Hi everyone, I decided I am going to make a simple mod to my PBC to add an optional water pan to catch the drippings instead of letting them burn on the coals (not everyone is crazy about that smokey taste). Does anyone have a recommendation on how far above the top of the charcoal basket I should install this? I was thinking around 6", but I could go lower. I am not sure if there would be any harm in going down to 4" or so.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
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If I was going to do this, I would not add water to it. So it would be more like a drip pan. However, I would put it as close to the basket as possible. Because you are going to be limited by the fact that the meats hang. I am not a fan of water pans in general, but if you really want to add one, put it 6 inches above the basket. Keep in mind that being that close to the heat, it might burn that oil and sugar in the drip pan, so maybe you have to add water. But that is going to change the cooking dynamics as well as the flavor in the PBC.
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
If you left out the water, you would still get that great taste from the vaporizing oil. This is, after all, what makes the flavor of the PBC so good.
Try it with out water, unless your planning on saving the oil. But water pan = Steam baths, especially in a small cooking environment, like the PBC. You don't need to add any more moisture to the cooking environment.
I guess if you have that one person that doesn't like smokey flavor, just cook your cook in an electric oven. You can control the temp any way you care to have it and yet have zero smoke.
My neighbor, Ned, went in for my first thorough checkup in a few years. After exhaustive tests, the Doctor said he was doing "fairly well" for his age.
A little concerned about that comment, he asked "Do you think I'll live to be 80?"
The Doctor answered a question with a question: "Do you smoke or drink?"
"Oh no!" Ned replied. "I'm not doing drugs, either!"
Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"
"No, I don't," said Ned.
The Doc asked, "Do you drive fast or have a lot of sex?"
"No." said Ned.
Then he asked, "Do you eat rare meat or smoked pork?"
"No, my wife says that all meat is unhealthy!"
The Doctor looked at Ned and asked one last question "Then, why the heck do you want to live to 80?"
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Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
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gasser
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First cook yesterday on the PBC with the water/drip pan mod.
Conclusion: Mega-difference in taste, completely eliminating the heavy grease-fire driven smoke flavor which my wife and I do not care for (I do acknowledge that most people love it so it's nice to now have the option to cook either way).
I ended up using 1 1/2" bolts with a flat washer + wing nut to hold it in place. I placed them in the same position as the grate holders that are built in with the PBC, except these were about 5.5 inches above the coal basket handle. My goal was to keep the pan far enough above the coals that things don't burn off super fast while also allowing the maximum amount of space for meat to hang from the rebars. Once all 3 bolts were completed, I was able to simply drop the factory grate down to the lower section. This also would work much better to sear a steak (or anything else for that matter).
As far as the initial cook goes, my goal was not to make the perfect tasting meal, but rather to prove the concept and see how much difference there was in the cooking process (holding temps, etc) as well as the taste. To do that, I wanted to strip out as many variables as possible. I chose to do 1 rack of back ribs, cut in half (with the water pan, you'll never hang a full rack). They were dry brined for a few hours with PBC APR prior to putting them on the PBC. I used Kingsford blue, and my pan was a half foil pan filled about 1/4 of the way with water. No wood was used. I was looking for as little smoke flavor as possible on this test cook.
Cooking: I used the 15-10-10 lighting method that I always use, as outlined in one of the sticky threads at the top of the PBC section. Overall, temps ran a little on the cooler side compared to what they do without a water pan (240-290 as opposed to 270-320). This was expected, as the pan & water is going to absorb some of the heat and also put the meat in a heat shadow. I was easily able to overcome this by cracking the lid, pulling the other rebar, or a combination of both. I am at an altitude of about 1000 feet, so on my next cook, I will try pushing the intake vent to 1/2 or 3/4 instead of the recommended 1/4 to try that.
The ribs were fantastic. There was no smoke flavor, but it still had a nice crust on the outside and were very tender on the inside. Pulled cleanly off the bone. Added some BBQ sauce to taste and away we went. Very, very pleased.
Now that I know what I'm dealing with, the next cook will have a few changes. First, I will adjust the intake vent to 1/2 or 3/4 to help boost the temps a bit and see how that handles. Hopefully that decreases the amount of upper level tinkering I have to do, but we will see. Second, in order to shrink the side of the heat shadow that the 1/2 foil pan creates, I will use a foil loaf pan instead. Those are smaller which should allow more direct heat to pass upward. Lastly, I will add smoke flavor using some cherry wood.
As far as room for hanging meat, ribs cut in half fit with plenty of room to spare. Chicken, turkey, and pork butt will also have room to hang. Brisket is the one thing that may run into a space concern. I will probably have to separate the flat & point prior to cooking in order to get them to hang. TBD on that one.
All in all, very pleased.
I forgot to snap some photos while I was doing the modifications. I will get some in the next day or two and post them here.
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