2nd Round with PBC - Chicken

[rickmort]

I am fortunate enough to work remotely so PBCing during these slow work days leading up to Christmas seemed like a good idea.  I went round 2 after my my tough maiden voyage with the Thanksgiving bird with considerably better results.  I love it, wife loves it, neighbors loved it, but still one thing concerns me, the temperature of the PBC and how to start with and maintain higher temps than what I have experienced for longer cooks.  We are having company next Monday and I plan on doing chicken again and a pork shoulder for some tacos.  I just hope I can keep the temp up properly for a longer cook like a shoulder.

My concerns are that when I add the meat the PBC temp drops substantially, and much lower than the 325 target that I have been reading for this cooker.  I could remove a re-bar as suggested in some threads but, when I cook more food like I plan to Monday I will need both re-bar in.

I am below 2000ft and thus have my damper open 1/4, I have read that some have had it as wide is 1/2 open under 2000ft.  I am the SE US on the coast Hilton Head Island, SC, are any folks from the region that can advise on what their set it and forget it damper is set to?

Temps today were in the mid to upper 60s about 75% humidity and cloudy most of the day.

I am sure with some advice and from what I have already read in the existing threads I can do a better job by changing some steps.  I have listed what I did throughout the cook in detail below.

As usual thanks in advance.

• Filled the basket level with KBB.
• Took out 30 briquettes (my chimney only holds 30) and lit them.
• Let sit for 20 minutes while I prepped chicken.
• Dumped the charcoal in the basket with the remaining charcoal.
• Put in one chunk of applewood.
• Put in re-bar and lid.
• Let sit for 10 minutes while I completed the chicken.
• PBC going between 298 and 300 degrees.
• Put 4 halves on the PBC and temp dropped to 197 in the 1 minute or so I had the lid off.
• After 12 minutes with lid on both re-bar, PBC temp is 235.
• After 40 minutes with lid and both re-bar, PBC temp is 249
• After 60 minutes with lid and both re-bar, PBC temp is 237
• After 88 minutes chicken internal temp 133
• I took out one of the re-bar and moved around charcoal while I checked the chicken.
• I moved all 4 halves onto one re-bar, left BOTH re-bar in.
• Temp of the PBC jumped to 272 and stayed there, but obviously let off more slightly thicker smoke.
• After 110 minutes chicken internal temp 145...
  ...and PBC temp 268
• After 140 minutes 4.5 lb chicken was 163 5.5lb chicken was 152...
  ...PBC temp was 243
• Cracked the lid.
• Took chicken off PBC at 163 minutes
• Left the PBC lid on removed 1 re-bar at 4.5 hours the temp was at 312.
• Left the PBC lid on removed 1 re-bar at 5 hours the temp was at 295.

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[drholly]

Gosh - I may be the outlier and have nothing to offer.

But, I have never adjusted my damper or re-bars since the PBC was delivered. I have never varied from Noah's directions. And everything worked.

I have always followed the basic videos and directions and they have worked for me. I am NOT saying this is the BEST way to cook - but to get a starting point it can't be beat. The go from there.

[rickmort]

Gosh - I may be the outlier and have nothing to offer.

But, I have never adjusted my damper or re-bars since the PBC was delivered. I have never varied from Noah's directions. And everything worked.

I have always followed the basic videos and directions and they have worked for me. I am NOT saying this is the BEST way to cook - but to get a starting point it can't be beat. The go from there.

I stayed pretty standard and close to the instructions myself.  I have watched the videos over and over to make sure I was not missing something, and even compared the newer shorter videos to their older longer versions so I am pretty confident that I stayed close to them.

The only 2 things I varied are; I only lit 30 briquettes instead of the recommend 40.  Would that make that much of a difference?
To counter balance the 10 less briquettes, when I dropped the chimney I let the briquettes in the basket sit re-bar and lid on for 12 minutes. (I read that in another thread that this may be recommended for higher starting temps).

I level my basket with to the top rim, do I go higher than that?

[hikerman]

Hey I think after you drop your chimney of lit coals in,  you need to wait 15 - 20 minutes until the unlit coals get a start. If not, the drippings from the chicken will douse your coals and you'll forever be playing catch-up. You could try trimming excess fat off too.

[HighOnSmoke]

You  can also try the lighter fluid method. That is what I have gone to here in SE Georgia. I am at the
same sea level as you and my vent is only open 1/4.  I was having some problems with temps using the
chimney method and once I started using the lighter fluid method and waiting 15 minutes with the lid off, my temps stay
good.  I don't monitor my temps as it isn't really necessary, IMHO, as it is made to basically set it and forget it.
My split chickens usually take around 2 hours to get done. If I add any wood to the charcoal I wait an additional
5 minutes to get it smoldering before I put the chicken in.  Looking at your photos I don't think you have enough lit
coals going to maintain enough of a higher temp.  Hope this helps.

