Patio Daddio BBQ - Musings of barbecue, cooking, and life -- served hot, fresh and saucy

John, for some of the proud (and newer) Pit Barrel Cooker owners, can you share with us your method for cooking Pork Butts? I haven't tried it yet but will be this weekend. I might be totally wrong, but I assume that the butts would eventually fall off if left through the entire cook process.

Hey Dave. Cooking pork butts on the PBC is really no different than on a typical smoker, except that you hang the meat (obviously). I hang mine until it reaches about 165-170* internal. I then wrap it with some liquid, and finish it (about 200* internal) on the rack. I use this same process for my brisket.

Thanks John! That was my plan for this weekends cook. Thanks for being the trailblazer!

You bet. I'm always happy to help.

John

Hey Dave, please swing by and share your pork butt cook results. Thanks.

John, I'm new to the world of competition grade bbq and am a bit confused. What do you mean when you say wrap it with some liquid?

Trey - Just Google "321 ribs" (without the quotes) and you'll see what the common process is. The 3-2-1 method is geared toward spare ribs, so for loin/baby backs it's usually modified to closer to a 2-2-1 method, because babies are smaller and more lean.

I hope that this helps.

When you first said enhanced, my face did a Calvin & Hobbes wonk-eye look. But then I saw you recommended non-enhanced for standard practice and was relieved. I hate those hammy "enhanced" ribs.

If I'm going to compete on my own any next year, I'm going to have to look into a barrel cooker. Much easier to haul around than a ceramic kamado cooker!

Chris - I'm totally with you about "enhanced" ribs being ham-on-a-stick. Unfortunately I was pressed for time for this test cook and all I could find nearby were "enhanced" ribs. I'd never use them for competition, or even at home unless I'm in a real jam.

So last weekend I put the Pit Barrel Cooker through some serious paces. I cooked 6 racks of ribs (3 baby, 3 spare), a 12 lb. brisket, and a 10 lb. pork butt.
This was the first time I had cooked these three meats on this cooker.
The ribs were cooked basically following your direction from above. The baby backs finished in about 3 hours 15 minutes and the spares about 15 minutes later. This was by far the easiest time I have ever had cooking ribs and they turned out GREAT. I strayed from your method however. Once the ribs were done, I took them 2 at a time, coated with sauce and placed them in the oven for a quick 2 minute broil. Once removed I gave them another coat of sauce, sliced and served. They were a big hit, 8 adults and 5 kids ate all but one rack of ribs. I only ate 2 ribs out of the batch (I'm not a big rib fan) so we can almost exclude me from the adult head count.
The brisket was an Angus Certified cut. I was pressed for time so it was trimmed, rubbed and in the cooker in about 30 minutes. I used 4 hooks, 2 on each end, so it hanged fat side down, horizontal in the cooker. It took only about 2.5 hours to reach 165 degrees when I wrapped in foil with some beef broth. I pulled it at about 196 when it felt soft and ready. It then sat in my heated cooler resting for about 1.5 hours. It didn't turn out the way I wanted, it was a little dry and not as soft as it felt when it was pulled. I will try this again very soon, bother me that it wasn't up to my expectations.
The Pork Butt I cooked turned out really good. Again, I hung it horizontal, fat side down using 2 hooks on either end. It cooked for about 2.5 hours before I wrapped it in foil with some pork marinade I had laying around the house. Another 1.5 hours and it was ready. After a 20 minute rest it was pulled and I added some of the marinade juice back into the mix. Great flavor, probably better than what I've accomplished so far "low and slow" on my WSM's. I was pleasantly surprised especially since I have never cooked a butt "hot and fast".
Well, back to the drawing board on the brisket.

Dave - Thanks for your very informative and detailed feedback. It's pretty neat hangin' meat, huh? ;-)

It is...However, today I am cooking your BBQ Gyro recipe on the Pit Barrel Cooker. Smells awesome, can't wait!

Ironically I just had a gyro at Mazzah on Parkcenter just this afternoon.

FYI, for those interested, here is the gyro recipe that Dave mentioned above.

Gyros On The Grill

Question. I am still trying to figure out what the PBC is. all i have available to me is videos and images from you and the site. I have no hands on with it. So i can not tell the difference between a UDS and this. From what i CAN see is that its different by the way you let all the coals burn at once. no minon method at all. The meat is hung and i dont think i have noticed and air control at all. haha. I have hung meat before. I had to write a research paper for english class and it was on fat cap up or down. Paul kirk contacted me and said he hangs his meat like the chinese do. so thats where i learned it from. Anyway, the PBC looks really nice, i just cant tell a difference between it and a uDS with just images. What makes the PBC so different than a UDS to you? Is the the flavor any different if you are using the same charcoal in the PBC as the UDS? Thanks john and best of luck to you all.

I don't know the author of this review at all, but I DO know that anyone who uses "lighter fluid" to start their charcoal has absolutely NO credibility whatsoever and richly deserves to be put in the category of 'Grill POSEUR'. Enjoy your chemically infused fodder, and if you ever want to become a serious griller/smoker, buy a chimney starter. It ain't hard....

