Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: Aclarke44 on July 10, 2015, 10:48:12 AM
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I wanted to cook a chicken but knowing it'd only take about 2 hours I didn't want to fill the coal basket full. I decided to try blocking half of it with fire brick, filling one side with charcoal and lighting as usual. It worked perfectly. You can probably see in the pic I used a little lump mixed in with the briquettes. I lit 34 briquettes and dumped over the top of what you see in the pic.
(http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg495/aclarke400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150703_164750_zpse4wkb6fu.jpg)
I was able to get the same temperature I'm use to getting and even though I only used half the coal I still had some left over. The chicken turned out delicious! ! ;D
Here it is going on and then a finished pic.(http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg495/aclarke400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150703_170300_zpsfxsjxip1.jpg) (http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg495/aclarke400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150703_185757_zpsqpv7ndgy.jpg) (http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg495/aclarke400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150703_190149_zpsvbzwserg.jpg)
I also wanted to ramp up the temperature the last 10-15 minutes to get a crispy skin. I did this (below) which brought the temp to 350.....chech out the awesome logo Noah puts on cookers for military vets! Thanks Noah! He also donates $5 to the charity Folds of Honor when one of the military logos is ordered.
(http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg495/aclarke400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150703_171750_zpstmey5bju.jpg)
By the way, I have a couple weber kettles. If i have unburned coal left when my cooks are complete on the PBC, I will get a heavy leather glove and remove the coal basket placing it in one of my kettles with all the vents closed. This shuts the coals down very quickly and allows everything to cool off so I can put it all away shortly after cooking.
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Looks like a great idea. Thanks for the tip!
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Awesome tip.
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Great results. Sure beats using 8 lbs of charcoal for a 2 hour chicken cook or a 1 hour tri-tip cook 8)
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Looks great. Another idea is to use a small charcoal ring.
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Looks great. Another idea is to use a small charcoal ring.
Thanks guys!
Yes that would work too. I've seen a mod like that before but I don't have any expanded metal. I had firebrick which I use to smoke in my kettles. That's what gave me the idea..
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Looks great. Another idea is to use a small charcoal ring.
Thanks guys!
Yes that would work too. I've seen a mod like that before but I don't have any expanded metal. I had firebrick which I use to smoke in my kettles. That's what gave me the idea..
Home Depot sells small expanded sheets. It is pretty easy to cut to size, roll over a bucket and weld the ends.
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Good idea!
Chicken looks great!
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Looks great. Another idea is to use a small charcoal ring.
This gives me a lots of ideas. I got plenty of charcoal rings here.
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I also use a weber kettle to put my coals out. I added a gasket to the lid of the kettle to completely seal it and it snuffs them out in minutes. I don't mind cooking small amounts now that I can save at least half of my coals.
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Chicken looks great. The half filled charcoal basket is really a neat idea. 8) 8) 8)
CM
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Thanks for the nice comments guys. Sorry I was out of town this weekend with no cell service.. ??? It was very nice! ;)
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Thanks for testing this out! I was wondering what would be the best way to cook with half or less of the full amount. I will certainly be using your trick.
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I'm clearly late here but, I bet you can cook like this for lots of cooks . It probably doesn't matter how many things your cooking as long as they cook inside the burn time.
Good thinking...