Hello all-
Newly registered and first time poster here. Be gentle
I'm resurrecting an old thread because it's the same decision I'm facing, with the same cooking priorities. I've been cycling back and forth about which one I'm going to get, but am currently probably 70% in the PBC camp over the Akorn. I have a few follow-on questions:
First, my understanding is that the PBC runs a little hotter (275-300) and cooks a little more quickly than the Akorn, which can be kept down in the 225-250 range. From my reading, it seems like the lower/slower is generally preferred for smoking meats - but the consensus favorite among these two for smoking seems to be the PBC. Is it the fact that the drippings drop down into the coals that makes such a big difference?
It seems like the PBC is almost more of a grill than a smoker since it's using direct heat rather than a deflector of some sort (and using a deflector would kind of kill the benefits of the device noted in my first question above). Do people find that their meat is more cooked in the areas closer to the coals than near the top, or does it actually work as well as people say in providing uniform heat inside the unit? I guess I just don't understand how that's possible, so any information would be helpful.
For the Akorn, if you eliminate the deflector - do you get the same juice-dropping-into-the-coals benefit or is it so small that the direct heat is too intense and you lose the low/slow element of smoking? Has anybody tried to do low/slow on their Akorn?
I assume I would have seen comments if this were the case, but does the meat ever fall off the hooks? It seems like with meat-falling-off-the-bone ribs, the potential exists for a big slab to just tear loose. Yes/no?