1Bigg_ER: It was just this cook that produced such an intense grease fog taste, but it was present to lesser degrees on other cooks. And yes, I added the chicken about an hour after the ribs were first hung, so there may have been more dripping going on, or for a more extended time, than other cooks.
TentHunteR: It is a possibility that I prefer meat from a smoker. However, I do like charcoal-grilled meat, as well, and the PBC is somewhere between the two. Therefore, I know I must be doing something wrong with the PBC.
Aclarke44: I'm almost at sea level, and definitely have extremely high humidity this time of year. This cook was during mid-90's air temps with probably 90% humidity. I monitored cooker temp by placing a probe inside a rebar hole, up to it's 90-degree bend, at an angle to place the probe in open air. You may be onto something regarding the not-hot fire and bad smoke. It obviously wasn't hot enough to the get cook times stated in PBC videos.
I e-mailed PBC and pointed them to this thread. Amber called me within a couple of hours (on a Sunday!) with this advice:
- Skip the wood chips, at least for now.
- If I'm chimney starting the charcoal, let it burn for only 12 minutes.
- Dump it on the unlit coals in the PBC.
- Hang meat immediately.
- Add lid immediately.
I'm going to follow this procedure, then let you all know how it goes.
Thank you for your help!