Background: I'm over 50 and never owned a BBQ. That is primarily due to my previously mobile nature, rather than any aversion to grilled meat, which I love. I'm also really quite inexperienced at cooking in general, beyond the very basics. I purchased a PBC a couple months ago almost by pure happenstance -- mostly due to a recommendation from a chef friend of mine, stemming from a desire to increase the amount of meat in my diet. The elegant simplicity of the PBC is what appealed to me most, and after viewing Noah's video on ribs, I was sold.
Okay, I'm somewhere north of 10 cooks now, and couldn't be happier. I've been firing it up at least once/week, often twice. I've been on a pretty regular rotation pork --> beef --> chicken.
Pork Butt Roast and Arm Picnic:
(http://vmac.smugmug.com/photos/i-26PznSS/0/M/i-26PznSS-M.jpg)
Three chickens, split and prepped per Noah's video:
(http://vmac.smugmug.com/photos/i-VBJvhKB/0/M/i-VBJvhKB-M.jpg)
Of course, ribs:
(http://vmac.smugmug.com/photos/i-BxZxbQK/0/M/i-BxZxbQK-M.jpg)
Most recent cook was 24lbs of pork... two Butt Roasts and 5 Cushion cuts:
(http://vmac.smugmug.com/photos/i-jkTc2Qj/0/L/i-jkTc2Qj-L.jpg)
Hmm, apparently I take more photos of pork! I've done Tri Tip a couple times (outstanding!), and a very large Chuck Roast. For the shorter cooks, I'll throw a bunch of sweet potatoes on the grate to take advantage of the full basket burn.
Every single item that has entered that barrel has emerged delicious. And since I'm a total hack, that's saying something! I'm still pretty basic with the rub technology, usually some "winging it" combination of paprika, cayenne, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Pros
Simple. While not completely dummy proof (more on that in a minute), it is incredibly easy. When applying rub is the hardest part of your process, you know this pseudo-smoker is easy.
Absolutely delicious, nearly fool-proof meat of any kind. Again, I am a neophyte, but this seems like a very nice compromise/hybrid/sweet spot... perhaps not the PERFECT tool for any one task, but the best at handling everything? To me, it's a lot like my Aeropress (which I LOVE) -- can it compete with $2000 espresso machine at the local coffee snob house? No. But for $25, you get an elegantly simple process that produces coffee far superior to any drip machine or french press in existence.
Bargain. Enough said.
Support. Noah and Amber are always there!
Cons
Clean-up. I'm only putting this here because I couldn't think of anything else. The biggest issue (leftover ash) is resolved with aluminum foil under the coal basket (thank you to this forum for tipping me off to that). Now I'm just wondering if any periodic cleaning will be necessary? The rods and inside of drum are getting quite grimey. The rods are easy enough to clean, but do you all ever do anything to the barrel?
My challenge
I didn't want to put this under Cons, because it surely is something *I* am doing wrong. But I'm really puzzled by it. I'm at sea level (Santa Monica), yet even with the vent almost fully open, I am having trouble running above 265ish. I'm using a chimney starter. And the last couple times even used the exact 40 coals prescribed by the experts. At one point, I sent an email to PBC, and Amber responded immediately asking me to call her (!). She was very helpful, and suggested (counter-intuitively) that I was letting the chimney starter go a little too long. I tried cutting it back to 12 minutes, but had same result.
So here is what happens... I dump starter coals in... come back to hang meat, close lid. Temp doesn't budge past low 200's. Frequent lid manipulation would eventually get it higher. I started leaving the lid cracked the smallest amount possible right from the start, and this would seemingly get the basket "fully engaged"... temps would go over 325 (sometimes well north of that), and then I close the lid -- and it immediately drops to 265. Given that everyone else sees pretty consistent high 200's to just over 300, I'm really at a loss. Using Kingsford original. Using a brand new Maverick Redi-Chek (which is awesome). And my house is not on an ancient burial grounds.