Another Pit Boss Copperhead 7 experiment

[wrgilb]

Next experiment on the PB 7 is some beef back ribs. I don’t buy the back ribs at Costco that are cryovaced, the butchers don’t leave much meat on the bottom of those. The ones that the in-house butchers bone from the primal rib can have a good amount of the spinalis left on them if the butchers get a little careless. I did my usual dig through every package and came up with these.

I dry brined overnight with Kosher salt. I then rubbed them down with Worcestershire sauce and seasoned with Hardcore Carnivore Black and I did the APL recipe for back ribs. 1-1/4 hours at 325. There’s no 325 setting on the PB, 150 -300 goes in 25 degree increments and then 300-350-400. I wished they had a 325 setting. I started them at 350 and at 1 hour turned it down to 300 for the rest of the cook. I used Jack Daniels pellets in the smoke tube.



After the 1-1/4 hours, I wrapped them in double foil with some onions, honey and a little water. Cook for another 1-1/4 hours. Take them off and let them rest covered for 15 minutes. Then unwrap and back on for another ½ hour. Total cook time was 3 hours. If you look at the left side of the ribs you can see how much of the spinalis is on these.




Instead of serving them as individual pieces on the bone, I shaved all the meat off and piled it on a plate. When I served them on the bone before people would leave too much on the bone. The meat I got off of these 7 ribs is probably twice what I would have gotten off of a similar number of cryovaced ones. We piled it on a bed of rice and it was good. We have plenty left over for fajitas down the road. I'm really liking to cook on the PB 7.

[fzxdoc]

Another interesting cook on the PB 7. Thanks. Karon Adams might like this topic as well.

That tray of meat is making me hungry!

Can you give us a quick list of likes/dislikes about this cooker?

Kathryn

[wrgilb]

fzxdoc, Kathryn here you go.

Likes;
1. The volume of food you can cook and cooking multiple types of protein together.
2. It's use as a warming oven, if your main cook is on another unit.
3. Being able to hang stuff.
4. Large pellet hopper, holds 40-50 pounds.
5. Being able to watch your cook through the glass front door.
6. Set it and forget cooker, don't have to play with maintaining temp.
7. Foot print is 29"x29".

Dislikes;
1. Not having 25 degree temp settings past the 300 mark.
2. It really produces a lot of smoke. Won't be good if you had close neighbors like in a town home setting.
3. To enjoy watching your cook through the front glass door, you need to clean the glass after every cook.

Kind of and overkill when cooking for just the 2 of us, But it keeps the MCS in me going.

[Karon Adams]

The Y and I are just We Two as well. We just ordered a PB5 Copperhead. should be here Thursday. One thing we learned, jsut we two, is that, of course a shoulder was WAY too much for us. BUT, if we take unbroken hunks in sizes large enough for a meal for us, say about a pound, finished, per, put some sauce, just
a small amount with it (leaving the meat in as whole a piece as possible) and vacuum it while still warm, we can freeze it, then reheat in sous vide or boiling water and it is nearly as good as just off the smoke. better than meat held in the fridge overnight by a LOT!

[fzxdoc]

I'm back again with another question about the PB7 Copperhead

Is it easy to put together? (as in a one-person job?)

Kathryn

[wrgilb]

It's very easy. I did it myself and took me less than an hour, taking my time. You have the main body that you attach the legs to and the smoke stack and the hopper lid. The door is separate and just slides on.

[fzxdoc]

Wow, that's good to know, Bill. I popped by the PB site this morning and saw that the Copperhead 5 and the Copperhead 7 have the same footprint. So I'm thinking that if I get one, I should get the 7. It will be overkill for the two of us.

I was also surprised to see that you added the smoke tube. Did it stay lit the whole time? I know that DaveD lays the smoke flavor on by starting out at a lower temperature, which is how many pellet cooker folks roll. I'm a sucker for a noticeable smoke flavor. Subtle when it comes to smoking meat (and a few other things) is not always my jam.

