I just received my PBC and I'm going to fire it up this afternoon for some of their Signature Chicken.
I am at Sea Level and have read in a few places that there are some adjustments to make? Please let me know if that is the case. Otherwise I'm following the online videos without Kentucky windage.
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
Have a lot of fun with that first cook, robby13 . You're going to love the food that comes off that PBC. Following Noah's videos, to my mind, is always the best place to start. Then, if necessary, you can tweak a few things here and there for future cooks. You've got some great eating in store for you later on today. Enjoy the PBC experience.
Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads. The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
Weber Kettle -- 22.5" (In-Service Date June 2015)
Slow-n-Sear/Drip-n-Griddle/Grill Grates (In-Service Date March 2016)
Pit Boss 820 (Retired)
GMG Jim Bowie WiFi (In-Service Date April 2017)
Maverick ET-733
Fireboard
Home-brewer
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
So here is an update on my first cook - mostly to memorialize it for later reference - but please comment as necessary.
The GOOD news -
At the end of the day I ended up with delicious chicken. It was eaten so fast I barely got a pic. I couldn't believe (or understand really) how moist and juicy it was. I know y'all have had it so I won't preach - but that bird was good!
AREAS for improvement -
1) I lit the coals with a chimney (weber) which is too big to get down into the barrel. I ended up pouring them from the top, which, while it works, isn't ideal.
2) I overloaded the cooker - at least for my first cook. I went straight to the maximum, 8 halves, when I should have done 4 or 6. I also overlooked the advice on the video that says to crack the lid 3/4 inch when you fully load the cooker and had fire problems. There was too much juice and not enough air so I went into a stall. I could see puddles of chicken juice in the coals and I got so worried I actually added coals. I didn't realize how much I had until after I took the lid off to let the charcoal burn out. (It burned for hours)
3) Instead of just cooking the chicken for a couple of hours like the video said I used a Thermoworks Dot thermometer. This was, in my opinion, a huge mistake. It made me crazy, especially when the charcoal started to stall. I think I will save it for when I cook larger cuts of meat.
4) Also, nobody complained but I thought the taste was a bit chemically - like lighter fluid, even though I didn't use it. It may have been the rub - or possibly my imagination. I have ribs on right now so we'll see how they turn out.
I did use the 15(10 for me at sea level)/10/10 for lighting even though I don't believe in it. It is counterintuitive - and Meathead doesn't get a chemical flavor in all of the videos he uses the Weber Kettle with a Slow 'N Sear.
Enjoy the PBC experience.
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