I received my PBC a week ago and had my first cook this weekend. I filled the charcoal basket and lit the coals then went in to prep the meat. I trimmed the spares and split the chickens. I used the rub provided by PBC on the chicken, and on one of the racks of rib. I used my own chili rub on the other two racks of ribs.
I look up and 40 minutes have passed, and the coals are all ashed over and burning very hot. I definitely need to stick with the recommended 20 minute timeframe as per instructions. I put everything in the cooker. After about 90 minutes I noticed the temp dropped. I think it was around 200, so I added about two handfull of coals and in no time the temp was back up around 280. I had to pull everything off because my plans changed and I had to leave so placed the chicken in the oven for my wife to finish when she got home in about 1/2 hr. For the ribs I placed them in foil with brown sugar, butter, and agave nectar and a little bit of rub. Placed the foil packs in a cooler with some towels.
The chicken was very moist and tender with good flavor even after finishing in the oven. The ribs turned out great. The wife told me whatever I did to keep doing that. Next time I'll put the lid on after 20 minutes and hopefully it will burn more consitant for a longer period of time.
