!

[Mr. Bones]

Nice Job wmferg !!! Enjoy that new PBC, keep us posted with lotsa pics!!!

[LarryO47]

Congrats on the new PBC and on a very nice first cook.

[MBMorgan]

Congrats on the new PBC! You'll get it dialed in in no time ...

[Skip]

Good looking Chicken from the PBC !

[fuzzydaddy]

Congratulations on your first cook on the PBC. Looking forward to seeing your rib cook! Are you doing baby back, spares or St. Louis cut?

[wmferg]

St. Louis are my favorite

[HawkerXP]

Congrats! Love that chicken from PBC!

[fzxdoc]

You're off to a great start, wmferg ! At 350°F or more PBC temp, your chicken should easily be done in an hour or so. The skin will be crispy when you rub it with the baking powder/rub mixture and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Even with not-so crispy skin, I bet that meat was moist and tender.

After the rib cook is a happy memory, toss a pork butt into that cooker and wait for the tastiness to evolve.

Congrats on starting off your PBC career in fine style!

Kathryn

[wmferg]

fzxdoc you're right, it was about the juiciest chicken that I can recall.

[lschweig]

Congrats on your first PBC cook. Allowing the chicken to dry overnight in the fridge makes a huge difference.

[PappyBBQ]

Well done! Welcome to the cult.

[doctorak]

Welcome! Fellow PBC noob here, only 5-6 cooks under my belt, and chicken is a great place to start. I had the EXACT same experience with my first chicken on the PBC. Cooked way faster than I thought it would, and the skin was so-so but the meat....oh the meat was <kisses fingers like a fine Italian chef> MUAH!

Just remember for your rib cook this weekend that ribs also take a lot quicker than you think. And, to allude to a previous thread of yours, don't oversmoke! One chunk of wood should suffice for a rib cook. My first rib cook was both overdone and oversmoked. Thankfully for a limited crowd.

My first "HOLY F&(%)" cook on the PBC, besides some chicken dinners for the wife, was Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Just tell the family now that come November you'll be cooking them the best turkey dinner they've ever had.

[abandonedbrain]

Same here with the ribs. I thought my PBC was broken, ribs were horribly tough and overcooked. It's just that the PBC likes to run way up (400F) and slowly come down. Haven't done ribs since, but I've got better control now.