Trying my hand at a chuck roast on my new PBC today, and the ThermoWorks Smoke is giving me alarming news. I can't get it below ~350, and there is no smoke inside. When I noticed how hot it was, I went out and plugged all the rebar holes with tin foil. The bottom vent is already set for sea level. If I lift the lid, the temp goes down to 190, then when I replace it, it's right back up to 350. I don't think I put too much charcoal in it. The lid is on tight. What am I doing wrong?
-
-
I know NOT the PBC but it seams like when you open the lid you have to burn a bunch more oxygen when you reclose. Somebody who actually knows something will likely be along soon.Comment
-
Lower your probe into the barrel more. The way I see yours it looks to close to the lid.=Reading higher temps.Comment
-
Keep the lid closed. It takes a while for temps to settle. crunchysue
I wrap my probe around the rebar and let it hang at least 6 inches into the barrel.Comment
-
Thanks, I wasn't sure how to place the probe. Also, I should have mentioned that these temps were happening an hour after I hung the meat, so I don't think it was the initial high temp that happens. -
crunchysue My PBC has a tendency to ride high for well over an hour. I find if I'm doing ribs I have to screw around damping the temps, but anything else is fairly forgiving and can usually handle the higher temps.
-
-
The temps are coming down now, half an hour after I tin foiled the rebar holes. It's at 293 and still dropping.Comment
-
OK, I moved the probe as instructed. And I added two chunks of hickory to try to get some smoke going. And I unplugged two rebar holes. I know the wood will raise the temp, but I think that will be temporary.
Comment
-
Possibly lit too many coals to start with or too much oxygen before shutting it down. I found with the PBC, third time is the charm to figure out the lighting. Don't stress too much, you are gonna love it.Comment
-
In my experience, crunchysue , whenever a PBC runs that hot after 15 to 45 minutes into the cook, the lid is not on tight enough to prevent leaks from around the rim of the barrel. Especially at the beginning of a smoke, even the smallest amount of leak at the lid will cause the temperatures to run high. If you see even the slightest wisp of smoke coming out in the seam between the lid and the barrel rim, tap the lid in that spot with a rubber mallet (I use the rubber heel of my shoe). If that doesn't work, then make a long piece of foil, doubled, about 4 inches wide and 8 inches long. Wrap it around that seam area and crimp tightly. Usually with one of these methods, the temps will start to come down.
Lid leaks are sometimes hard to detect unless you're in the "white smoke" phase of smoking. You may just want to bang the lid down with a rubber mallet just in case. Some folks recommend using binder clips to hold the lid tight. I don't use them, because the PBC is sensitive to scratches and can form rust with metal-on-metal clamping methods.
As others have noted, it's probably best to let the pit temp probe hang at the mid-level of the hanging meat, but a couple of inches away from the meat so the readout is not affected by the mass of meat.
For a while new PBC owners were reporting lid leaks. They eventually go away as the lid gunks up with smoking gunk. Spinaker here recommends spraying some cooking oil into the lid lip to encourage gunk formation.
During a cook, adjusting the bottom vent does very little to change the PBC's temperature. However, it takes a couple of cooks to find just the right size opening. If you're sure there were no lid leaks, then next time start with just a smidge smaller lower vent opening.
You're doing the wise thing, checking your PBC temp. Write down what you did this time--how much lit charcoal you added, how full the basket was, what the lower vent setting was, how long the fire burned before adding the meat, etc. Then next time change only one thing, like the lower vent setting, and see if that works. But for every single cook, make sure there are no lid leaks at startup. After the smoke has been going a few hours, lid leaks exert less of an effect on PBC temperature.
Happy smoking,
KathrynComment
-
School is in session, and I thought it was summer!! The learning here never gets old. -
Thanks, Kathryn! For my next cook, I'm going to keep very careful records.
-
crunchysue You're right on the money, keep records. I've got records of every single cook I've done, as I had a lot of temp issues when starting with the PBC. Those notes are awesome reminders!
