Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: KevinM on July 04, 2016, 05:27:23 PM
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Hello all!
First and foremost, I love my PBC but that said I'm a total noob to preface this post.
Things I've noted is the lid isn't sealing properly anymore (had mine for roughly 6mths). Today (Jul4th started cooking at 8:45 - 7lbs butt) I had to put a brick on top of the lid to get a better seal. So at first the grill ran 340 degrees the first hour before I could turn the lid enough and then use the brick to apply pressure. So that leads to prob number two, most of the time the grill is too hot (300+) and I've messed with the swivel door a lot, but what I end up doing is shoving newspaper pieces to plug the remainder hole where the rebar goes throug. Typically one/two holes plugged yields 250-275 degrees. But today the coals were excessively hot in the beginning and once it settled to 275 it was steady for awhile but by 4pm coal temp was 199 and dropping so as of now I've cracked the lid and temp is rising. I just can't figure out how to get it consistant! Any advice for noobs would be very helpful!! Thank you in advance!
******disclaimer*******
In no way should anyone use this thread as a means of whether or not to purchase a Pit Barrel. In short, it's amazing and I absolutely love it!! I have produced some amazing food on this thing and it never disappoints!
Kevin
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Welcome! There's plenty of PBC info here, it's the only cooker I have and love it!
In regards to your lid, is it a buildup of grease etc under the rim that's causing it or is it possible your barrel is out of round? I had an issue where my barrel was out of round and I was having to press down hard and pull up hard on the lid to get it on and off.
For the temps, how long are you waiting before you place your meat in the cooker after you light your coals? What process are you using to light? I'm in Florida so my bottom vent is open a 1/4 but the issue I was having was when I lit my coals (lighter fluid) I was waiting too long before I hung my meat and the temps got too hot. I was waiting 20 mins or so. Now I do no more than 12 minutes after speaking with Noah from Pit Barrel. Usually if they get too hot in the beginning they will plummet later as the coals get burnt through faster
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Ok cool what do ppl use to clean the build up off? Brillo? SoS? Or something softer?
Someone said wait twenty minutes after having dumped the coals from the chimney starter on top of basket of coals and normally that works but today it's just giving me major heartburn! As of now 6:15 the barrel temp is all over the place. I'm having to crack the lid (raises to 300), seal lid and it drops exponentially!! Now it's at 259 from 300 in less than 30 min. The meat has been at 150-154 for the past 3 hours while I've been trying things. The meat is probably ruined. But that's the learning curve. Thank you for your help! Update ~ meat 156.
Kevin
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check out this thread, I remember someone having the same issue. Noah from Pit Barrel responded at the bottom :)
I've always done lighter fluid, someone will probably chime in who uses the chimney method
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Link?
I threw in the towel it's been a horrible cooking day. The pork is gunna finish in the blasphemous crockpot. I'm done. Clouds are dark gray and beginning to thunder and spit rain here and there. I'm taking the "L" and calling it a day. Pretty frustrated. Thank you very much for your help! :-)
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crap sorry lol
http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=17098.0
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Link?
I threw in the towel it's been a horrible cooking day. The pork is gunna finish in the blasphemous crockpot. I'm done. Clouds are dark gray and beginning to thunder and spit rain here and there. I'm taking the "L" and calling it a day. Pretty frustrated. Thank you very much for your help! :-)
We've all been there.... You live to cook another day
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Link?
I threw in the towel it's been a horrible cooking day. The pork is gunna finish in the blasphemous crockpot. I'm done. Clouds are dark gray and beginning to thunder and spit rain here and there. I'm taking the "L" and calling it a day. Pretty frustrated. Thank you very much for your help! :-)
We've all been there.... You live to cook another day
Yup, I have supper in the crock pot as I am typing 8)
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Thank you all! Hope you all have/had a great 4th!!
Smokeasaurus thank you for sharing that helped! :-)
KevinM
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Hello all!
First and foremost, I love my PBC but that said I'm a total noob to preface this post.
Things I've noted is the lid isn't sealing properly anymore (had mine for roughly 6mths). Today (Jul4th started cooking at 8:45 - 7lbs butt) I had to put a brick on top of the lid to get a better seal. So at first the grill ran 340 degrees the first hour before I could turn the lid enough and then use the brick to apply pressure. So that leads to prob number two, most of the time the grill is too hot (300+) and I've messed with the swivel door a lot, but what I end up doing is shoving newspaper pieces to plug the remainder hole where the rebar goes throug. Typically one/two holes plugged yields 250-275 degrees. But today the coals were excessively hot in the beginning and once it settled to 275 it was steady for awhile but by 4pm coal temp was 199 and dropping so as of now I've cracked the lid and temp is rising. I just can't figure out how to get it consistant! Any advice for noobs would be very helpful!! Thank you in advance!