Mike

[rickmort]

Hey I think after you drop your chimney of lit coals in,  you need to wait 15 - 20 minutes until the unlit coals get a start. If not, the drippings from the chicken will douse your coals and you'll forever be playing catch-up. You could try trimming excess fat off too.

there was not much fat and what there was I trimmed it and some excess skin as well.  I read that in another thread earlier in the week.

After I dropped the chimney, I waited 12 minutes, but I guess I'll have to wait longer if I want to avoid using lighter fluid.  My only concern with that is that I read that someone had concerns with longer cooks if they let the charcoal go 20 mins uncovered before putting food down.  I guess I'll have to keep playing with it.  thanks for the input.

[rickmort]

You  can also try the lighter fluid method. That is what I have gone to here in SE Georgia. I am at the
same sea level as you and my vent is only open 1/4.  I was having some problems with temps using the
chimney method and once I started using the lighter fluid method and waiting 15 minutes with the lid off, my temps stay
good.  I don't monitor my temps as it isn't really necessary, IMHO, as it is made to basically set it and forget it.
My split chickens usually take around 2 hours to get done. If I add any wood to the charcoal I wait an additional
5 minutes to get it smoldering before I put the chicken in.  Looking at your photos I don't think you have enough lit
coals going to maintain enough of a higher temp.  Hope this helps.

Mike

Appreciate the input.  I am going to give it a few more go rounds with chimney before I go to fluid.  I absolutely agree that in the pic of the charcoal there is not enough white ash to begin the cook.  I will have to light more, and let it sit maybe 20 minutes after dumping chimney as hikerman said above...Once I dump and wait a full 20 for more charcoal to ash over and the chunks to smolder should I wait this time top off or top on?  I don't want to burn off my fuel to much right?

[Pappymn]

I don't have a PBC, but I have seen many pics here. I think HOS is right on, not enough lit coals. Most pics here show the top coals completely ashed over, you have a lot of unlit coals.
You got nice color on that bird

[hikerman]

20 minutes with lid off. Then hang your meat. I have never used lighter fluid and have never had a temp issue either. As long as coals are going good, the drippings won't dowse the coals. In fact when the coals are going good and the meat drips on them, this creates the grease fog that gives meat the signature PBC flavor.
Hang in there, you'll get it!

[smokeasaurus]

Gosh - I may be the outlier and have nothing to offer.

But, I have never adjusted my damper or re-bars since the PBC was delivered. I have never varied from Noah's directions. And everything worked.

I have always followed the basic videos and directions and they have worked for me. I am NOT saying this is the BEST way to cook - but to get a starting point it can't be beat. The go from there.

With The Holly on this one.....

[Hub]

Gosh - I may be the outlier and have nothing to offer.

But, I have never adjusted my damper or re-bars since the PBC was delivered. I have never varied from Noah's directions. And everything worked.

I have always followed the basic videos and directions and they have worked for me. I am NOT saying this is the BEST way to cook - but to get a starting point it can't be beat. The go from there.

With The Holly on this one.....

X3

Hub

[akruckus]

I have only used a chimney to start my PBC and usually have to wait about 30 minutes before I hang my food. 15 minutes in the chimney, then another 10 with the lid off, finally 5 minutes with the lid on before hanging anything.  Like you stated trimming the fat and excess skin is key in my opinion as it is less moisture dripping on the coals.  I haven't cooked the chicken with both rebar in because I usually am only cooking for 2-3 people.  The big thing is make sure you have some white ashed over coals as those are a good base heat source to start with.

Picture below is the coals, and set up I use.  It is only half a chicken (I think because I lost roasted the other half, crazy season at work 70 hour work weeks, can't think straight) but you can see some flames and the white coals with orange glow.  This was probably about 10-15 minutes into the cook as I do know it was during football season and my Stillers were on TV, which is rare living just outside of Philly. I was running in and out between commercial breaks.  I do also use a a couple chunks of wood, at the end of the summer I was on a pecan kick so it was most likely that.


It was jerk chicken, my halves take between 75-90 minutes to cook.


I am hoping the CEO doesn't have anything planned on Sunday so I can do a cook, if that is the case I will take step by step pictures of process and post to show how I go about it.

[jjjonz]

I have tried different starting methods, but I have found lighter fluid the best for me.

[drholly]

I have tried different starting methods, but I have found lighter fluid the best for me.

X2

[Hub]

I have tried different starting methods, but I have found lighter fluid the best for me.

X2

X3

I don't know why there is such a prejudice against using charcoal lighter but I'm guessing it gets linked with the "creosote" taste often found in oversmoked meat.  Properly used, good quality lighter leaves no flavor whatsoever behind.  I've never lit my PBC any other way.  I use a relatively small amount (probably about 1/8th of the can), let is soak in for three or four minutes, light it, and let it burn for the recommended 20 minutes before I hang the groceries.  By the time I put the lid on, there's no lingering aroma of the lighter and all of the coals are burning, not just part of them.  I've never had any flavor oddities and everything has always cooked in pretty much the time given in Noah's videos. 

Hub