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First purchase, or, "How I was overcome by the paralysis of choice."

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    #31
    Since you already have a gasser and can do a lot of grilling on that, I would recommend the PBC for the smoking experience. It gives you a marvelous flavor because of the drippings-on-the-hot fire phenomenon. Who doesn't love (Wo)Man-Meat-Fire? Plus it can cook the volume that you seem to be looking for. You can buy a round dolly for it for it (pretty inexpensive) on Amazon and roll it out as needed, but it's light enough to carry or even transport.

    I love my SnS/kettle combo, but the SnS takes up a lot of real estate under the grate, especially in a 22" kettle, so your options for volume smoking are a bit more limited, even with the additional half-rack option. That said, it's also great for those small, low volume/low-charcoal-use cooks when you're doing short cooks for two or four.

    If you had said you want to do a lot more grilling, I'd say go with the SnS/Kettle option. But since you want to smoke with large amounts of meat, I think the PBC might be able to fill that desire.

    Both do well in the wintertime.

    So my recommendation is to get the PBC, get some good indirect thermometer probes, and then try to find a kettle on Craigslist--and spring for the SnS. With a gasser, a PBC, and an SnS/Kettle, you'll have the best of many worlds.

    Kathryn

    Comment


    • cdschwanz
      cdschwanz commented
      Editing a comment
      What would be the best way to get a PBC to even lower temperatures like 225? Something like this https://www.amazon.com/pitmasterIQ-T.../dp/B01MRUWGKY ? I think that is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger, regulating the temp down just a little bit. Ribs and chicken may work well at the 275-300 range of the PBC but there are a few things that I'm reading that recommend 225 is the sweet spot.

    • Polarbear777
      Polarbear777 commented
      Editing a comment
      The postmaster IQ should work but there are dozens of options out there so you’ll want to shop around to get one with the features you want.

    • fzxdoc
      fzxdoc commented
      Editing a comment
      cdschwanz , you'd be surprised at how many people here on the Pit smoke most of their food at 250° or higher. It's not unique to the PBC. And 225° is no longer the gold standard, even on the competition circuit.

      That said, I have smoked brisket on the PBC at 225°. You just light fewer coals initially. It's actually pretty easy. But that 225° brisket was no better than all of the many briskets that I've smoked in the neighborhood of 275° on my PBC as well. So you really have the choice.

      K.

    #32
    cdschwanz the cool thing with the PBC is that you get great results even without smoking at precisely 225F. It's due to the moist environment the fairly tightly sealed drum creates - its very unique.

    I've smoked probably 1000 Boston butts in the past 30 years (not joking there - once cook was 84 butts! Next biggest was 9). I've found through trial and error that you don't have to maintain it precisely at 225. In fact, when I go to bed, I set the high and low alarms on my Thermoworks Smoke thermometer to 300F and 200F. I don't need to wake up unless the fire starts going out (under 200) or its really hot. And in fact, I've had the smoker reach as high as 340F (one time I turned the alarms off totally), and my pulled pork came out just fine - it just gone done a few hours earlier than I expected, so I held it in a warm oven until closer to dinner.

    So over the last year, I've moved most of my smokes up to 250F or 275F. As our friend Ahumadora likes to say, "Life is too short to smoke at 225". Brisket and butts do just fine on the PBC at the higher temperatures is what I am trying to say.

    When you first start smoking, its easy to rush to tweak the vents on your grill or smoker if the temp gets 5 degrees off from where you think it should be, but that level of precision is not really needed in smoking. That is the beauty of the PBC - and I say this based on my research, and listening to the "PBC Whisperer" aka Kathryn fzxdoc and others here. I don't own a PBC, but I understand how it works. And it just works. You can let it do its thing and not worry about it.

    All that said, you can add a temperature control fan system to the PBC, where you have precise thermostatic control, and run it at any temperature you want. I have no experience with that Pitmaster IQ system, but that is certainly an option. I have a unit called the PartyQ. A lot here have a thermometer called the Fireboard, which can control a fan. You basically mount a fan adapter on the PBC (or kettle or WSM or whatever), and close down the intake, and the fan is turned on and off to control the amount of air feeding the fire, and through that, the temperature inside the smoker. It makes a charcoal & wood smoker behave much like a pellet smoker (but with much more smoke flavor). Is the fan needed? No. But it is cool, and allows a little more precise control.

    Good luck with your decision. You cannot go wrong with a PBC, or a kettle with the SNS, or even a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. They all cook a little different, with different flavor profiles, and all will turn out great Q.

    Whatever you get, I would try learning it without the thermostatic control at first, and at the very least, get a decent instant read thermometer (Thermoworks Thermapen or Thermapop), and a good remote leave-in thermometer to monitor the meat you are cooking (Maverick XR-50 for example, or the Thermoworks Smoke, Thermoworks Signals, or Fireboard).
    Last edited by jfmorris; October 1, 2019, 07:49 AM.

    Comment


      #33
      jfmorris Perfect, I think that's exactly what I needed to know and the final endorsement of the PBC I was looking for. PBC it is and maybe the theromostatic fan next year after I have some experience under my belt.

      So now with the extra budget for thermometers, how do you properly smoke with them? Do they stay in the meat for the entire duration, so I need one that can stand up to the temperature? Do I get a remote probe that goes into the meat and then has the display on the outside? Or just check in after a few hours and see if it is the temp I want and check periodically. Nearly all the reviews on this website are glowing so it's just a matter of preference it seems.

      Comment


      • Dewesq55
        Dewesq55 commented
        Editing a comment
        Get a good digital remote with at least 2 probes. 1 prove goes in (and stays in) the meat. They other goes on the greater at least an inch away from the meat so you can keep an eye on the cooker temperature. You should check out Max's reviews on the public side of the site.