Anonymous (gotta love that courage) - Would you also call Myron Mixon a "grill poseur"? You might be interested to know that the Pit Barrel Cooker team, of which I was a part, beat the venerable Johnny Trigg in ribs and pork last summer using lighter fluid. Let me see your list of awards. ;-)

Just received my PBC yesterday. Did one rack of back ribs for the first cook. Followed the PBC instructions (full basket of Kingsford, 20 minutes, etc.). Here's some thoughts/observations.

1. Nice that the PBC guy puts his phone # on a little plate attached to every barrel. Mine peeled off 10 minutes after I hung the meat. Oh well. There's not powder coat all over the barrel, it's exposed steel all around the two ridges of the barrel, hopefully they don't rust eventually. Theres some pretty large scratches on the barrel, exposing some steel, like someone took a steel wool like thing to it. Other than that, built like a tank.

2. I kinda want to wait for the coals to burn longer than 20 minutes in the future. The thing just ran hot as hell for awhile, and it ended up charring my entire rack. I noticed in your pictures of PBC ribs (beef and pork), they have the same thing. Black may be beautiful, but not on meat. Its burned, not caramelized. I've never been crazy about placing meat over still black charcoal on other grills, not sure I want to do it on this one either.

3. That's a hell of a lot of charcoal for a rack of little pork ribs! I mean, theres gotta be about 8 pounds in there! I would maybe use 1/3 this amount for back ribs in a 18.5" Weber kettle. Why do I need so much in the PBC, especially since the meat is hanging directly over the coals? Have you played around with lesser amounts of charcoal?

4. I'm not down with the PBC rub. Too much sugar. I'm sure that contributed to our black meat? I cook for a living, and didn't get home from the restaurant until 11 pm last night and was just itching to set up and cook on the PBC. I just slapped the All Purpose rub on the ribs for time's sake. It almost has a MSG like quality to it. Not that I'm opposed to that...

I realize that is not the cooker's fault for food that comes out like this. Its usually a result of the cook not knowing the rig. It was my first time on the PBC, I'll keep playing with it and learn about it. The design makes sense to me and I'm sure I'll be turning out good meat on it. I mean the smaller ribs (closest to the coals) were just crispy and black and crappy. THe high initial heat is cool if I want to sear something quick like a beef that is going to be mid rare in the middle, but I'm not going to put an expensive brisket in there and char the hell out of it in the first 30 minutes when it still has 5+ hours of work to do.

Your thoughts?

Brock - Here are my thoughts:

1. I'd contact Noah about any quality problems. I guarantee that he'll make it right.

2. I've never had any charred/black meat come out of my PBC, and I follow the standard lighting procedures.

3. Yes, I've used varying amounts for smaller cooks and it works well as long as you realize that it will tend to burn hotter.

4. The PBC rubs are VERY low in sugar. You can verify that with Noah, as they are his recipes. I really dig both of the rubs.

Lighter fluid? Your cred just went out the window for me, then again, you probably don't give a crap what I have to say. :)

Unknown - Your opinion is of untold value to me.

Just wanted to check back in after I've done a few more cooks on the Pit Barrel Cooker. With some adjustments, I've been getting some real nice food out of this unit!

First, for smaller cooks, like tri tip, I've been using about 3/4 basket of charcoal. It doesn't run hotter, as stated above, but the initial hot period is less, and the overall burn time is shorter, which makes sense. It's actually pretty impressive how long the PBC retains heat. I have a cheap offset smoker which cost more than the PBC and can't retain heat like the PBC can. And I can fit more meat in the PBC. Cook time was just about exactly what Noah recommends in the videos, I like em bloody as all so even less time.

Chicken is money, this thing is a chicken cooking machine.

Did more ribs. Filled the basket just under full, waited 35 minutes instead of 20. I actually used the method recommended for brisket where you hang it for a few, them wrap it and place it on the included grill. Really came out nice. I'm always searching for the better rib, so I'm sure I'll be tweaking the method further in the future.

As for the powder coat finish, my first cook was done in the dark, with a headlamp. I actually do much of my cooking at this hour. Turns out the exposed steel on the ridges was just steel dust residue left over from manufacturing. Anyone who has ever worked w steel knows how that stuff just clings to everything. It comes off with a good wipe down.

As for the rubs. I'm a cook. I like making my own rubs to suit my own taste. It's part of the fun of cooking.

I would definitely recommend the PBC. The heat retention is awesome, I can't wait to use it in winter. Like any other rig, its imperative that you use it and learn it. My above post was merely my experience from the first time using it, and the results have gotten better since then. And they are going to get even better.

Has anyone done more than one pork shoulder in the PBC? I going to attempt 3-9lb ders on Saturday for a reunion. Wondering how much time 27 lbs of meat will take? Any suggestions welcome.Thanks

Lighter fluid does add to the flavor profile! ::::rolling eyes::::::::

No, it does not in the pbc. I was a skeptic as well. My pbc produces smokey goodness everytime!

I have used a chimney for years and lit charcoal with both paper and lighter fluid and don't taste any difference at all. And the guys in this blog who take such offense to using fluid baffle me because they said nothing about the common briquette charcoal being used nor said anything about using the traditional wood or lump charcoal...You may be tasting additives in the briquettes ( to make them ) if you do not get them white hot before putting meat on them. Anybody says they taste lighter fluid must be basting with it...Jeezo pete. Cmon man.