First Two Cooks....

[rebeltruce]

I followed Noah's instructions to the letter. Opened the vent to 1/4, I'm at 456 above Sea level. I even went so far as to use a piece of wood to be sure my Kingsford was level with the top of the basket! Lit it with about 3/4 cup Kingsford Lighter Fluid, let it burn for 15 minutes before hanging the food. Did the same for both cooks.

The first one I did two racks of ribs, one rack of St Louie Spares, and one rack of Baby backs. I lost the baby backs to the fire, my fault, they looked a little deformed, but I hung them any way rather than trimming back the bones... I knew that would be my downfall.

I noticed more smoke coming off the PBC, and then a funky smell. That was at the two hour mark, and when I checked the Baby Backs were toast. The Spares on the other hand were almost done! I checked by pulling a bone and they were within 20-30 minutes of being done. I couldn't believe it, I sauced them at that point and let them go for another 20 minutes. They were perfect, perfect chew, perfect smoke ring, perfect taste.

Next I tried my hand at some Yard Bird, I checked the chicken at 1 hour and found that the breast was at 168.....I could have pulled it at 50 minutes. It was fantastic.

My question is, should I be concerned that things are not cooking per Noah's times? I know that my being at Sea level plays into to this, but to be that much faster.....I took the leftover into the office for my crew to try...all I heard was how phenomenal both the ribs and chicken were. These guys are all hardcore BBQ fans, one even said and I quote "That thing could give my Traeger a run for it's money".

Here are some picts...I did not take a picture of the finished Spares...I was still morning the loss of my Baby Backs. I should have trimmed of the first two bones and hooked them, I just didn't want to lose that much of the rack.

This is the PBC just before I hung the ribs, it is a mirror image of the fire I had when I cooked the chicken.


Ribs ready to be hung.


Hanging.


Chicken seasoned and ready to be hung.


Hanging, actually almost done.


Done.

[Pappymn]

Looks great to me. I don't have a PBC, but no way could I cook to time. I just can't do it. I would probe that bird

[muebe]

First off food looks great!

And you are less than 500Ft above sea level so you will cook hotter than others at higher elevations. Just like water will boil at a lower temp for you. I would not be concerned. It is better to cook hotter in the PBC IMHO.

As long as your results are great don't worry about it... Carry on soldier

[HighOnSmoke]

Couple of delicious looking cooks!

[Chief Mac]

rebeltruce
Looks like you followed the plan and hit home run. Look at the baby backs as an offering to PBC Gods for the results you did achieve.
Keep Cook"n 
CM

[drholly]

First off food looks great!

And you are less than 500Ft above sea level so you will cook hotter than others at higher elevations. Just like water will boil at a lower temp for you. I would not be concerned. It is better to cook hotter in the PBC IMHO.

As long as your results are great don't worry about it... Carry on soldier

X2 - Muebe has spoken... 

Seriously, what Muebe is saying comes from a lot of experience - relax, learn the cooker and enjoy. This is my favorite cooker.

[Smokin Don]

Looks great to me, nice color on the chicken!!! Don

[sliding_billy]

Looks good!

[IR2dum]

rebeltruce, that looks delicious.

[brentwoodkris]

Cook looks good, but I'd get a Maverick probe so I wouldn't have to worry about overcooking/burning the meat. My PBC is basically set and forget with good probes (until the maverick alarm goes off).

[cgseymour]

Cooks look great.  The probes are definitely your friend.

And as previously stated -- the more you get used to your PBC, you will come to know what your times to expect.

Cheers.

Chris

[steve0617]

A guess but maybe hook the baby backs on the thicker end and next time they won't tear?

[rebeltruce]

First off food looks great!

And you are less than 500Ft above sea level so you will cook hotter than others at higher elevations. Just like water will boil at a lower temp for you. I would not be concerned. It is better to cook hotter in the PBC IMHO.

As long as your results are great don't worry about it... Carry on soldier

Marine Sir, US Marine here.....lol

[rebeltruce]

A guess but maybe hook the baby backs on the thicker end and next time they won't tear?

Nope...as I said they were hooked per Noah's instructions. The issue was the first two bones were exposed, I took the chance that they would hold rather then trim them away.....I took a gamble and I lost. Won't happen again.

[steve0617]

A guess but maybe hook the baby backs on the thicker end and next time they won't tear?

Nope...as I said they were hooked per Noah's instructions. The issue was the first two bones were exposed, I took the chance that they would hold rather then trim them away.....I took a gamble and I lost. Won't happen again.

Noah specifically said in the old youtube rib video to hook it at the thicker end of the rib slab. Based on your pic of the small slab, it looks like you used the thinner end?