      • DurhamBuckeye
        DurhamBuckeye commented
        Editing a comment
        I have the Maverick & like it a lot. Some folks don't even monitor barrel temps in the PBC, but I'm not there yet.

        And the thermoworks pop for less than $40 is great for spot checking things that you may not have a leave-in probe in

      • mnavarre
        mnavarre commented
        Editing a comment
        The only reason I monitor the pit temp in my PBJr. is just to make sure it's not doing anything insane, but as long as your lid doesn't leak and you get it on tight the hardest thing about cooking on it it just getting your head around the fact that you just need to trust it and let it do it's thing.

      #34
      Originally posted by cdschwanz View Post
      jfmorris Perfect, I think that's exactly what I needed to know and the final endorsement of the PBC I was looking for. PBC it is and maybe the theromostatic fan next year after I have some experience under my belt.

      So now with the extra budget for thermometers, how do you properly smoke with them? Do they stay in the meat for the entire duration, so I need one that can stand up to the temperature? Do I get a remote probe that goes into the meat and then has the display on the outside? Or just check in after a few hours and see if it is the temp I want and check periodically. Nearly all the reviews on this website are glowing so it's just a matter of preference it seems.
      The instant read like the Thermapop or Thermapen are ones you stick in the meat to check things, well, instantly! Anyone with a grill (or kitchen!) needs that - you should be using it for burgers, steaks, and especially chicken, even on your gas grill. And you can use it to check the smoked meats too.

      What is more important for smoking is a leave in thermometer, where you have a probe on a wire, that you leave in the meat the entire cook. Most of these units have multiple probes (2, 4, 6), and it is common to leave one dangling in the smoker to check the air temperature, and one in the meat. I have a Thermoworks Smoke, and a Smoke Gateway, that lets me monitor the "pit" and meat temps anywhere around the house using a handy remote, and on my phone using an app, while away from the house. If the Wifi stuff doesn't matter, the Maverick XR-50 is about the best bang for the buck at the moment. I think it may be an exclusive through Adrenaline BBQ:

      Top quality digital grill thermometers perfect for meat and BBQ. Shop all available grilling thermometers from SnS Grills.


      Here's a good example, where I am smoking a NY strip loin on my kettle. You can see a probe clipped to the grate, and one in the meat. And yes - that meat really was 29F right out of the fridge when I started this smoke! I cooked it to 135F, and then seared it on my gas grill to brown it up some at the end of the cook.

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      Last edited by jfmorris; October 1, 2019, 08:21 AM.

      Comment


      • cdschwanz
        cdschwanz commented
        Editing a comment
        Yeah I have a little rinky-dink probe thermometer from the grocery store that I use for things in the oven so I understand the concept, but at $20 it isn't what I would want for a smoker. I've been able to get away without a true instant read for a while because I have a sous vide circulator where I have temperature control that way, and the probe thermometer for long cooks. I like Thermoworks but I'll look into the Maverick as well.

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        cdschwanz if you don’t need a remote, the Thermoworks Dot is great for just monitoring the meat. Actually for a long time I had that with 2 probes - the meat one it comes with and an extra air prime, and would just switch the cable that I was plugged into to see the cooker temp versus the meat temp.

      #36
      Congrats on nearly pulling the trigger on the PBC. You won't regret your choice. It's a heckuva cooker for the price--a lot of bang for the buck. I have grilled burgers and seared steaks on it as well, but only by moving the fire basket closer to the grate by means setting the basket onto a couple of stovepipe lengths--equal length for more of a base-- (purchased at Lowe's for use with wood burning stoves). So you can grill on it if you want the PBC flavor, but you have to help it out with a simple mod like that.

      The Maverick is a great thermometer set. I used it for a few years before I sprung for the awesome Fireboard which gives you the opportunity of using 6 probes. But start with the Maverick. You can't go wrong.

      Kathryn

      Comment


        #37
        cdschwanz , sounds like you’re headed down the PBC path! Should be fun! We do have a sayin here in The Pit, pictures or it didn’t happen! Looking forward to seeing the results of your cooks on your new cooker!

        Comment


        • cdschwanz
          cdschwanz commented
          Editing a comment
          Ha, well I don't think it will be until Christmas or so until I get the PBC, so I may let my "trial" membership here lapse until then. But I hope to post pictures later on!

        • RickyBobby
          RickyBobby commented
          Editing a comment
          We hope you stick around with regardless of whether you get the PBC. 😊👍. I’ve gotten SO much more from the Pit than just what cookers to try! Great community here!

        #38
        Lotta good feedback team! I recommend you click on over to the free part of the site and click on Ratings & Reviews. We have a searchable database there with hundreds of hands-on reviews by our full time grill and smoker tester, Max Good. You can get details on these devices and others.

        Comment


          #39
          18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain (over the PBC and the Weber kettle with the Slow N' Sear).

          Comment


            #40
            I don't know what purchase you should start with but after 2 1/2 years on this site I ended up with this.

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            AND OF COURSE THIS!

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            So don't sweat your first purchase but dream of all to come!

            Comment


            • holehogg
              holehogg commented
              Editing a comment
              The stomach being the most expensive of the lot.

            • Mudkat
              Mudkat commented
              Editing a comment
              Lol holehogg right you are!

            #41
            Hands down I would suggest the 22” WSM.
            Part of that is because I have experience with it and ZERO experience with a PBC.
            That said, I loved the versatility of the WSM...and it’s easy enough to hang meats a la PBC if that’s your thing.
            I’ve even considered picking up another one just ‘cause.

            Seeing as as you already have a gasser that you like, that would be my first choice.

            Comment

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