Kevin
Kevin - My high school football coach came in the locker room, after Homecoming Senior Year - and our team had just lost to our rival...by 113 points. I think it still stands as the worst defeat in Texas High School Football Records @ 113 -0 .... and said:
"Boys...( long, if not pregnant pause...) er...just remember...we learn nothing from life's victories - except.... we won. We learn everything from our defeats along the way. They will teach us how to win."
He was right. You are learning things even now that you may not recognize because you may feel overwhelmed.
So, if I can make some recommendations?
1. Tell us as much about where you live as you can ( elevation, weather - winds, etc...what is it like?)
2. Get a Maverick 732 or 733 with 6 foot probes. Use one as an "oven" thermometer at the grate level or at the lowest point of the hooks when you are hanging meats.and the other probe goes on the center of mass of the meat. It will help you learn the actual impact of any adjust cents you make, and in a real measurable manner.
3. Keep a notebook of each cook. As many details as possible. Time of day, weather observations, kind of charcoal, amount of time you allowed it to burn before loading meat into the PBC, ...anything. It may seem OCD, or petty - but you may be surprised what you can learn - and repeat...or learn to avoid by doing this.
4.Get back to basics. Watch a lot of Noah's videos on YouTube about using the PBC. Never underestimate the value of simple technique - perfected. Details matter. And before you take any of our advice on modifying the PBC or its openings even if they are temporary mods that seem harmless - work at JUST running it as it came from PBC. Get that down pat. Catch some sales on charcoal that you will be using ( each brand and type can vary in burn temp and time...) and PRACTICE. No need to waste meat - just load the charcoal - and pretend you are cooking. TAKE NOTES - every time you make an adjustment or change - take note of it. Watch the Maverick for the temp influence of the change you made.
Now about your lid not fitting...It is possible that you have a warp of some kind. I have seen it happen if a barrel is dropped on its side, or if the lid falls - and hits the deck or grand in such a way that it could alter the lip where the barrel fits into it. It can happen. But, I would be remiss if I did not refer you to call Amber or Noah at PBC and ask for their advice - and perhaps they can help diagnose what you are experiencing.
Hope this helps!
T
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Needless to say but Tee didn't have a date to the Homecoming dance following that game.....
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Needless to say but Tee didn't have a date to the Homecoming dance following that game.....
Not even a mercy date?? ???
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Alas...there was no joy in Mudville..... :'( ::) :D
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Couldn't agree with Teesquare's #4 more. There is a lot more science in this thing than it looks from its simple,e appearance. So don't over think it. I've had mine for almost two years and have never had a bad cook. I always follow the same routine....light it like Noah says, season like Noah says, hand like Noah says and then I go take a nap for the amount of time Noah says and let this little jewel do its magic. Never use a temp probe(other than on turkey cause they have different done zones) anymore. Just follow the video, close the lid and what ever happens will happen and I guarantee everything will come out just perfect. Have fun!
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Sorry to hear you had issues, but I agree with what others are saying hear. From what you mentioned, it sounds like your high temps start from pouring hot coals on top and then waiting 20 minutes. I also use the chimney method and from everything I've read by PBC, you are supposed to close the lid and start your cook immediately after the coals warm up in the chimney.
I've been using the PBC for roughly 6 months now and have done over 20 cooks. I was also a rookie in everyway dealing with a smoker/nontraditional grill. The most important thing I found was starting the coals properly. Once you've done that everything else is pretty simple. Make sure you load your basket up and then place 40 briquettes into your chimney. Once the coals at the top the chimney start burning/turn gray but still have black portions (not completely gray and burning - this is too late) spread them evenly over the top of the basket to ensure an even cook. If you add wood chucks I suggest burying them in basket before you dump the coals from the chimney on top. Immediately after, close the lid with rebars in place (even if the food isn't added yet). The more you leave the lid off the hotter it gets.
If you have issues with your lid, contact PBC - I wouldn't do anything else. I've read of them fixing this issue before.
I did a 7lb pork shoulder this weekend and it was delicious. I noticed it burned a lot cooler than when cooking ribs. I believe this was due to all of the juices dripping from from pork. In fact I stirred the coals around before I wrapped at 160, because the ones right beneath the pork weren't burning. Once the foil was on the pbc picked up in temp a bit. I did nothing to adjust the pbc temp, but watched it just to see what's going on in there. Temps were 235-250 for the first 5 hrs, then I stirred the coals and wrapped, temp went up to 285 for 2 hours and the pork got to 203. I let it rest and then it was some of the best pulled pork I've had.
