I recently purchased a PBC. I've cooked brisket, chicken, pork shoulder, and ribs. I've used a handful of different types of fuel types... lump, kingsford, stubbs, etc. Most of the cooks have resulted in the meat having a chemical type off taste. Does anyone have any experience with this, and what I might be doing wrong. Or what I could do to get better results.
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Beverages- Favorite summer beers: Leinenkugels Summer & Grapefruit Shandy, Hamm's, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold
- Fav other beers: Zombie Dust (an IPA by 3 Floyd's Brewing), Austin Bros IPA, DAB, Sam Adams regular, Third Shift amber or Coors Batch 19, Stella Artois
- Fav cheap beers: Pabst, High Life, Hamm's & Stroh's
- Most favorite beer: The one in your fridge
- Wine: Red- big, bold, tannic & peppery- Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc
- Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Blanton's, Old Forester 1870, Elijah Craig Toasted, Basil Hayden's. Neat please.
- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
What do you think it could possibly be, do you have any suspicions? Any chance you're not letting the lighter fluid burn off properly? Perhaps some lower coals have lighter fluid soaked into them and it never actually burns and just smolders during the cook?
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Yep I'm using a chimney and no lighter fluid. I used Kingsford Blue the first time I cooked, but I'd rather use a more natural briquette. I have been using Stubbs all natural briquettes the last few times. I also was adding wood chips the first few times, but this last time I didn't use any wood per Jerod's sugestion.
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Founding Member & Owner of SnS Grills
- May 2014
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
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Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
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Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
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Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
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Maverick ET 733
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Grill Pinz
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18" drip pan for WSCGC
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Two Joule Sous Vide devices
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Charcoal Companion TurboQue
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BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I agree with David Parrish , Defazio . The PBC is such a simple setup that there are only a handful of things that could be a problem. If it was my PBC, I'd stick with one type of charcoal for a while and use the lighting procedure outlined in the first post of this sticky topic, (click the link) because it pretty much guarantees a good burn each and every time. If you don't get that chemical taste with Brand A, then you can move on to Brand B and so on. In fact, I'd make it even simpler and test on just one meat, say, chicken. Do a couple of chicken cooks in a row with Brand A charcoal using a good, reproducible lighting procedure and go from there. (And FWIW, I've heard folks here say that Stubbs gives off a bad flavor sometimes, although I've never used it myself so I can't say that for certain.)
Although I do a 15-10-10 method using the chimney for Kingsford Original, I have to let the Kingsford Competition burn in the chimney 5 minutes longer to get a good amount of ash on the topmost coals, so for Competition I use a 20-10-10 lighting procedure. Go by looks, as Pit Boss recommended, as far as how long to let those coals stay in the chimney before pouring them over the unlit coals in the basket.
By 15-10-10 I mean that you let the coals burn in the chimney for 15 minutes (or whatever time it takes for some good ash on the topmost coals), then pour the burning coals into the basket and use the tip of the rebar to evenly distribute them. Let the basket burn for 10 minutes with the rebars out and the lid off. Then put the lid on, secure it well, (rebars still out) and let it burn for another 10 minutes. Then put the rebars in, hang the meat, secure the lid, and let the PBC do its thing. It's good if you have a dual probe remote thermometer like a Maverick to check the smoker and meat temps. The smoker temp is always going to plummet when you first put the cold meat in, but should climb back up to a sweet spot in the 250-290 range. If it doesn't then follow the information in that link I provided above.
Also, is your vent set correctly for your altitude? I've found that, for my altitude, my PBC runs best when the vent is open a little wider than recommended so my fire is not starved, because an oxygen-starved fire can sure result in some bad flavors. I don't fiddle with the lower vent once it is set to that optimum opening. It stays the same for every cook.
Is your smoke that nice pretty blue smoke that we all know and love? That is, not a whole lot of white smoke and certainly no grey smoke?
You'll get to the bottom of this, I'm sure. The PBC puts out amazing food with relatively little effort, and I'm sure yours will do the same.
Best of luck,
Kathryn
Last edited by fzxdoc; January 30, 2016, 08:46 PM.
