Smaller cooks on the PBC

[jleinaweaver]

fzxdoc mentioned she has had success sizing the PBC down for smaller cooks. tl;dr a different thread, I'm absolutely convinced to go full over the junior.

Now I'm curious about how you've all managed shorter / smaller cooks in the PBC. Seems there are two options.

​​​​Option 1. Prep a full basket and extinguish when done
The tips page here on AR suggests you can move the full and hot charcoal basket to a steel ash can after your cook, put the lid on and extinguish the coals saving some for next time.

Option 2. Prep a less than fill basket. Trial and error to figure out how full a basket you need to maintain good temps over a set amount of time.

So, how have you managed this? Better to go full basket and extinguish or load with less? Thanks!

[xaugievike]

Option 2 in nearly all cases for me (outside of an actual longer cook)...including tonight when im planning on doing some wings. I tend to kind of load a side of the basket in a pile and then poor my lit coals up against that pile.

[jecucolo]

I remove bars and put in trimmed down wine corks. Works like a champ. I usually add a few coals to it. After 3 or so cooks I let it burn out.

[HawkerXP]

I use the rake I put the basket in with to remove basket after cook and put in my kettle to extinguish.

[cashelton]

Brewmaster posted the following in another thread, I use his method. Works great!
"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

Using a heat resistant glove, I dump the coals into a 10 gallon steel can.

[jleinaweaver]

cashelton is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people.

[cashelton]

Thank you!
The Pit, its people and my PBC are just a few of my favorite things!

[jecucolo]

This is some PBC Science!

[shify]

So far, I haven't used anything less than a full basket and don't bother extinguishing and re-using the charcoal as I always felt I got an off-taste when using leftover charcoal in my WSM. Plus the relative savings of half a basket of isn't worth it to me to potentially ruin a much more expensive piece of meat.

In the future, if I wanted to use less charcoal for a shorter cook, I'd probably use a less full basket as the PBC lights in sort of a minion method by incrementally lighting new charcoal on fire as time goes on, so using a half full basket with the coals evenly spread out, theoretically shouldn't impact anything except for the length of time that the coal will be burning.

[N227GB]

Back when I had my offset, I tried saving used charcoal a few times but was never happy with the results.

[smn1285]

Someone at one time on here estimated that when you buy the KBB on special (2-18lb bags for like $10) that each briquette is like 2 or 3 cents each. So its just not worth the trouble for me to extinguish and reuse them. I would rather start trying option #2. I keep forgetting to try a 1/2 basket or less. Need to give it a shot next time I hang some chicken halves.

[jleinaweaver]

Thanks all for the useful feedback.

Also, totally my bad for duplicating a question covered last year so closely. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...out-burn-times

He even framed the two options in a nearly identical way!

I'll show myself out...

[xaugievike]

it's all good - we've all asked, and will again ask questions that have been covered before...part of the deal.

[Mr. Bones]

No worries, Brother!
Keep on askin, an answerin questions...

[MBMorgan]

Bottom line: ALWAYS start with 40 lit briquettes for every PBC cook ... whether with a full basket, half or whatever. The PBC burns from the top layer of 40 lit briquettes down to the bottom of however many you've got in there.

[Brookie]

Option two. I use a partially full basket for shorter cooks. I buy my KBB on sale and in the past have had less than stellar performance from used charcoal. Brookie

[JeffJ]

Option 2. A single layer of unlit coals below the lit coals. Works like a charm.

[PappyBBQ]

I have a divider in my basket to section it in half. For short cooks I'll use the half basket. When I do chicken I simply pour a full chimney of lit coals in the basket and let 'er rip. I've never reused...

[Brewmaster]

This is what I use for smaller cooks, does a whole chicken cut in 1/2 and hung or 2 racks of ribs

[jfmorris]

This has been hashed out before, but regardless, I don't see the need to try and extinguish the coals. Maybe you can work with less than a full basket for shorter cooks, but I would not fool with moving the charcoal to a closed can to put it out. It won't hurt anything to let it burn out in the PBC after the cook. I can extinguish the fire pretty completely on my Weber Performer, but unless some of the charcoal is untouched by the fire, its just not worth trying to reuse it for a future cook, unless its just a hot and fast cook. Reuse of partially burned charcoal in my SNS and kettle leads to unpredictable cooks.

[RobertC]

I have a rule of thumb that seems to work in mild weather conditions to hold the cook temp in the range of 275-300 deg or so. The rule is: about a pound of briquettes per hour, plus a pound. That means roughly 4 pounds for a 3 hour cook, or 7 pounds for a 6 hour cook. There are 18 KBB briquettes per pound, so my rule of thumb is actually pretty close to Brewmaster's rule as cited by cashelton. I don't actually count out the briquettes any more. I counted out 36 (= 2 lbs) a while back and loaded it into my chimney, then inscribed a little scratch at that level so I can use the chimney as a measuring cup.

(I only use Kingsford Blue Bag. I suppose if I used a different brand of briquette or lump or something of uneven size I'd have to re-calibrate my rule of thumb. And, each briquette weighs 25 grams so 40 briquettes is a kg).