First PBC Cook - Ribs

[jlhilden]

I wanted my first PBC cook to be chicken but because of circumstances out of my control, baby back ribs got the honor. I prepared the ribs with a rub and fired up the PBC following the directions posted in the sticky. I put the two racks in, closed the lid, and the temperature skyrocketed to 385. There was a lot of smoke coming from under the lid and I checked to see if it was seated correctly - it was, kind of. I've read posts about getting high temps from the lid not being tight. My lid has a lot of play; I can press down and slide it back and forth about a 1/4". I see no other way make the lid tighter except to add a gasket. To counter the rising heat, I put foil in all the rebar holes to bring the temp down which it did and held around 320. The ribs were done in under two hours and tasted fine.

My first impression of the PBC is a bit on the negative side of neutral. I would like to know for sure if the lid sitting lose on top is an issue that needs addressing.

[hogdog6]

Your ribs look great but yes that is way too much smoke coming out from your lid.
Those new shiny barrels seem to have an issue with loose lids. I'd get a gasket and let some buildup occur.
I've got some friends getting ready to pull the trigger on the magic little barrel. I'm thinking I'll tell them to get a gasket straight out of the gate.

[Jerod Broussard]

Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much seepage.

[Huskee]

Some bricks, or something heavy & heat resistant, will likely help you get a seal if your lid is warped slightly or whatever is happening. Although, you really can't beat 2hr "tasted fine" ribs! I have a newer one, just under a year old, and the lid has back & forth play but no trouble seating & sealing. I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones in that regard?

[Nate]

My experience has been that the more cooks you do the more build up you will get on the lid and it will start to seal better.

I also have a few bricks wrapped in foil that I used a lot when mine was new. I just left them on top of the lid while cooking.

You can can also take strips of foil and crimp it around where there are leaks....

again though... should get better with some more cooks.

[HawkerXP]

Same as Nate, foiled bricks, built up some black magic and leaks are gone.

[abandonedbrain]

Yep. I use several large rocks (about 15lb each) set on the lid, helped considerably until I finally built up a grease "gasket" (took about 10 sessions, a few pork butts helps). Controlling your start helps, as well (esp. with chimneys).

[abandonedbrain]

My lid has a lot of play; I can press down and slide it back and forth about a 1/4". I see no other way make the lid tighter except to add a gasket. To counter the rising heat, I put foil in all the rebar holes to bring the temp down which it did and held around 320. The ribs were done in under two hours and tasted fine.

jlhilden Congrats on a great looking dinner! Others noted you have way too much smoke coming out from under your lid, and they're right. The lid is made to be a bit "slack" on the horizontal plane (possibly to allow for expansion of the barrel under heat?), but what your pics kind of show is almost a warping toward the right side of the lid in that barrel pic.

fzxdoc has many great posts on "controlling" a slightly warped lid with a shoe or sandal, but as I looked for one to quote here, I see that she replied in a post of yours earlier last week with the same title! Looking at that thread, it seems you talked with Noah at PBC already. Not much better info we can give you here, I think. Good luck, and keep cooking!

[NortheastAl]

Would be nice if they could design some snap locks for the lid. Just thinkin' out loud.