For comparisons sake, when I do ribs the pbc is normally between 260-280. Again, I do nothing to make adjustments unless something goes drastically wrong (only happened when I didn't light it properly to begin with). Sorry for the long post, but hopefully it helps a bit.
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I have had my PBC longer than most here (2012) and I still watch Noah's videos before my cooks ;)
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Hello all!
First and foremost, I love my PBC but that said I'm a total noob to preface this post.
Things I've noted is the lid isn't sealing properly anymore (had mine for roughly 6mths). Today (Jul4th started cooking at 8:45 - 7lbs butt) I had to put a brick on top of the lid to get a better seal. So at first the grill ran 340 degrees the first hour before I could turn the lid enough and then use the brick to apply pressure. So that leads to prob number two, most of the time the grill is too hot (300+) and I've messed with the swivel door a lot, but what I end up doing is shoving newspaper pieces to plug the remainder hole where the rebar goes throug. Typically one/two holes plugged yields 250-275 degrees. But today the coals were excessively hot in the beginning and once it settled to 275 it was steady for awhile but by 4pm coal temp was 199 and dropping so as of now I've cracked the lid and temp is rising. I just can't figure out how to get it consistant! Any advice for noobs would be very helpful!! Thank you in advance!
Kevin
Not all cooks are going to be the same so keep that in mind. I had similar problems with wild temp swings and found that lighting about 25 coals will get the temp to where I want it, around 250F to 300F. I control this by using magnets to cover the rebar holes until the temps settle where I want them. I do not have any lid issues so sorry I can;t comment about that
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Let's find out what might be going on with your Pit Barrel Cooker. Please contact us at the office at 502-228-1222 at your convenience.
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Let's find out what might be going on with your Pit Barrel Cooker. Please contact us at the office at 502-228-1222 at your convenience.
Now that my friends is great customer service long after the sale :)
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Noah is the best customer service, and Noah I'm reading this for the first time. My week is usually very busy so sorry I haven't called. I think I may have time after work next week. Thank you!
Today I'm trying to cook a butt again. And what I've noticed is (I took some advice of you on here)with lighting the coals etc. and taking a decorative brick from our yard and using it as a weight on the lid, temperatures have stayed below 300 for the most part but I still have had to plug one of the holes where the rebar goes through to keep it closer to 260 to 275 and for the most part it's hovered around that since 830 this morning so I think ultimately what my problem from day one is for some reason the lid is not staying sealed properly. Whether it's an out of round barrel or warped lid who knows but I did order another lid and it's on the way so I'll be checking that next weekend !
Ps: honestly it's probably just nooby mistakes. In no way should anyone use this thread as a means of whether or not to purchase a Pit Barrel. In short, it's amazing and I absolutely love it!! I have produced some amazing food on this thing and it never disappoints!
Kevin M
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Noah is the best customer service, and Noah I'm reading this for the first time. My week is usually very busy so sorry I haven't called. I think I may have time after work next week. Thank you!
Ps: honestly it's probably just nooby mistakes. In no way should anyone use this thread as a means of whether or not to purchase a Pit Barrel. In short, it's amazing and I absolutely love it!! I have produced some amazing food on this thing and it never disappoints!
Kevin M
:)
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I added a disclaimer to my initial post that started this thread. I do not want anyone including Pit Barrel Company to think I'm speaking negatively about the product. Im simply a noob trying to perfect the art of using smokers. :-)
Thank you
Kevin
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I added a disclaimer to my initial post that started this thread. I do not want anyone including Pit Barrel Company to think I'm speaking negatively about the product. Im simply a noob trying to perfect the art of using smokers. :-)
Thank you
Kevin
We are all noobs :) Barbecuing is like bowling. We can all do it but we just can't seem to master it. Thank Goodness we have weekends so we can always get back at it ;)
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Today's smokey Butt!!!
Nailed it!!
Bone fell out with ease! Just thought I'd share! The lid has been my woe. With the extra weight on the lid temperatures were pretty steady until I went in to wrap the pork at 160. When putting it back on the grill the temperature didn't want to come up much past 200. So I just ended up cracking the lid until it rose up to about 260. By the time it hit 260 the pork was approaching 198. But end all, it was amazing! Total cook time was around 7hours for 7lbs of pork.
Thanks for all you guys help!
KevinM