Here are the ribs I did last night.
And my chuckies for tomorrow.
And my chuckies for tomorrow.
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Last edited by robby13; June 30, 2017, 02:54 PM. -
Looking very yummy!Comment
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Cool! Got two chucks in the Joule bath right now.Comment
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What does that do? I have two chucks on now. Just pulled the smaller one at and hour and a half, 165. Wrapping and waiting forOriginally posted by hogdog6 View Post
the bigger one (-2 degrees)
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abandonedbrain is correct just one more tool in the BBQ tool box. I did a lot of fantastic chucks prior to sous vide. Enjoy learning your pit.
When MCS kicks in there are many posts in the pit about SVBQ along with chef steps site that will get you wanting one. -
abandonedbrain I have wanted a sous vide machine for a while, mostly for fish - hadn't thought of using it for BBQ. -
Today I'm going to start my first attempt at sous vide pork butt starter, with a finish in the PBC (two 9# butts, and I'm going to do a rack of St. Louis ribs alongside). http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...er-recipe.html
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Wrapped. Heading to 205.
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They were great!! When I probe tested them I went right through the foil and had to rewrap for the cooler.
But I think my cook was way too fast. I had 5 lbs. between the two chucks and it only took 2 1/4 hours to reach 165. After wrapping it took less than an hour for 205.
Full disclosure - I thought I was easily in for a 7+ hour cook so I loaded the charcoal basket full - up to the handle.
I'm at sea level and there was a thunderstorm for most of the hanging cook - but it still seemed TOO fast to me. Flavor was great, tenderness was good - I feel it could have used a bit more moisture.
My buddy who hasn't missed a cook yet said I should abandon ribs and only cook chuckies from now on.
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Welcome to Chuckie Heaven, robby13 . That's a heckuva good-lookng pile of meat. Beauty of a smoke ring too. Truth be told, I prefer chuckies to briskies. You may get there too.
When I do 2 chuckies in my PBC, it takes about 1.5 hours to get to the stall, 1 hour in the stall, and about 1.5 to 2 hours to get to 208°F
When I do 4-5 chuckies, the stall is twice as long or more since more meat is shedding more moisture into the PBC, which tries to keep up.
On my PBC, 2 chuckie cooks are 4+ hours, but 4 or 5 chuckie cooks can be 7 hours or so depending on the average PBC temperature.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; July 2, 2017, 06:40 AM.Comment
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Thanks! I don't think I have experienced a stall yet as all of my cooks have been at the low end of Noah's estimates. Today I'm going to do three racks of baby backs and put a Pork Belly on when I pull the ribs. I'm pretty sure I've got all the coals I need in one load for both.Originally posted by fzxdoc View PostComment
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Maybe I missed this, but have you been checking your cooker temp? If it is running hot, then the most likely explanations are that either:Originally posted by robby13 View Post
1) Since your PBC is new, the seal on the lid isn't quite up to snuff yet, which is common among new PBC owners. Really push that sucker down tight and watch for any smoke escaping out of the lid. Some people have put heavy objects like bricks on the lid, or even used clamps to tighten the lid down. After a number of cooks the lid builds up some gunk that keeps it sealed much better.
2) Check your air intake maybe? I know you said you're at sea level. I am, as well, but have noticed that I need to close it even more than the suggested amount to keep temps down depending on how windy and/or humid it is out.
Regardless, no matter how long your cooks take, you're turning out some fantastic results, and as long as everyone's happy that's all that matters. That chuckie looks great and I'm really jealous. I'm stuck working this whole long weekend so I have to live my BBQ life vicariously through you all.Comment
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I am not checking my cooker temp. I have decided to do everything possible the same way Noah suggests. That will give me a good baseline on how everything turns out. Plus, I haven't heard that I was supposed to check the temp, or why.Originally posted by doctorak View Post
Today's ribs are done.
And the Pork Belly is ready to go!!
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Some of us use remote thermometers to monitor the PBC's temperature. The best reason for it is that you know exactly at what temp you're cooking, which is a help for reproducibility for future cooks. Plus it gives you an idea of how long the cook might take (based on previous cooks). But not everyone does this.
I prefer monitoring the PBC's temps and keeping a log of each cook, but then I'm wired that way. I want all my chuckie cooks to come out the same, ditto with brisket, chicken, pork butts, etc. I like to eliminate the guesswork. To me smoking meat in my PBC without knowing the temperature is like putting a cake or roast in the oven, not knowing the temperature it's set at. A cake baked at 200°F is different than one cooked at 350°F, and a roast done at lower temperatures will take a lot longer, and folks may have to eat PB&J sammies for supper since the roast did not get done in time.
But as I said, to each their own.
KathrynComment
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Wow, that pork belly. I gotta try that at some point. What did you rub on it? Any brine?
I only mentioned the cooker temp because you mentioned that you were on the lower end of the cook times Noah suggests, and that at one point your meat had turned out a bit dry. One possible explanation is that your PBC is running a tad higher than what most people in this forum have come to expect through massive amounts of experimentation and data collection, which is a 270-290 cooker temp. For whatever reason (probably owing to the unique internal airflow dynamics and humidity of the PBC), and based on what I've read from some of the much more seasoned and excellent backyard chefs in the Pit, those are the temps where the PBC seems to shine (other than chicken/turkey or something else that usually cooks at a higher temp).
It's good that you're getting the hang of your PBC, and you're obviously turning out some great food, so no biggie. But now that you're developing a good baseline based on Noah's recommendations, you may want to start throwing a probe in there just to see what temp you've been cooking at. You may find it doesn't matter, but as "set-it-and-forget-it" as the PBC is, there are still many factors that can affect cook temps and speed (and thus, at least hypothetically, taste and moistness of the meat), including but not limited to:
1) Ambient humidity and wind - seems like this affects things moreso than ambient temp. We have people here doing great cooks in the dead of winter up north, but many have experienced issues with humidity fluctuation.
2) Lid strength - mentioned in my post above.
3) Quantity of meat in the PBC - seems to be most related to airflow and how having a large, bulky amount of meat may limit it and drop them temps.
4) Coal quality - I left my coal out overnight in the basket once to make the morning easier. Turned out it had rained all night and, while the coals were covered and dry, the differences in humidity apparently meant my coals lasted about half as long as they should have the next day, and I had to refill. fzxdoc recommends keeping your charcoal in a sealed rubbermaid or similar airtight container until you're ready to light.
5) Type of coal - some are experimenting with other types of coal besides the Kingsford Blue Bag, with mixed results. E.g. it seems like Kingsford professional burns a little hotter, and so some are using it for chicken (or using it regularly and putting some foil in the rebar holes to drop temps back down to normal). There's a great sticky thread in the forum.
This is just the tip of the iceberg with learning how the PBC works. In the end, it is all personal preference; some may rather just truly set it and forget it and deal with the occasional hiccup, while others are mad tinkerers who have to know every bit of data inbetween. In my personal experience, never having owned another cooker other than a gas grill, I am somewhere in the middle. We have all types here and all are welcome!
Glad to hear your enjoying the PBC! I'm looking forward to seeing more of these awesome cooks you've posted.Comment
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