Second PBC cook & lessons learned ...

[JCinPA]

I did 4 racks of back ribs yesterday and they were pretty scrumptious! I wanted to just use Noah's instructions and no thermometer, and just let the PBC "do its thing", but I did put a temp probe inside the cooker to see what was going on. I would like to understand more about what is going on in there, what is all this talk about a "temperature spike" and why it's important. I took good notes about the cook for that purpose.

First, the prep. I decided to do 2 racks with the General Purpose Rub that came with the PBC and some Blues hog sauce I bought to try it, and do the other two racks with McCormick's Grill Mates Slow & Low Memphis Pit BBQ Rub and a sauce I've used for decades -- recipe here:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/bbq-sauce-recipes/360374-new-member-saying-thanks-with-a-sauce-recipe-for-ribs

Here are the prep pics. Ingredients:



Sorry that's sideways ... And the racks rubbed and ready to sit in the fridge for a while while I prep for the other stuff, like the beans. Vegetables, pepper bacon and doctor-upper sauce to add to canned beans ...



So Here is how it went.

I put the ribs on at 2:00 and the temp dropped from 270 to 260 pretty fast, which is understandable because the ribs were cold. I read you guys talking about wanting a temperature spike (don't know why) so I cracked the lid for a few minutes and the temp raised to 307* pretty quickly, then I sealed the lid well. Here are later temps throughout the cook, measured with a Smoke unit.

2:15 295*
2:25 300*
2:35 305*
2:45 302*
2:54 304*
3:05 305*
3:15 304*
3:25 302*
3:35 302*
3:45 299*
3:55 300*

I checked them at 4:00, after just 2 hours (I remembered Noah saying back ribs should take 2-3 hours) and they were very nearly done, so I got the sauces ready and sauced the racks next to the grill, two at a time, covering the grill between swapping out the racks.

The temp spiked to 320 while saucing, but dropped to 302* in 10 minutes when covered again. This thing is really stable, but mine wants to run at 300 rather than the 270-290 most folks advertise. Maybe if I had not cracked my lid in the beginning it would have tracked lower? But boy, as you can see this thing is stable as can be. Temps started to drop after glazing, maybe from evaporative cooling??

4:25 299*
4:35 286*
4:45 277*
4:55 273*

I took them off at 5:00, right at the 3-hour mark. Finished pics in next post ...

[JCinPA]

The ribs were scrumptious and perfectly done (most of them, more on that later). Very juicy, a huge hit with everyone.



Yum! I cut them up and put them on separate platters with their respective sauces.




Very, very pleased with cook #2. The general consensus was the McCormick rubbed ribs with my sauce were the winners. I think part of that is much of the audience were nieces who cannot abide any sense of spiciness, I mean AT ALL. I think the McCormick rub is excellent, but personally, I preferred the PBC General Purpose Rub because I do like a little bit of heat. The Blues Hog was a disappointment to most, though. Super, super sweet, one described it as like pancake syrup, why would you put it on ribs? I guess we don't like really sweet sauce.

My sauce, on the other hand, was sweet, but not sugary sweet, more sweet from the mango chutney in it, very tangy. I'll stick with it for ribs as I have for the last 30 years.


Lesson learned: Make sure to get all the racks about the same size. I had 3 racks that were 3 pounds plus a fraction, and one monster that was 4 pounds +. The 3 pound racks were perfectly done, requiring teeth to pull the meat from the bone, but leaving the bone clean as a whistle, just the way I like ribs, and how most feel they should be. The monster, though, at least on the thicker side, wasn't quite done enough and you had to gnaw on them a while to pull the meat off and you never quite got the bone clean. Juicy, tasty, nobody complained, but the thicker half of that rack was just so much thicker than the rest of them it needed more time. Lesson learned, keep them all in the same size/shape regime as much as possible.


Cook #2 in the books, I think I'll try a chuck roast next! I found a very old thread of Daves that got bumped where he had a pic of a pulled chuck with melted sharp provolone and sauteed onions and peppers on it that was a religious experience to look at. Must try that next!

So what's with all this temperature spike, why is it necessary, and why not just follow Noah's video instructions--light in the chimney, let mostly ash over, dump in cooker, place meat and go immediately? Thanks!

[jecucolo]

Temperature spike is the curse of the PBC. It is generally attributed to a leak. The only place a leak can occur is the lid. For some reason some people have trouble with the lid leaking. A very small leak can cause the PBC to run 380*
Most of the time the lid will get a build up carbon and moisture that tightens up the seal after a few cooks. If it doesn't there are lots of ways to get the lid to seal. Your PBC will probably tighten up and the temperature will start running in the 260-280* range. In the mean time put a little weight on the lid. I buy an extra bag of 20lb charcoal. This will get the temperature a little lower until a natural seal forms. What method do you use to light the pbc. Chimney or charcoal lighter fluid?
Great pics!

[Pirate Scott]

Looks like a Success!

[JCinPA]

Jecucolo, maybe my 300 was due to needing to season it a bit more, it certainly is stable. You misunderstood my question, though. Kathryn, Dave and others have talked about WANTING a temp spike at the beginning, that's how they "know they got a good light." That's what I don't understand.

yes this was VERY successful, the ribs were AWESOME, save for the thicker half of the biggest rack. Very good indeed!

[Huskee]

Amen on same sized ribs. 4lb racks are BIG! They look mighty good from here!

[kmhfive]

Looks like great ribs!

[JCinPA]

Just got back from my parents' served them the leftovers. Even leftover, they said, "Best ribs we've ever had!'

Well, Mom is biased, of course.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful!

[FireMan]

Simply marvelous!

[hogdog6]

I've got to the point with my PBC unless doing poultry I just make sure I don't see any smoke from the lid and let it run. I cooked St. Louis ribs Sunday while at church with no concerns about how they were doing. They turned out PBC perfect. Thanks for your post and you are correct get that initial spike and you lit it correctly. 👍🔥👍