Large Cook on the PBC with fair results

[Smokin Papa Steve]

Yesterday had 12 guests and and decided to max out the PBC.  Did a chicken halved, 3 racks of spares, 2 racks of baby backs and one hook for some left-over uncooked corned beef from St Patties.  Was able to maintain a temp of about 250 which should have been ideal.  Chicken was OK.  However the ribs were just fair.  Spares were on for 5 hours and baby backs 4 hours.  They seemed to be tender but were getting kind of dark so I did not want to expose to any more heat.  Used the same rub as other times with same prep.  I would say the ribs were kind of dry and did not have that "wow" factor that I expected.  Had them hanging from the 3rd bone so as to keep away from the fire, but the bottom ribs were really overcooked.  I read all the time how the ribs are always great so I wonder what did I do wrong?  Previously on my PK Grill I would do the 3-2-1 method and always had good results and wondering if this is the answer for the PBC? 

On a side note I was looking for some beef sausages and happened to find Kiolbassa brand at Costco.  They were really, really good and can recommend them to all. 

If anyone can offer suggestions for my dry ribs, it would be appreciated

[Hub]

We had a thread going on a PBC "overload" not too long ago.  Lots of suggestions and opinions and I think it boils down to one thing:  A pan full of charcoal can only create so much heat and the amount necessary to properly cook so much food just takes it past its design parameters.  It'll still cook, but it won't cook as well as if you'd put a "normal" load on it.  Some other cookers have pellet feeders, stokers, and even thermostatic control of combustion to keep the heat rise sufficient for a heavy load, but the PBC isn't ready to haul the big chunks of critter to higher temps for longer times.

I've never "loaded" my PBC with more than six racks of ribs or three chickens (six halves) and I've always had good results.  Also, long racks of spares or bb's can get too close to the coals occasionally.

Hub

[ronman451]

I've taken to cutting my racks of ribs in half so they don't hang so close to the fire.

I also tried one other piece of advice I saw here a few weeks ago. I wish I could remember the poster to give him credit for the great tip, but basically he said he uses a modified 3-2-1 method with the PBC by cutting a half hour off of each step. I did this on my last rib cook and they were some of the best I've ever cooked in the PBC.

[akruckus]

With all the meat/fat/moisture, you might need to let the PBC get slightly hotter than normal in the beginning.  Once all the fat from the ribs and chicken start hitting the coals they will cool it off leading to a longer cook time.  The most I have cooked on it was 3 racks of ribs and 1 chicken (2 halves)

[USCTrojan]

So far, I cooked 7 baby backs at once and they came out awesome. 

I love the PBC.

[Smokin Papa Steve]

So far, I cooked 7 baby backs at once and they came out awesome. 

I love the PBC.

Do you recall how long it took to finish these 7 racks?

[USCTrojan]

Roughly 3 hours.