Easter baby backs on the PBC

[VideoWolf88]

First attempt at ribs on my PBC. Made some Memphis Dust this morning; fingers crossed.

[Jon Solberg]

There going to be awesome!

[DWCowles]

Don’t sweat it...you got this!

[realdocBBQ]

Easy Peasy

[VideoWolf88]

They went in about 15 minutes ago. Added some applewood chunks about five minutes before that.

[EdF]

And ... ?

[HawkerXP]

tic, tic, tic...........

[VideoWolf88]

... pretty much a disaster. On the plus side, the flavor was spot on and even got a good smoke ring. But they were way overcooked, and the bark on the ends was burnt. Wife spent an hour talking me off the ledge, and I think I can talk about it a little more rationally now. The simple fact is I am still struggling with getting a handle of temperature control on the PBC and also using charcoal, which I've never used before the PBC. Here's where things went wrong. I noticed after about a half hour into the cook that I wasn't seeing any smoke coming out of the rebar holes. I took the lid off to invesigate and it while it felt hot enough inside the barrel, it looked like the coals had burnt out. So I panicked, and cracked the lid open about 1/4 inch and forgot I'd done so for almost an hour (I'm also learning how life and a baby can also get in the way of a good cook). So, by the time I realized what I'd done, the coals were a blazing inferno and my ribs were a mess. One good lesson I've learned from listening to you guys is that I really need a thermometer where I can monitor both the food temperature and the internal temperature of the barrel. If anyone else has any advice for me for next time, I'm all ears.

[MeatMonster]

The odd disaster keeps it interesting and makes your successes more frequent and enjoyable!

Old japanese proverb..... "Fall seven, stand eight"

[jfmorris]

VideoWolf88 One of the attractions of the PBC, even if you do not yet have a thermometer, is that while the temperature will swing up and down, the almost sealed nature of the PBC and its humid internal environment mean that if you just follow the cooking directions from the PBC website you should get virtually foolproof results.

My advice is next time, follow the recipe for The Last Meal Ribs from the Pit, but follow the cooking instructions on the PBC website exactly, and don't stress over temperature and the coals so much. Keep the lid on for sure! Resist the urge to peak as long as the lid is hot to the touch, until you are farther into the cook. You won't get much smoke once the charcoal is ashed over - just a thin blue smoke - except for when the ribs warm up more and start dripping grease on the coals later in the cook.