PBC Modification idea: Grill just over coals

[wcpreston]

I've had the PBC for almost a year now and am loving it. I've done ribs, whole steaks, brisket, pulled pork, and have had great success almost every time.

I have been reading the site's "Ultimate Turkey Recipe," including the part about the ultimate gravy recipe. An essential step in making the gravy (really Au Jois) is letting the turkey drip into the broth. There's no way to do this with the PBC.

I was wondering about mounting a grill just about the coals. This grill could hold the gravy pan to catch the drippings. It could hold a water pan if you wanted it for moisture. Or it could be used for reverse searing just over the coals. I would do this by drilling holes in the side and putting bolts just like the four that are there for the main grill mount.

But then I thought I was violating the basic design of the PBC. What do you think?

[Spinaker]

I have thought about the same thing. I would drill 4 holes below the current grate height. Then slide some small bolts through the barrel.
I would not want the pan to sit right over the coals, for two reasons. One being that what ever you put in that pan will simply boil off if it is right over the fire. Second, you might actually change the air flow in and around the fire. My theory is, placing the grate a little higher will allow more air between the fire and the pan. In my mind, you would minimize your hindrance to the airflow with in the cooking chamber.

All that being said, I think this will effect flavor, because you will not have the fat dripping onto the fire. So make sure to keep that in mind. That dripping action is what really gives the food that distinct PBC flavor.

[wcpreston]

Good point about not being directly above the coals. I'm just not sure how low a 22 lb turkey would hang. This is really all about the turkey. Not sure I'd do it with anything else.

[JeffJ]

Last year I cooked a bird in the kettle w/ SnS. I set up a pan below to catch the drippings to make gravy. I did NOT like the smokey flavor of the gravy. It was off-putting.

You might consider putting some turkey legs in the oven and catching drippings that way.

[Obi-Dan]

One thing that would concern me is, from my understanding one of the keys to the PBC is letting the juices drip on the coals and evaporate. If you stopped that from happening you may not get he same results from the cooker.

[RobertC]

I was wondering about mounting a grill just about the coals. This grill could hold the gravy pan to catch the drippings. It could hold a water pan if you wanted it for moisture. Or it could be used for reverse searing just over the coals. I would do this by drilling holes in the side and putting bolts just like the four that are there for the main grill mount. [...] What do you think?

I think it would be a great idea. What would be really cool is if you could go one step further and do something like this:



And then put a grate just above the coals like this for searing:



Or, if that was too close you could set a grate a little bit above that to catch drippings. Maybe something like this:

[UncleFester]

I did something similar to this. After I bought the PBC, I realized I wasn't too crazy about the natural grease-fire smoke flavor and would much prefer a couple of apple/hickory wood chunks or what have you. I used 3 1.5" bolts with a flat washer + wing nut and drilled 3 holes in the same location at the pegs that hold the factory grate, except these were about 5.5 inches above the coal basket. I don't put any water in my pan when I cook, so mine just acts as a drip pan (WSM-esque). Made a huge difference in taste (I like it a lot better).

The biggest difference, however, is cook temp, which is what may affect you here. PBC runs MUCH cooler when cooking this way. My best guess is because it's preventing the mini flareups from the grease dripping on the coals. I'm sure that my drip pan is also absorbing a little of the heat (I just use a small foil pan, usually a loaf pan). I am still trying to find the perfect balance of # of lit coals to dump on to start with so that it stays hot. The problem is that when you do that, more coals get lit faster and you run out of fuel faster. Usually I just tinker with it by cracking the lid on and off as needed.

[Mudkat]

I agree that you should drill only three evenly spaced holes not four. It's hard to get four holes the exact same height or plane so you may have wobbling when you put the grate in. With three you won't have that problem if installed even distance apart (or close to it).

Also, using stainless steel nuts, bolts, washers might be the best way to go.