I've got 8 racks of sides to go into the PBC today for a party tonight, and though I have plenty of KBB I picked up a few bags of Dragon's Breath lump charcoal at Costco a few days ago. It's a mixture of oak and mesquite. I know it is usually 'ill-advised' to use lump in the PBC, but with 8 racks of ribs I feel I may need a slightly hotter fire to maintain that nice 270-290 it usually hums along at.
Any thoughts? Should I go for it or just stick with the KBB?
Got the barrel settled in at 289, put the 8 racks in and it dropped like a rock! Almoat got away from be but I caught it at 200. Had to crack the lid to get the temp back up. Appears to be happy now at 266.
The temperature dropped again... Even with a lid crack it doesn't seem to want to go higher than 205! Heellllppp!
Edit: I'm at 400' ASL and opened the vent to about 1/3rd from the 1/4 it was fine at before. The temp is climbing again, maybe this is how it has to be when the barrel is fully loaded with meat?
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The temperature dropped again... Even with a lid crack it doesn't seem to want to go higher than 205! Heellllppp!
Not sure how far you've got it cracked. I'd either crack it a lot or even remove it entirely ... BUT DON'T WALK AWAY unless you want to reenact Chernobyl for your guests. Let it get good and hot then return it to a slightly cracked position. Whatever you do, don't chase temps ... once it seems to be settling down, wait at least 20 minutes between adjustments.
Last edited by MBMorgan; March 25, 2017, 02:47 PM.
I agree with MBMorgan if I have to crack the lid for a super sever drop like you had I would start at around 1/2- 1" crack, wait for a while and see what happens and go from there in probably 20 minute increments. It sounds like possibly the meat started dripping and could have affected the coals. The other portion I have found that when I crack the lid I allow the temp to go over my target temp and then watch it closely.
After only a half hour after putting your meat in you will still be fighting the inherent cold from the meat itself affecting you barrel temps.
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A plummeting pit temp is pretty common with my PBC when I add a load of meat. For that reason, I monitor the temps closely within the first half hour. If the temp is not climbing by 10-15 minutes after adding the meat, I crack the lid to bring the temps up past 300 degrees before settling things back in place again. For me, the sooner I get the temps to climb back up and then settle into the PBC's sweet spot, the better the cook goes.
8 full spare rib slabs is around 40# of meat. That compares to 5 gallons of water. It takes a lot of heat to overcome the difference in temps with that much mass. when you get closer to the end of the cook, it wont take as much heat to maintain the 225 or 250, or what ever you are shooting for
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I would just kick it with the KBB and let it rip. 8 racks is nothing huge for the PBC. I have done three briskets at a time, with out an major issues. And we all know how many The PBC King (@Jerod Broussard) has done is his at once. He had to add another cross member to the rebar just to hold the extra Brisket!
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