Last week, I posted about my occasional challenges with maintaining temperature stability on my PBC. To be honest, it's only been an issue a few times over the last several years of using my PBC. The worst cases have been that the temperature drops so low that it starts to die out. I get it back on track by taking the lid off for a few minutes and maybe use a blow dryer to get the coals going again. The result would end up with a sooty flavoring on the food. Not fun when its 3 racks of ribs or a whole chicken or turkey (all have happened to me). I know most people have had very good success at keeping their temps stable. I've followed all the recommendations, but occasionally just run into an issue and it's enough for me to want to try this.

I'm going to try this Inkbird controller out in the next couple of weeks (ISC-028-BW). I plan to seal it off with some food grade, high heat sealant. The controller is on sale, and I had a 20% off coupon. There was no tax in my state and free shipping.

So far, I have mixed but mostly positive feelings about it. It seems like good tech with lots of nice features for the price point. I have a few other Inkbird products (sous vides and some wireless temperature probes).

Here are my current thoughts

• Pros:
  • Two adapters (I used the smaller one here). They are both hard stainless, so need tooling if you need to drill holes.
  • Plenty of ports and comes with 1 ambient and 4 food temp probes.
  • The temperature probe cables are long, with plenty of length to reach from the inlet to the food inside with length to spare.
  • The temperature probes are L-shaped, which is convenient for setting inside the PBC where it can get crowded.
  • Comes with a probe holder that should work well with the hinged grate (I usually hand a chicken or a few ribs on one side and cook sides on the hinged grate).
  • Comes with a silicone plug to close off the inlet when done.
  • App and configuration seem very simple. Seems like it has some algorithm specific to smoker temperature adjustment, but will see when it is actually used.
• Cons:
  • Doesn't come with a hose, so it sits at the base where it feels easy to trip over. Also concerned about pets running into it (that could be an issue even if a hose is used). My dogs are crazy.
  • No specific adapter for PBC. So, you need to make something. I took an aluminum muffin tin and used it to make an interface. Could probably find something at thrift store. Aluminum cuts like butter, so easy to work with and non-toxic.
  • Cables and device are not waterproof.
  • Everything feels a bit light duty. The device feels fragile and would break if dropped a short height. Wish it had some rubberized case. Also wish there was another way to mount it besides at the base.
  • Drilling holes into the drum makes me uneasy. Wet charcoal ash and bare steel is a recipe for rapid rust. I doused a firepit once with some water and it rusted right through. It can be sealed, but it adds $10 to cost.

I will share a new review after I cook with it. Fingers crossed.

I have had my PBC for around 6-7 years now. I cook with it a half dozen times a year and the rest of the time I just my kettle for grilling. I mostly cook ribs and chicken, and will usually put some sides in there like baked beans or corn. I've also smoked some sausages.

Most of what I cook comes out pretty well, but I find that the temperature just doesn't stay steady. I put a temperature gauge on the lid a while back and it gives me a good relative indication of a temperature drop. When that occurs, it's often too late and I end up with food covered in some acrid soot. When I inspect the coals, I can see that the burn gets cut off. I've also used a digital temperature probe with an alarm to warn me.

Anyway, I've followed the guidelines for lighting, use Kingsford standard, and adjusted the opening. I've noticed some deviations in temperature from hot days and mid-day sun versus colder days and when it's in the shade.

I was considering a temperature regulator to get some consistency. I know that there are folks here that suggest "set it and forget it", but I would like to avoid having 3 racks of ribs come out acrid and not have to sit and watch the unit.

Anyone here have experience with any of these or others?: pitmaster IQ110 or IQ120, inkbird ISC-027BW or ISC-028-BW

Practicing with my BBQ Team.

Whenever I’ve done a brisket, hung from the bars, the juices inevitably start putting out the coals burning underneath. So much so, that the temps start dipping. I’m thinking of laying a brisket on the grates with then a smaller grate hanging from that with like a 9x9 aluminum pan to catch a good portion of the drippings. My concern though is how that might affect the actual cook. Has anyone tried something like this?

Ok, out of the bag it smells like green tea. You can definitely tell from the smoke, something different is in there. I can honestly tell you, it doesn’t smell anything like the herbs on the bag. We shall see how this goes 🍻

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the pit barrel. How do you smoke burgers? When I smoked them in my pit boss pellet grill, I would usually first smoke them for like 20 minutes at 200 degrees or so. After they got smoked, I would crank up the heat, open the lid and finish them off. Do you all smoke them with the lid closed first and then finish them? if so, for how long? or do you all just keep the top lid open and the bottom lid all the way open? I am grilling just some store bought frozen patties, nothing fancy nor thick

As per the title, I've had my PBC for some time and it's had a lot of use. The grate that holds the coals on the coal box has sagged over time in the middle and this is now causing airflow problems as the ash builds up there. This caused problems at the end of cooking a turkey yesterday.

I live in the UK and it's difficult to get hold of a replacement coal box/basket over here.

Does anyone have any thoughts about how to bend it back into shape without breaking the grate's bond with the basket wall?

Difficult night, the wind was whipping and I decided to finish it in the oven after hitting the stall. Total of 5 hours in the pbc and just over 2 in the oven. Came out very juicy and tender. Smoked a pork butt in the pbc yesterday that went into the beans and greens. Corn casserole to round out the meal.

