First cook question

[lctrcbddha]

First cook on my Pit Barrel yesterday - two whole chickens, cut in half per the video with a generous application of All-Purpose rub .  No pictures - it ended up being a crazy day, I'll get some next time.

But I do have a question.  What temperature range does a PBC typically cook in?

I know with a PBC you aren't supposed to concern yourself with temperatures, but mine stayed almost exclusively in the 207-212 range (per a Maverick 733).  I was under the impression that it would run a bit hotter than that.  Instead of 2 hours, it took 3.5 to get the chicken to 165 - and that was with the lid cracked for the last half hour to get the temp up (family was getting hungry and impatient).

• Damper open 1/4 (per the visual reference) for my ~300ft. elevation
• Full load of charcoal (maybe even a bit above-level).
• Lit with fluid (apologies to the purists).
• Left lid off initially for ~25 minutes (took a few minutes longer to prep the chicken than I intended).

Even still it was probably the best chicken I've ever had that wasn't fried, and my wife declared that it was worth the wait

Thanks!

[muebe]

Mine typically runs around 300F but that can change with wind & air temperature.

Your temperature will drop some with chicken due to the moisture dripping onto the coals so a strong bed of starting coals is important. If you start with an incomplete lit bed the drippings from the chicken can prevent the unlit coals from lighting causing lower temps and longer cooking times.

How did your bed of coals look right before you put your chicken on? Here is a picture of my bed of coals before I started some ribs...



See how they are white hot all the way across the top layer. The 20 minutes is a guide. If you notice the coals are not completely started across the top layer give them a little more time before you start cooking. These coals were lit with lighter fluid BTW.

You can also bump open the air shutter a bit to allow more air to the coals. Also removing a rebar will increase temps like 50 degrees. I like to do that when not cooking a full load of chicken. I leave both out when cooking chicken legs in the grate.

Just remember you want a strong bed of coals when cooking chicken due to the moisture content of the bird dripping onto the coals. This action and distance of chicken from the bed of coals is what helps the PBC work it's flavor magic on chicken IMHO.

[tekn50]

Waited to long to put the lid on.   15minutes is about perfect, if your under 2000ft.  If you wait to long, you will have toomany hot coals.  Which causes the fire to crash do lack of oxygen, after the lid is on.  Or not enough ligher fluid.  I have made both mistakes.   So all the coals aren't lit.   Best thing to do there is crack the the lid for 10 to 15 min.  I have also had luck with pulling one bar out to get the temp up.   It took me a few times to really get the lighting down.  Hope this helps.

[lctrcbddha]

Thanks for the feedback!

The charcoal was completely ashed over when I hung the chicken and put on the lid.  There were no black bits left at all that I could see (I had doused the heck out of it with fluid, and lit immediately).

So "lid off too long" is probably right on.  Next time I'll either prep the meat before lighting, or after putting the lid on.

[spuds]

Sounds like a fine meal.

[muebe]

Thanks for the feedback!

The charcoal was completely ashed over when I hung the chicken and put on the lid.  There were no black bits left at all that I could see (I had doused the heck out of it with fluid, and lit immediately).

So "lid off too long" is probably right on.  Next time I'll either prep the meat before lighting, or after putting the lid on.

I would bump the air shutter open just a bit then. If you had enough coals started then lack of air and moisture from the chicken lowered the temps.

Also leaving out the one rebar can bump it up 25 degrees to 50 degrees.

With more practice you will get it dialed in to your liking

[CDN Smoker]

Life is great when it's wife approved

Can't wait to see photos of your next cook

[VMac]

Your temperature will drop some with chicken due to the moisture dripping onto the coals so a strong bed of starting coals is important. If you start with an incomplete lit bed the drippings from the chicken can prevent the unlit coals from lighting causing lower temps and longer cooking times.

I'm only 2 cooks into my PBC, and thoroughly in love.  But I think this is the issue I had on my second cook (chickens).  I was surprised that temps never got above 245, even as I nudged vent more and more open.  At the end of the cook, essentially only half the coals had burned. I was thinking I goofed the start (chimney), but I think your explanation might make more sense, as there was a considerable amount of juices from these brined birds.  I will take more care next time. 

Rather than start a new thread, I will add to this "first cook" post.  My first cook was ribs (of course!) and threw on a couple chuck roasts after to take advantage of the long PBC burn time.  For this chicken cook (3 birds, split in half), I did the same thing... hanging a couple pork tenderloins after the chicken was done.  I am a COMPLETE bbq/smoker neophyte, but all four of these meats turned out fantastic. It is what appealed most to me about the PBC -- it is almost idiot proof!

[Hub]

Lots of good advice here already so I'll add only:  Agonize not over what the temperature is.  There isn't much you can do about it.  Pre-prep your groceries.  Light it and wait 20 minutes.  Hang the meat.  Watch the time and take it out when the PBC recipe says to.  Hard to go wrong.

Hub

[teesquare]

I find that rather than mess with the intake vent opening near the bottom of the barrel - try to move the lid to a slightly off-set position so that there is a small gap on the lid/barrel. Or - if you are using only one of the rebar rods - remove the other.

In either case you are increasing the ability of the intake vent to draft in more air, to "stoke" the coals, and ramp up the temperature. I use this in similar situations as you describe, i.e. - a second cook - with the same one time load of coals.

It may take a bit of experimenting on your part to perfect this technique - but give it a try.

Hope that helps!

T

[Las Vegan Cajun]

Life is great when it's wife approved

Can't wait to see photos of your next cook

X2