PBC tips

[cashelton]

Brewmaster posted the following in another thread, I found it quite helpful!

"More than 6 hours--120 in basket, 40 in chimney
Between 4 & 6--80 in basket, 40 in chimney
Between 1 & 4--40 in basket , 40 in chimney
Less than 1 hour--10 in basket, 40 in chimney"

​​​https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...out-burn-times

[jfmorris]

I got a 10 gallon can with lid I can empty the PBC into, will try that. I don't like to leave something like that going unattended.

I guess I feel the opposite, as an engineer and looking at things somewhat scientifically. If your PBC has the lid on, and is on a fireproof surface as recommended (concrete/brick patio, driveway, pavers on top of a deck), I just don't see any way for sparks or other flammables to come flying out of those tiny rebar holes, especially if you leave the rebar in there. The only time I would worry about snuffing the fire is if you are traveling and cooking with the PBC somewhere else, and need to pack it up and take it home.

I've met a few of over the years that won't leave a CROCKPOT plugged in when they leave the house. I really had that conversation with someone! Which defeats the purpose of having a slow cooker in my mind, if you only use it while you are home to watch it. Heck, my dad is paranoid and turns his water off at the meter if they leave town for the weekend because a neighbor once had a leak. I didn't inherit his level of paranoia and worrying!

Leaving the fire unattended is part of the attraction of the PBC, a kettle with a SNS, or a pellet smoker. You can cook for hours without attending it. If you are watching the PBC all the time, you might as well have a stick burner, where you DO have to mess with it almost constantly.

I am in the club of let it burn itself out. That gets rid of the greasy mess, and leaves less to dispose of, and cleans up the inside of the PBC somewhat. I just don't see worrying about charcoal burning up inside a virtually sealed metal can on a fireproof surface, unless there are other worries like kids messing with it or something.

[fzxdoc]

Hooks vs. Grate: I like using hooks for nearly everything--brisket, chicken, chuck roasts, pork butts, etc. About the only thing I don't hang in my PBC is Bacon-Covered Meatloaf. Oh and maybe some Lil Smokies-stuffed Jalapeno Poppers if I've got the PBC going for a shorter cook and want to use up the coals while the meat is at the cambro spa. I secure my pork butts with silicone cooking bands before hooking and they don't move a bit. Before I started using the bands, I moved the PB to the grate at 160°F or so when all that fat started to soften up.

Why hooks? Easier cleanup. Toss 'em in the dishwasher. If you've lined the bottom of the PBC with 2 layers of Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil, you can wrap the ash up and toss it. Total PBC cleanup with hooks and foiled-bottom is 5 minutes or less.

I'm with Spinaker on letting ribs hang and self baste. Poultry too. Plus who wants to cram ribs onto a PBC grate when the racks can luxuriate in all that hanging room?


Reducing Charcoal in the Basket for Short Cooks: For short Poultry cooks, where I want the PBC at 350-400°F I use a full basket. I've never had success with high temp cooking with partial baskets. I'll use a partial basket (usually half full with 40 coals on top) if I anticipate a cook of 3 hours or less. After that, it's a full basket all the way. I do this because on my PBC the temps stay more stable throughout the 3+hour cook with a full basket.

A lot of it depends on your lighting method and your particular PBC setup (vent setting, rebar(s) in/out, possible lid leaks, volume of meat in the barrel, etc.). My rule of thumb is always to do whatever works best for you.

Kathryn

P.S. I usually let the charcoal in my PBC burn itself out after a cook. I remove the lid or leave about 1/3 opening with the lid on. This burns some of the crap off the inside of the barrel. I leave the lid partially on when I want to scrape the stalactites off the inside of the lid after a lot of cooks. That way condensing moisture doesn't drip from the lid back onto the meat during a cook.

Leaving the lid partly on while the fire burns down (20 min or so is enough) softens that greasy gunk nicely. I scrape it off while still hot with a putty knife. I never scrape the insides of the barrel, though. Only the lid.

[jecucolo]

What she said!

[hogdog6]

All of the above! Except for the bands. Never heard of these before, will need to check them out.

[Livermoron]

Same here. Hang the meat every chance I get, and use a full basket for nearly everything, but a partial basket if I'm smoking pork belly for bacon. I also take the lid off and let the charcoal burn out. I have enough KBB from the Labor day sale to get me through to Memorial day...

[RobertC]

If you buy KBB at Home Depot at the Memorial or Labor Day sales, it works out to around 25 cents/pound. There are 18 KBB briquettes per pound, so each briquette would be around a cent-and-a-half. A full PBC holds around 8 pounds, so that's about $2 per cook if you bought on sale; a half load would be around a buck (at sale price). If you buy briquettes at regular non-sale prices, a full PBC load would be around $4, and each briquette wold cost around 3 cents.

So the cost difference isn't huge, but my great-grandmother had to collect every stick of wood she cooked or heated with, and each pound of KBB that we burn produces around 2 pounds of CO2, plus PM2.5 particulates. All in all, if you can do so without compromising your food, it sorta makes sense not to be wasteful. Whenever possible I try not to use more fuel than I need. That's just being nice to my neighbors.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Welcome to the pit from Southern Illinois! You are getting a wealth of knowledge from fellow PBC owners.

[jb49]

I close the re-bar holes w/ wine corks, use a wad of aluminum foil on the bottom air vent. The charcoal in the PBC goes out within an hour, and is cool to the touch within 2-3 hours.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit.

[jpsep]

I always cook with a full basket, even for poultry. I bought a metal bucket at Ace (recommended by Meathead in an article) then lift the basket out with my fireproof gloves, drop it in the bucket and put the lid on. It’s cool in an hour or two and makes it easy to shake out the ash.

[Finster]

I have a divider for my charcoal basket that splits it in half. I do half basket cooks all the time. Works just fine.

Is the divider something you made yourself?
I've used fire bricks in my kettle to create 2 zones. I'm thinking they might work as a divider for the charcoal basket