I’ve owned the PBC for over 4 years now. Since that time I’ve smoked hundreds of racks of ribs, 2+ dozen briskets, tons of chicken, etc.
Overall, I think it’s a good cooker for an OK price.
If you’re a fan of hot and fast, direct heat BBQ, you’ll love this cooker.
If you’re someone who likes to smoke low and slow – I’d pass.
The PBC is Easy to Use and Dumbed Down for Beginners
There’s only 3 things to know:
- How much charcoal to actually light
- Adjusting the Intake for your elevation
- Putting your rebar in to control exhaust
Lighting the Pit Barrel Cooker
The Pit Barrel Cooker comes with a charcoal basket and a small charcoal chimney starter.
Dump a level amount of charcoal into the basket.
Then take your chimney starter and remove roughly 1/4 chimney of charcoal.
Light this charcoal in the chimney.
Add it back to the smoker.
I also like to create an air gap between the coals and the cooker (pictured above).
Pit Barrel Cooker Damper Adjustment
The barrel has an intake damper at the bottom that you adjust based on the elevation of where YOU live.
You can check your elevation: Here
For Example: I’m from New Hampshire and my elevation is 394 ft.
You’d then check their guide and set your damper based on the elevation you found.
Based on my elevation, I would adjust my damper so that it is 1/4 open.
If You Think Your PBC is Running “Too Hot” Put the Rebar in at ALL Times
At the top of the lid are 4 holes – these are where you slide your rebar rods through to hang meat.
These are also where your smoke exhausts through.
Meaning you can slightly control the temperature by limiting the amount of air that can exhaust.
I’m a Big Fan of Direct Heat BBQ
Which is what the PBC specializes in.
If you have no idea what that is – it’s essentially just putting meat directly over fire.
The drippings from your meat end up on the hot coals which then creates a vapor that ends up on your meat.
This flavor is wicked delicious.
If you’re on the fence about this concept, I’d urge you to buy a cheap Weber kettle and then buy an elevated cooking grate (~$40).
Get your kettle to around 300-325F.
Then put your food on the elevated cooking grate above the charcoal.
Only use like 1/4 chimney of lit charcoal and spread it out.
This lets you cook over direct heat and it’s the same flavor you get from the PBC.
I Think Ribs Taste Best on the PBC and it’s Basically a Dedicated Rib Cooker for Me But…
I’ve smoked ribs in my:
- Pellet grill
- Weber Kettle
- Electric Smoker
And I think ribs hung in the PBC taste best.
But, I’d still rather smoke brisket on my Weber Kettle – I think it tastes better with Low and Slow barbecue and is more tender.
You build a better bark but miss out on that direct heat flavor.
Be Mindful of Using Sugar in Your Rubs, Mops, and Sauces When Using the PBC
Since it’s a Hot and Fast Cooker, sugar-heavy ingredients will burn and you’ll ruin your food.
Meaning if you like a particular sugar-based rub and you smoke with it low and slow – stick to doing that with those cookers.
For the PBC use simple rubs like salt, pepper, garlic, and onion and apply the sugars LATER.
Also start to experiment with mops – similar to the meat drippings, the mop liquid will do the same thing as it drips on the fire.
In 4 Years I’ve Never Cleaned my PBC
The folks from PBC say: “Do not use water or soap inside the PBC to clean it.”
All I do is dump the ash and that’s it.
If you ever want to get rid of the creosote – run the PBC super hot with the lid off and scrape the flakes with a putty knife.