Kathryn

[STEbbq]

Ohh…I think Kathryn is getting close! Enablers unite! Panhead John

[DaveD]

I may have to get a smoke tube in order to do the comparison experiment...!

[fzxdoc]

STEbbq , I've been sidling up to pellet smokers for a few years now, ever since I heard Huskee rave about his. I dance up to the precipice and then become distracted by other things BBQ. It's not like I really need one, especially if I'm not going to like the reputedly light smoke profile without using something extra like a smoke tube. I do like the convenience factor of a pellet cooker, though. From a convenience standpoint I see it as something like a gasser with a bit of smoke.

K.

[wrgilb]

fzxdoc Kathryn
Here's my reasoning on the tube. I'm able to keep 40-50 lbs. of pellets in the hopper as my base pellet. Since most of the pellets like Traeger's etc. are blends with an oak base, I didn't see where which flavor I used was important. The bags never say what percentage of the pellets are apple, cherry or whatever they claim to be are. I can't tell the diff. in flavor. (with the exception of mesquite). I then use the tube to smoke 100% pellets, like Cookinpellets Black Cherry, Knotty Wood Almond or Plum or other pure flavors. This saves me from having to empty the hopper for diff. flavors. Plus I'm only using a small amount of the more expensive pellets. I've been getting about 4 hours of burn time with a full tube.

If you like to change flavors often and don't use the tube then you'll probably only put small amounts of pellets in the hopper. for ease of changing. This negates the having a 40-50 lb. capacity hopper. I'm getting more good color and taste from the tube, than just the 1 hour low smoke setting that I tried that DaveD uses. I'm going to try both on another cook soon. Low smoke for an hour and then the tube. Right now I like not having to add an additional hour to my cook.

[fzxdoc]

This all makes such good sense. Do you have to worry about pellets being in the hopper rather than safely stored, sealed in bags, away from humidity? Are they like charcoal, which should not be left out (at least in my neck of the woods)? I store charcoal in sealed Rubbermaid containers, for example, taking out what I need for each cook. I'm not familiar with a fuel sitting in a cooker just waiting to be used.

K.

[wrgilb]

I haven't had a problem yet with the pellets in the cooker. I do keep bags of pellets in large plastic containers with tight lids in the garage. My PB is in a covered area outside and we don't have high humidity here.

[Karon Adams]

I would think the key to that is how often you smoke. if you leave it long term, you're likely to have humidity problems. if you smoke on the regular, you'll go through them fast enough and being on the smoker, dried out often enough that it shouldn't be a problem.

[Smoker_Boy]

The Y and I are just We Two as well. We just ordered a PB5 Copperhead. should be here Thursday. One thing we learned, jsut we two, is that, of course a shoulder was WAY too much for us. BUT, if we take unbroken hunks in sizes large enough for a meal for us, say about a pound, finished, per, put some sauce, just
a small amount with it (leaving the meat in as whole a piece as possible) and vacuum it while still warm, we can freeze it, then reheat in sous vide or boiling water and it is nearly as good as just off the smoke. better than meat held in the fridge overnight by a LOT!

First off, nice to meet you.

It's We Two as well, and we have faced the same problems.

Never thought about vac'ing the smaller pieces while they are still warm!!

[fzxdoc]

I have been too cautious to use my vac sealer for warm foods. I did it once, and steam collected on the inside of the chamber during the countdown to sealing I was afraid that the ambient moisture buildup/condensation onto cooler metal parts could harm my chamber vac.

I wonder if I'm off base with this notion.

K.

[Karon Adams]

We've been doing it for years. We take large chunks of meat, about 1 1/2 -2 pounds from the full cooked shoulder, leave them whole, don't take them apart (They'll hold more gelatin that way) I add a few tablespoons of my BBQ sauce and vacuum. we usually eat our meal, then divide and vacuum. gives a few minutes to cool. let them cool in the bas, then off to the freezer. Now we have boiling bags of BBQ.

[fzxdoc]

Do you use a chamber sealer, Karon Adams , or vacuum sealer? Just curious.

Kathryn