The big PBC secret

[JGo37]

I put in a 5" Grainger off-set temperature gauge and learned how to hit the temp I want pretty quick - a handful of runs - and walk away. By the time I take the dog to the park, grab some shrimp, throw it in the water somewhere and come close to a limit on cats, I head home. Meat's done.

The one thing I have on my wish list is a probe with a smartphone app. I only have a local with a display on the base and a ~ 150' remote. Someday.

[hogdog6]

I love that if I light it correctly, monitor the meat temp, put my hand on the lid now and again to make sure it hot, all I have to do is let it ride. Great food every time. The day I realized the "C" stood for cooker not smoker I quit trying to control the temps. Life changing 😋

[fzxdoc]

Agreed. I monitor the PBC temp with 2 ambient probes which, during any given cook, can read 40°+ different from each other on opposite sides of the barrel. When I average those readings, I find I seldom have to fiddle with the PBC to get the temps I like. That said, there have been times when intervention saved the cook, especially if I needed the food to come out at a certain time.

Kathryn

[archer2010]

Yeah, it is pretty automatic, but I still need to monitor. Yesterday, I cooked 6 slabs of pork ribs. I use the 'fill the basket, put 40 in the chimney' method. Will generally start in the 275 range, but gradually (1 1/2 hours ) drop to 220 and falling. Usually crack the lid slightly, let it climb to 300, then seal the lid again. Then it goes into another gradual decline, but by the time it hits 220 again, the ribs are ready for sauce. Sounds more complicated as I write this than it is actually! The ribs were great, as usual.

[RustyHaines]

I have had the same thought but somehow I cannot rationalize the mechanization of smoking. Just me being old fashion I guess.

[fzxdoc]

I just purchased the PBC. The first cook was a bit of a bust because I tried to control temp. I'm at sea level and started with only 20 briquettes. I pulled the ribs off at 3 hours even though I know I should have kept them on for an additional hour or more. (I had the in-laws over and they insisted that I pull them because they thought they were done and wanted to eat. They were wrong) The ribs were not tender enough and dried out quick. I tossed the rest after everyone was done eating (almost a full rack of BB). The chicken came out good though, but I noticed that the temp on the chicken seemed to "stall" during the cook. My smoke was saying it was stalled at 155 degrees, but when I checked with my MK4 it was at 165+. Has anyone ever had this issue? My barrel was running between 225-250. Chicken sat in the barrel for 2 hours.

With my PBC, chicken smoked at 225-250° takes a couple of hours to come up to safe eating temp. It's still juicy. In fact, I prefer to smoke boneless skinless breasts at lower temps (250 or more) so they don't dry out. Whole (split like shown on the PBC site) chickens are always done around 350° or more and are done in an hour or so.

Most of the time, when I check the meat with my MK4 I get a different reading compared to the leave-in Fireboard probe reading. I start checking about 10-15° below the desired temp.

In whole (split) chickens, on a couple of occasions I've mistakenly let breast temps ride to 170° or so, and the chicken is still moist. That PBC is very forgiving with chicken.

Testing for rib doneness is a real art. As you do more of them on the PBC you'll get a better feel for it.

BTW, I never throw out rib meat, even on the ribs closest to the fire which might be more done than the rest of the rack. Tossed in with chili or taco seasonings and sauce, that meat is always delicious, even if it's mixed in with, say, ground beef in the chili or tacos. It adds great flavor!

Have fun with your future PBC cooks.

Kathryn

[hogdog6]

I feel I should put in a disclaimer about my post above. I believe when you 1st get your new PBC you need to monitor temps to make sure it runs properly. Also must, must, must follow and learn fzxdoc lighting instructions. If a set time to be done is required a cooker temp probe or two is definitely not a bad idea. Except for ribs ALWAYS monitor food temp. I’ve had my PBC for years and am very confident in how it runs. Mainly what set me free was not trying to keep it at some magic temp. As long as it wasn’t leaking and running way hot or not lit correctly and running cold all is good. You should monitor the temps if that is what works best for you. Most importantly ENJOY the cook and the great food that comes out of the magic little barrel. Because it is delicious!

[jecucolo]

I agree. Once the lid is tight the thing just perks along.

[fzxdoc]

I agree with you, hogdog6, about not chasing a certain magical temp. The PBC will settle in to whatever temp it likes best, given the conditions. For me, it's more fun to just roll with that and turn out good food rather than stressing over getting to a certain temperature.

Kathryn

[lukenich18]

Thats the main reason I bought a PBC was to set it and forget it. I usually cook ribs and chicken and I dont need to monitor temp for ribs. If Im cooking chicken I just spot check it with my thermo pop.

[JeffJ]

Same here. No need to mess with thermometer probes for chicken. Thermo pop and that's it.