Ordered the PBC for end of year gift to myself

[SmokinLearner]

My first foray into smoking was a pellet grill which was on sale for 299.00. My first rack of ribs took more than 8 hours and they still had to be finished in the oven. Before my second try I purchased the "smoke" temp system from Thermapen. The temp in the Pit Boss was nowhere near the dialed up temp on the control panel. What I thought was close to 225F was actually more like 190F. Cranking it up to 250F averaged near 300F. The last straw was a power failure during the middle to a pork shoulder cook. It just seemed like I was having no luck with the supposedly "set it and forget it" process of a pellet grill. I am accused of being too much of a perfectionist and they are probably correct as I was constantly having to turn the pellet grill's temp up and down to stay anywhere near a 220-240F temp.

After reading all the good things said about the PBC here, I finally decided to order one up. Unfortunately the turkey hangers are on back order as of this posting but their "free shipping" can't be beat."I used the "link" on this site to get to PBC's ordering site so hopefully Amazing Ribs gets credit for the sale. Ironically the Pit Barrel Cooker comes in at the same price as the pellet grill as well as having the same initials. Is that Karma or what?? I Will probably keep the Pit Boss Cooker around as a backup but I don't know for sure.

Hopefully you all will have patience with my newbie questions as they arise while I endeavor to dial in my new PBC.

Happy Holidays to all and a prosperous and safe New Year to everyone.

-Wayne

[RonB]

Congrats. Most here love their Pit Barrels.

[DWCowles]

Congrats on purchasing the PBC! Happy New Year to you! Cheers!

[HawkerXP]

Welcome to the club! The Barrelhead club that is. There is plenty of information here on the use of your new PBC. As with all things there is a learning process on how to use your new cooker. PBC, PBC, PBC, pbc.............................!

[Pirate Scott]

Congrats a PBC is on my list of things to try. Don’t give up on the Pellet Grill, maybe it would be more suited for high temp cooks?

[abandonedbrain]

SmokinLearner Nice choice! Though there are quite a few of us who have had questions regarding making the switch to using the PBC over a regular smoker or grill, this group of enthusiasts never balks and always has some type of answer for you.

Do yourself a favor and read through the "stickied" posts at the top of the message list. They're there for a reason, and will tide you over until you receive your PBC.

My suggestion is to throw caution to the wind and cook something easy using the methods the manufacturer provides at the PBC website. Plenty of useful videos there. I would shy away from ribs your first couple of outings, as you're going to be trying to get your chops while the barrel gets a workout. I would say the very first thing you should attempt is the thing which everyone agrees the PBC does better than almost any other cooker: chicken. It's inexpensive, easy to find, and will impress you and your family without much work at all. Follow the PBC video guidance your first time out. Use the recommended Kingsford regular briquettes (KBB). Try one of the included seasonings/rubs, see if you like them (they're too salty for my taste, but my wife loves them). Nice thing about a split chicken? You can season each half differently.

For me, the second attempt would be something still easy to cook, but will help get your barrel "aged" (building up a grease layer inside which will help the top seal): pork shoulder/butt. A good 5-6lb butt will take quite a few hours, but produces extremely flavorful pulled pork faster than normal. This cooking session will be a great test of your Smoke probe setup. You'll learn where your PBC's "sweet spot" is, temp-wise, and then you can decide how a#&%-retentive you wish to be about keeping a certain temperature in the cooker.

The more I cook with mine, the more I realize it really doesn't need babysitting. Once you can target the temp range you're aiming for, and hold it there, THEN it's set-it-and-forget-it. There's a little work involved for some, less for others. We all live in different parts of the world, different temps, humidities, altitudes... PBCs are set up for 70% of purchasers just fine OOTB. For the other 30%, it's just a bit of experimentation (which coincidentally creates wonderful food at the same time)!

Welcome to the group, and happy cooking!

[phoccer]

^^ This X 2.

Exactly what I was going to say, read the stickies in this section, start with something easy, follow the PBC video guidance to start with. I'd start with pork butt but that or chicken are a fine start.

[fzxdoc]

I agree with every single one of abandonedbrain 's recommendations.! I first started out by following the video cooks that Noah makes. It's a great and easy way to get going on your PBC. Enjoy that new PBC, SmokinLearner . You're going to have a wonderful time smoking on it.

Kathryn

[tlfillingim]

I also recommend chicken for your first cook. The PBC does the best chicken I've ever made.

As to the perfectionist thing, there isn't much to adjust on the PBC so maybe you'll be OK with that. Try practicing the Zen of PBC. The thing does good work, just let it do its thing. You won't be disappointed.

[Troutman]

Always good to feed that MCS ... nice self-treat !!

[gabulldog]

Congrats, you'll love your PBC! Hands down the easiest cooker out there sans electronics. Forget the turkey hangers--just spatchcock all birds and hang then with the hooks under the arms (or wings?). Spend the extra money on a cheap pizza pan you can put at the bottom under the coal basket. Makes cleanup so much easier. Doing a whole prime packer tomorrow, bolo for pics...

[Spinaker]

Nice! You won't regret it!

[MadChemist]

Congrats! Lots of great meals in your future!

[Steve R.]

Good call on getting the PBC! However, I will caution that being a perfectionist and needing to constantly make corrections will drive you insane with this cooker. fzxdoc has documented on here her excellent lighting process in great detail. Follow that and then trust the PBC to do its thing.

[Larry Grover]

I don’t use the turkey hanger thing. I hang my birds on a Spanek vertical roaster. Comes out great, just ensure nothing blocks center hole so the cavity gets heat. Carving is easy too, here’s a link to Mr Spanek cutting up a chicken with a carrot!

https://youtu.be/0600e0jJD2k

Great company too. Years back I ordered their turkey vertical and had a question so I fired them an email on Thanksgiving morning...and they immediately replied!

And you can toss out most of the default PBC instructions. Just follow the lighting guides here, especially for birds where you’re looking for 325 degrees.

[hoovarmin]

Jealous

[Huskee]

Congrats! But, being a perfectionist and having a PBC can either be a good thing or a terrible thing. As long as you understand it's not a "dial in a temp" cooker, which I'm sure you do since you've researched it. I too say don't give up on the pellet cooker. Now that you have a Smoke you can set it where you need to and get some great use out of it when you don't feel like the hassle of charcoal in the PBC.

[hogdog6]

Enjoy your PBC!