Just a thought from an admitted Q-Rookie (Flame-Suit on)

[order66]

Hi Y'all.
I have been scouring these threads looking for info to help me learn from all you veterans about getting the most I can from each cook on the PBC.
I have only done 3 cooks (Yard bird, Whangs and Ribs) since getting my PBC 2 weeks ago, all successful (Thankfully) I have tried to follow Noahs instructions faithfully.
Here goes...take this for what it is worth considering I am a real greenhorn.
Many of you seem to vary from Noahs instructions on how to light and prep the PBC for a cook.  Not that that is bad in and of itself, but if you are having issues with temps and cooks and not following the usage instructions, perhaps try sticking to the videos and tips on the site, and compare the results to what you have achieved prior, and decide for yourself which methods work best for you.
I know good Q is all about individuality and trial and error, but many folks seem to deviate from the instructions, and then wonder why something went wrong...in the spirit of the KISS philosophy, Noah has put forth a concise roadmap on how to achieve consistent good results thru much field research, utilize his experience, follow the instructions, establish a solid familiarity with your PBC BEFORE deviating from the standard proven methods. In other words you must master walking before you can learn to sprint!!!
Let me be clear. This is not meant to offend or be critical of others. All of you have more time in than I. I did state that I am a complete newb to all of this, and I realize that there are many of you that have encountered difficulties when following the PBC methods, and many of you have examined your methods and found that an overlooked step, and corrected it and had success.
My last point is that many of you seem hung up on barrel temp, I wonder myself if I should monitor that factor during cooks, I used to obsess over it when using my Mini WSM..but to this point I haven't only due to the fact that Noah seldom worries about barrel temp in his videos, so that is the main reason I have tried to not worry and trust that if I follow the directions I  will achieve success.
Good Luck and enjoy your cooker.
Tri-Tip this weekend for this rookie!!!

[LostArrow]

JDP the Pit Barrel cooker is a modified commercially available Drum Smoker with a minimal learning curve.
It's well built , reasonable price & easy to use if following the instructions.
Many of the crazies on this forum are unable or unwilling to read instructions or like me find them as a starting point 
Go ahead follow Noah's guidelines & only cook great food!
The rest of us will appreciate our good cooks more because of all the screwups 

[smokeasaurus]

Noah's and Amber's videos are great to get started and have great proven results right out of the Barrel..I mean box 

[Pappymn]

Pretty sure he is talking about Muebe......he colors outside the lines. 

[Las Vegan Cajun]

But none of the PBC videos demonstrates how to cook peas. 

[order66]

But none of the PBC videos demonstrates how to cook peas. 

Too hard to hook, and fall thru the grate...

[Hub]

Sweat not the temperature inside the cooker.  Follow Noah's instruction and you will produce great chow.  Chicken is the absolute forte of the PBC and you have to work very hard to screw it up.  It does other things well, too.  One need not be a pitmaster to master the PBC -- just read the directions.  No, it does not require constant tending or temperature monitoring to work.  There.  I think I summed it all up.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself (maybe even with an appropriate beverage).  End of sermonette.   

Hub

[PongGod]

Hi Y'all.
I have been scouring these threads looking for info to help me learn from all you veterans about getting the most I can from each cook on the PBC.
I have only done 3 cooks (Yard bird, Whangs and Ribs) since getting my PBC 2 weeks ago, all successful (Thankfully) I have tried to follow Noahs instructions faithfully.
Here goes...take this for what it is worth considering I am a real greenhorn.
Many of you seem to vary from Noahs instructions on how to light and prep the PBC for a cook.  Not that that is bad in and of itself, but if you are having issues with temps and cooks and not following the usage instructions, perhaps try sticking to the videos and tips on the site, and compare the results to what you have achieved prior, and decide for yourself which methods work best for you.
I know good Q is all about individuality and trial and error, but many folks seem to deviate from the instructions, and then wonder why something went wrong...in the spirit of the KISS philosophy, Noah has put forth a concise roadmap on how to achieve consistent good results thru much field research, utilize his experience, follow the instructions, establish a solid familiarity with your PBC BEFORE deviating from the standard proven methods. In other words you must master walking before you can learn to sprint!!!
Let me be clear. This is not meant to offend or be critical of others. All of you have more time in than I. I did state that I am a complete newb to all of this, and I realize that there are many of you that have encountered difficulties when following the PBC methods, and many of you have examined your methods and found that an overlooked step, and corrected it and had success.
My last point is that many of you seem hung up on barrel temp, I wonder myself if I should monitor that factor during cooks, I used to obsess over it when using my Mini WSM..but to this point I haven't only due to the fact that Noah seldom worries about barrel temp in his videos, so that is the main reason I have tried to not worry and trust that if I follow the directions I  will achieve success.
Good Luck and enjoy your cooker.
Tri-Tip this weekend for this rookie!!!

I mostly agree with what you're saying here. I happen to be one of those individuals who didn't follow everything to the letter and sure enough, I did have some initial struggles hitting the target internal temperatures within the expected time frames. After speaking with Noah and Amber on the phone a couple of times (this is one of the great perks of being a PBC owner!), I eventually got my routine straightened out and have been producing consistently good results.

That said, I should point out one small detail they mentioned in the video about lighting using a charcoal chimney is that they said to "fill the chimney completely with coals". Well, I've got a Weber Rapidfire chimney starter which is significantly larger than the one Noah is using in the video. So after my discussions with Noah and Amber, I concluded that I only needed to fill mine maybe 1/3 to 1/2 full. This higher ratio of unlit coals in the basket to lit coals in the chimney seems to have helped prevent the heat from petering out too early in the cooking process.

- Robert -

[Las Vegan Cajun]

Sweat not the temperature inside the cooker.  Follow Noah's instruction and you will produce great chow.  Chicken is the absolute forte of the PBC and you have to work very hard to screw it up.  It does other things well, too.  One need not be a pitmaster to master the PBC -- just read the directions.  No, it does not require constant tending or temperature monitoring to work.  There.  I think I summed it all up.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself (maybe even with an appropriate beverage).  End of sermonette.   

Hub

That's what I'm talking about. 

[muebe]

Pretty sure he is talking about Muebe......he colors outside the lines. 

Pappy your just jealous.... they took away your crayons because you ate them

[1Bigg_ER]

I'm one of those crazies that never followed the instructions, including vent recommendations for my sea level.
But what I got from that is a perfect cooker suited to my liking.
I'll never understand why a chicken would take 2 hours to cook. I can do perfect crispy skin bird in 1 hour 15 minutes. I actually just got done cooking a bird in 50 minutes using lump charcoal.



What I advise folks is never to cook by time and experiment with everything. That's the joys of cooking.
Moral of the story is...... Own your PBC. Kingsford is great but lump charcoal in the PBC, FANTASTIC!

[1Bigg_ER]

By the way, take off your flame suit, nobody is going to flame you unless you try to serve peas to Muebe or show up at my door in a pig costume. HAHAHA

[nylic76]

As already mentioned, take off the flame suit, but,  in the future,  NEVER post a pic of a cook with green peas.   You'll need it again after Muebe blisters your butt.  I made that mistake. ...ONCE.