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Smoked Chicken Advice

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    #16
    I never fiddle with the bottom vent. If I am doing a shorter cook, less than two hours, I will occasionally use less coals in the main basket, but I always light 40 coals. Now that my PBC has the appropriate layer of "gunk" around the lid, it seals nicely and my cooks usually hover around 300 degrees. They do creep up, but then if they are getting to 325 I'll plug two of the rebar holes and it'll drop down to 300.

    Something that still perplexes me is that I've discovered I need to use two weber cubes to light the PBC chimney to get the entire thing fully lit in the requisite 12 minutes.

    And yes, I had something fall of my hooks in my very first cook. Switched to double/daisy-chaining hooks whenever I hang.

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      #17
      For me, the amount of time it takes for the top coals to start to ash over in the chimney varies with the type of charcoal used and the shape of the chimney. Kingsford Professional (Competition) takes 5 to 10 minutes longer to get to that stage compared with Kingsford Original (KBB)

      For a comparison of chimney shape/design, take a look at this topic:
      Last week, I asked, on this topic (https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/accessorize-your-pit/212264-char-broil-half-time-charcoal-starter-chimney) , whether


      The take home message of that topic was that a short, wide chimney heats the coals up faster than the Weber Compact, which is similar in design to the compact chimney sold by PBC. The downside of that Char Broil Half Time chimney is that many people report that theirs rusted out quickly. I'm still using mine, 4 years later. Luck of the draw, most likely.

      Like Alabama Smoke , I always start the chimney on the PBC's grate, keeping the sparks, etc inside the drum. Some people start the basket outside of the PBC and then transfer the basket to the barrel with a garden rake. I'm too chicken to try that--for me, it would be an accident looking for a place to happen, but for many, it works well.

      About your chicken falling of the hook, did you hook it through the armpit, back to front? Some people hook it through the breast but I hate messing up that pretty breast meat, so I aim more for the armpit area. I've never had a chicken half fall off the hook, but there's a first time for everything. Now that you've got that box ticked, may you never have the problem again.

      Keep playing with your PBC--you're going to enjoy each cook more and more. Even after all these years and many, many cooks, I still wake up with a smile on my face when I realize that it's going to be a "PBC Day".

      Kathryn

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      • Barker
        Barker commented
        Editing a comment
        I appreciate the comments. I use the chimney sold by the PBC folks. Like many things and in this case the PBC I just need to keep moving and trying different things and techniques. I'm pretty sure it's not rocket science and everyone figures out what works best for them. However, it looks to me like there is a lot of good advice to be found here in the Pit and I'll surely consider a lot of it as nothing beats experience.

      #18
      Got the PBC and followed doc’s advice as close as possible for the first cook, 2 6lb chicken’s halved, including some Italian sausage. I actually snapped pics of all the directions and constantly referred to them as I gathered stuff and cooked.

      Lighting went smooth, had to fiddle with the lid frequently as she mentioned to keep the temp around 350 but my assistant chef and I just laid around mostly waiting. The wife said “OMG, this is REALLY Good!! And it was!

      Can’t wait to try some things now.
      Attached Files

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        #19
        Winner, winner for sure, ByTor . Congratulations on a fine chicken cook. And special congrats to your budding BBQ expert. What a cutie.

        Isn't it amazing how moist and juicy the breast meat is in a PBC chicken? That's what always surprises my guests when they eat PBC yardbird at our house for the first time. The dark meat is delicious as well, but most people slice into breast meat expecting it to be somewhat dry. Not so with the PBC chickens my family and friends have come to expect.

        Kathryn

        Comment


          #20
          Originally posted by fzxdoc View Post
          Winner, winner for sure, ByTor . Congratulations on a fine chicken cook. And special congrats to your budding BBQ expert. What a cutie.

          Isn't it amazing how moist and juicy the breast meat is in a PBC chicken? That's what always surprises my guests when they eat PBC yardbird at our house for the first time. The dark meat is delicious as well, but most people slice into breast meat expecting it to be somewhat dry. Not so with the PBC chickens my family and friends have come to expect.

          Kathryn
          Agreed, it is crazy how moist and tender it turns out. I always grill a lot of chicken breasts we eat during the week on salads and for convenience and it's a chore to make them edible. That was one of the driving factors to choosing the Pit Barrel, your description of the chicken. And now I have a delicious chicken sandwich for lunch today

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