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Wood or no Wood for PBC?

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    Wood or no Wood for PBC?

    Hey all, got a question. How many PBC owners have come to the same conclusion I have that you really don't need any sort of wood for great flavor in the PBC?

    My genius notion(inspector gadget music in the background) came about while cooking some ribs and asparagus in the PBC, Ribs came out great, asparagus were terrible. HMMM

    Again, another day I was cooking salmon and shrimp. Salmon great, shrimp awful., like chemicals HMMMMMM

    Tried to toast some hot dog buns for my smoked sausage, sausage came out awesome, but he bun tasted like chemicals. HMMMMMMMM

    So of course I switched charcoal, KBB to Royal Oak (lump and briquette) to FOGO to B&B all fails. Then all of a sudden I tried it with no wood and the asparagus came out great, then I tried it with zucchini and boom another hit. Toasted my buns and man they were good too. And then I noticed the meat was also great still too.

    Now I was using hickory chunks so that maybe the reason for the awful flavor maybe a milder wood may do better; or maybe I could use chips, or put the wood in towards the last part of the cook, but I'm pretty sure that the PBC Is fine without wood and for certain foods, probably better without it.

    What do others think? Have you had a similar experience?
    Kelton



    #2
    The flavors from the ignited drippings did plenty for me. I might have used wood on one or two cooks.

    Comment


      #3
      I rarely use wood in the PBC anymore

      Comment


        #4
        I would say hickory is pretty strong for fish or vegetables
        go with something like a fruitwood or oak

        Comment


          #5
          Used wood when I first got it, but, like others, realized it just didn’t make much of a difference, if any. Drippins seem to do the job.

          Comment


            #6
            I don't use any wood anymore. There is plenty of flavor hopping around that barrel.

            Comment


              #7
              Haven't used wood for years. Drippings on the charcoal do it all for me as well.

              Comment


                #8
                I'm an "always wood in the PBC" guy. Why? CUZ! That's my scientific reason. Truthfully though it's probably like playing with a squirt gun in the pool, but you know I have a lot of wood chunks so I use them.

                Comment


                • hogdog6
                  hogdog6 commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Cannot deny good science.

                #9
                Last time I put wood it mine, it ignited and blackened the lower half of the Turkey I had hanging. Learned my lesson and no more wood in the pbc.

                Comment


                • Huskee
                  Huskee commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yikes! No good. I've never had that happen.

                • lemayp
                  lemayp commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Luckily, it was one of two I had going along with a rib roast, so only me and the dog knew about it. The usable parts went into a soup...

                #10
                Interesting post and comments. I too have wondered why the wood chunks I've added to my PBC don't seem to add all that much extra flavor.

                Comment


                  #11
                  It's tough to do a side by side comparison, wood vs. no wood without two PBCs, which I don't have. I have cooked without wood on occasion, and it might just be the power of suggestion, but I prefer a chunk or two of wood in my cooks.

                  I place the wood carefully with respect to the hanging meat because, as lemayp found out, the wood can ignite if the lid is opened for too long, and the lower part of the meat could blacken if it's close to the coal basket.

                  That said, I don't cook delicate things like veggies (except whole potatoes which are delicious) or shrimp in my PBC. I use a kettle/SnS for that or a gasser, so I can't address the flavor difference. I have toasted burger buns in a PBC with wood and did not notice any off-flavor. They were great, actually. And easy to do.

                  I never use wood chips. When placed on the coals, they ignited with a big burst of flame. Next I tried wood chips in a pouch and they turned out to be perfect little firebombs. So I gave up. MBMorgan told me that one has to poke only a hole or two--not many, in wood chip-filled foil pouches for success, but by then I had used up my small store of wood chips and was happy to be done with them.

                  Kathryn

                  Comment


                  • MattSayar
                    MattSayar commented
                    Editing a comment
                    How long do you have the whole potatoes in the PBC? You ever try sweet potatoes?

                  • fzxdoc
                    fzxdoc commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Never tried sweet potatoes, MattSayar . From the PBC Cooking Times sticky, for russet potatoes:

                    9 oz at 290-340 degF PBC temp: 2 hours to internal temp of 205 deg; then placed in 450 deg convection oven for 10 minutes to crisp the skin.

                    FYI: You can find the PBC Cook Times sticky here: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ts-if-possible

                    Kathryn

                  #12
                  Originally posted by Greygoose View Post
                  I would say hickory is pretty strong for fish or vegetables
                  go with something like a fruitwood or oak

                  Ya know I may try that, but man let me tell you that flavor was awful. It'll be a second before trying that again. Maybe when there is no one around but me. LOL

                  Comment


                    #13
                    Originally posted by Huskee View Post
                    I'm an "always wood in the PBC" guy. Why? CUZ! That's my scientific reason. Truthfully though it's probably like playing with a squirt gun in the pool, but you know I have a lot of wood chunks so I use them.

                    Right makes sense, have you tried veggies with the wood though?

                    Comment


                    • Huskee
                      Huskee commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I haven't cooked veggies on my PBC, no.

                    • hogdog6
                      hogdog6 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Veggies on the PBC? Hmmmm... Nope
                      "I don't eat what my food eats"... Ron Swanson

                    #14
                    Originally posted by lemayp View Post
                    Last time I put wood it mine, it ignited and blackened the lower half of the Turkey I had hanging. Learned my lesson and no more wood in the pbc.
                    That reminds me of that video where Harry Soo was using Jealous Devil in the PBC and burned the front part of his chicken. I've tried JD, and it burns real hot and if I recall he started it with a blow torch or something. When I saw that, I thought to myself, "this isn't going to go well."

                    Comment


                      #15
                      I always use a chunk or two of wood. I love the smell of the wood during the cook, peach is my favorite!

                      Comment


                      • Huskee
                        Huskee commented
                        Editing a comment
                        It's a unique smelling wood

                      • cashelton
                        cashelton commented
                        Editing a comment
                        It is...I pick up a buttery/sweet scent from it, add in the smell of the meat drippings...love it!

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