-
-
I struggled with high temps for a while at first. Lid leaks were the main culprit. I had great luck with a gasket. From talking to folks at PBC corporate, they feel the bottom vent opening has little impact on the high temps relative to other variables. (More accurately: small adjustments won't have major impacts, so don't waste time fiddling). They really emphasized lighting method. With a chimney, they insisted a lighter cube leads to higher temps than newspaper given the same burn time. I can attest to this, but it's just a function of the extent of coals lit in the chimney over time. They were also insistent time is critical for the open lid burn on a lighter fluid start or the in chimney burn time for a chimney start. They recommended strictly sticking to the recommended time and failing that playing with the time if you still have issues. (I got my temperatures under control before I tested this thoroughly). Lastly, they also mentioned wood chunks versus chips led to higher temperatures. I have seen this personally with different cooks.Comment
-
I am coming to the same conclusion re: lighting. With newspaper it takes 20-25 minutes to get any gray on the top coals for me. I've started using MORE paper, and that seems to help, but lighter cubes are on my shopping list. -
Also, on the lighter cubes, DON'T buy them from Amazon! $9 there for most, vs. $3-4 at most local stores (ACE, Home Depot, even stores like Meijer/Kroger).
-
Comment
-
Basically burnt, fzxdoc, but I ate it anyway. I tried to let it go to 203, but by 9:30pm (I started at 1pm), it was still only 183, but I was starving, so I took it off. I suspect my thermometer probe was positioned incorrectly. Most of the inside was dry and tough. Near the bone was pretty good. -
Oh what a bummer for you, crunchysue . Do you have a Thermapen? I always check my Maverick readings with a Thermapen when the end of the cook nears. If you don't have a Thermapen, at least test for probe tenderness. That's a long cook time for a chuckie! Try it again soon. Success awaits!
-
-
For a very simple cooker, it seems that each PBC has a "mind of its own", and needs to be "dialed in" by the individual user. For whatever its worth, my PBC is one of the "old" versions, 2013 vintage, and the lid is very tight. After some amount of fooling around with lighting procedure, I've settled back to essentially the method described on the PBC website. I put 5 pounds KBB in the basket, and 2½ pounds in the chimney. I Light the chimney until ash starts to cover the top coals, dump them into the basket, spread them around, add the meat and go. This typically results in a spike over 320º and eventually settle to 250-270º. This would be for a single brisket or pork butt. A fuller barrel would probably be lower temperature. Also, note that I'm in Florida where the ambient temperature is frequently into the 90's, and my barrel lives on a patio surrounded by walls on 3 sides. If it was 60º ambient and windy, the temperature would be at least 30º lower.
I have read that many here need to leave the lid off for a while, and/or leave out rebars for a while to get their barrel up to a satisfactory temperature, and I have to assume that the differences in experiences have something to do with individual cookers, and differing ambient conditions.
So, I guess to make a long story short, I'd recommend you grab some pork butts, and fool around with your own barrel and ambient conditions till you get it dialed in. Pork butts are very forgiving, and will make great grub no matter what the particular temperature profile is/was.Comment
-
fzxdoc is the resident expert in these parts on all things PBC. As she points out, new PBCs need some time to "gunk up" the lid to seal good. I got mine after they switched from powder coating to the porcelain coating and I never had any issues with leaking lid syndrome. When I cook now I have to gently "pry" the lid loose. Also note that removing the lid during cooking is always going to lead to a temp spike. As johnec00 points out, each PBC DOES seem to have a mind of it's own. Once you get it figured out it's like an appliance. I can, and have, left mine unattended for hours at a time. Hang in there and enjoy the trip, and welcome aboard!Comment
-
The simplest way to make your lid seal tight is buy an extra 20 lb bag of charcoal. Put it on the lid. It keeps the lid tight and won't scratch your paint.
Something I do that gets a very consistent light is I put 2 oz of lighter fluid on each side of the basket. The handle is the dividing line. I bought me a little plastic bottles in the houseware department at Walmart. It is a salad dressing holder. I guess people use them when they take their lunch to work. Anyway it holds 2 oz. and I just fill it with lighter fluid and dribble it one one side fill it up again and dribble it on the other side, light it and let it burn for 12-15 minutes and I get a perfect light every time. This also keeps me from wasting lighter fluid.Comment
-
good idea jecucolo thanks for the tip. I think a lid that doesn't seal is my big problem and something I'm going to address this weekend when i cook. I bought a rubber mallet and I'm going to watch the lid like a hawk and hit it in places as needed for a proper seal. But if that doesn't work I'll call PBC and see about replacing the lid...just doesn't seem right to have to mess it more than that. I understand they are pretty good about replacements.Comment
Comment