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 18992
- Clare, Michigan area
-
Follow me on Instagram, huskeesbarbecue
Smokers / Grills- Yoder loaded Wichita offset smoker
- PBC
- Grilla Silverbac pellet grill
- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (SnSK)
- Masterbuilt Gravity 560
- Masterbuilt Digital Charcoal Cabinet
- Weber 22" Original Kettle Premium (copper)
- Weber 26" Original Kettle Premium (light blue)
- Weber Jumbo Joe Gold (18.5")
- Weber Smokey Joe Silver (14.5")
- Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker (repurposed)
Thermometers- SnS 500 4-probe wireless
- (3) Maverick XR-50 4-probe Wireless Thermometers
- A few straggler Maverick ET-732s
- Maverick ET-735 Bluetooth (in box)
- Smoke X4 by ThermoWorks
- Thermapen MkII, orange & purple
- ThermoPop, yellow, plus a few more in a drawer for gifts
- ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (wife's)
- Morpilot 6-probe wireless
- ThermoWorks Infrared IRK2
- ThermoWorks fridge & freezer therms as well
Accessories- Instant Pot 6qt
- Anova Bluetooth SV
- Kitchen Aide mixer & meat grinder attachment
- Kindling Cracker King (XL)
- a couple BBQ Dragons
- Weber full & half chimneys, Char-Broil Half Time chimney
- Weber grill topper
- Slow 'N Sear Original, XL, and SnS Charcoal Basket (for Jumbo Joe)
- Drip 'N Griddle Pans, 22' Easy Spin Grate, and Elevated Cooking grate, by SnSGrills
- Pittsburgh Digital Moisture Meter
Beverages- Favorite summer beers: Leinenkugels Summer & Grapefruit Shandy, Hamm's, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold
- Fav other beers: Zombie Dust (an IPA by 3 Floyd's Brewing), Austin Bros IPA, DAB, Sam Adams regular, Third Shift amber or Coors Batch 19, Stella Artois
- Fav cheap beers: Pabst, High Life, Hamm's & Stroh's
- Most favorite beer: The one in your fridge
- Wine: Red- big, bold, tannic & peppery- Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc
- Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Blanton's, Old Forester 1870, Elijah Craig Toasted, Basil Hayden's. Neat please.
- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
-
First of all... Thanks for all the good advice everyone... I really appreciate it!
fzxdoc I will start by using your lighting suggestions and process of elimination and go from there. I have in the past used Kingsford Competition and really liked it. We have a local hardware store that sells it so I think I'll give it a try again. I was using it when I was smoking with my Weber Kettle using a Smokenator. Always had great results!
I think I have my vent set right. After I hang the meat, within 10 minutes it settles in at 250 to 275 and holds for at least 4 hours or so. I have noticed though that I do not have that blue smoke that I used to get when I was cooking with my kettle. It's more of a white smoke with the PBC.
@Pitt Boss I've not been letting the top coals in the chimney get any ash. I was going by what the PBC company was telling me to do.
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Founding Member & Owner of SnS Grills
- May 2014
- 4904
- Charlotte, NC
-
- Slow 'N Sear Kamado
- Slow 'N Sear Kettle
- Lots of grills that work with Slow 'N Sear
- LOTS of digital thermometers
- LOTS of accessories
- Favorite Beer - Fat Tire
- Favorite Bourbon - Woodford Reserve
- Favorite White Wine - Cakebread Chardonnay
- Favorite Red Wine - Yes, Please
- President/Owner - SnS Grills
Originally posted by Defazio View PostFirst of all... Thanks for all the good advice everyone... I really appreciate it!
[USER="294"]@Pitt Boss I've not been letting the top coals in the chimney get any ash. I was going by what the PBC company was telling me to do.
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7136
-
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Defazio , let us know how your next cook turns out. I hope it's the best ever!
As a point of information, I only use Kingsford Competition for my poultry cooks because I like cooking them hot and fast at 325 to 360 PBC temp. (Many folks here cook poultry at those temps; Meathead recommends it and it works!) A 4 to 5 lb chicken gets done in just over an hour, and boyohboy are those birds ever juicy and tasty with a bite-through skin.
But I've had better luck with the Kingsford Original for longer cooks. The few times I've tried it, the Competition did not last as long for the longer cooks. I get about 7-8 hours or so with Competition and 10-12 hours with Kingsford Original, as a rough rule of thumb.
Kathryn
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