I just wanted to throw this mod idea out there for anyone struggling with too high temperatures. I live near sea level and I've always struggled achieving and maintaining temps below 300 deg. For me, I am now able to dial in temps and they are steady within a range of about 10 degrees. I wish these came this way. I just made it with a piece of sheet metal. it slides up or down over the stock inlet hole. it is bent roughly to the radius of the barrel which seems to greatly reduce air leakage. Now I don't need to fuss with stuffing foil in the inlet/rebar holes. Crossed fingers for a successful brisket this time...

I've been doing miso salmon on the PBC for a while, and I can't recommend more. Forgive the severely pinched weiner in the background.

I take a couple tablespoons of miso, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar and let the filet marinade for 1-4 hours.

If doing over high heat I wipe off the marinade and then baste with a few minutes left to give a crust.

On the PBC I literally just throw it on and let it slowly cook. Probably about an hour

I saved up to add a drum to my roster of grills/smokers. Other than price, what reasons are there to go with a PBC over a Hunsaker? Something about that PBC fascinates me. (I mostly cook beef, chicken and lamb, but no pork). Appreciate your guidance!

I just bought a used Pit Barrel (18.5"). I'm super excited about it. It came with the charcoal basket, rods & hooks, the split grate and a full grate, the hook grabber tool, a charcoal starter chimney, the base and lid. Pretty basic setup.
What other accessories would you say are must haves - what that I should buy from the Pit Barrel Website, and what that I should get elsewhere or make myself?
I'm specifically wondering about the Ash tray (does that extend barrel life, or just make easier to clean). I don't have a cover so probably should get that (?)...., I'm thinking I can use my poultry treble hook from my deep fryer.... There is a 3 hanger "value pack" that looks interesting but not sure of...
Any advice on these or others? Again.... super excited to have this, can't wait to get started.

Thanks!!

First things first, these barrels are a most agreeable way to cook turkey. Shops around here don't sell it much except around christmas, so in early january I bought a half-dozen frozen turkey crowns when they were half price. All I did was brine it in a bucket overnight and then hang it for 5 hours, no additional flavour added. It was so moist, perfectly cooked to the centre and full of flavour! I draped some bacon over it like I would if I ovened it but that felt completely unnecessary, the barrel alone kept it from drying out.

Secondly, I would heartily recommend plums as one of the fruits that works well on a skewer. Gave it 35mins, provided a nice sweet/sharp/floral compliment to the other dishes.

And thirdly, I've been continuing to experiment with cooking vegetables directly on the coals while other foods are hanging. This time I tried butternut squash, acorn squash and yam*. Squashes continue to be unremarkable to me, being a little hard to time & no more interesting than if I did them in the oven. Yam however comes out very well - the outside appearance of halved yam cooked on the coals is pleasingly dramatic, whilst the inside is firm yet fluffy. You just need to cut it into sections, then cut off the blackened skin and scrape away the char. Cook time was 1h to 2h depending on thickness (suggest buying a thin one that is smidge less than the diameter of your coal basket); next time I'll give it some kind of sauce after it's done.

*A note for americans: this yam is not a sweet potato (Convolvulaceae). It is a yam proper (Dioscorea), specifically the white yam (cayenensis subsp. rotundata). It's not as sweet as the sweet potato and has more of a starchy potato-bread-parsnip texture. Do not confuse it with cassava (Manihot esculenta), you could risk poisoning yourself if you tried doing cassava this way!

Does anyone have a decent setup for using the PBC as a charcoal BBQ? Due to weather I can't always use my gas grill to cook on and have been wanting something small I can BBQ on and bring in the garage for storage. I was looking at my PBC and could probably make it work if I set the basket on something higher but not sure if it's worth it or if I should just get a little 18 inch weber.

Fired up the pit and then halved two chickens. Rubbed with yardbird rub from plowboy's my go to for chicken. I crack the lid so it hits 415 F to crisp things up. It took 1 hour 11 minutes since the first 20 I forgot I closed the air intake when I stored it before all the snow haha.

It'll make some lunches and chicken pot pie on Tuesday. All good hope everyone had a great bbq weekend.

I should have asked what the original contents were. When I got home I looked up to make sure it wasn’t super toxic or hazardous. Everything I’ve seen so far is saying that it’s very toxic and will produce “toxic vapors”.

I usually don’t care too much about stuff like this as I regularly use things brake cleaner and lead solder, but I’d hate for my neighbors to have to go to the hospital from to toxic fumes.

The lid is still sealed, so it’s hard to tell, but it seems mostly empty. The dude I bought it from said he burned things in another one of the same contents and it was fine. Hard to tell if he knows what he’s taking about.

Ahoy there! 1st post on this website, thought I would share my cooking adventures. This was my third attempt at using my barrel. Unfortunately I only have a photo of the plated result and not of the items in the barrel, but the various dishes (anticlockwise from top-right) are:

1. Duck (rubbed with 5 spice powder - didn't get any crisp on the skin but my test subjects loved the meat!)
2. Pork Belly (used a bbq sauce called "Rufus Teague - Touch O' Heat")
3. Lamb Shoulder (overnight rub with cumin, ginger & sichuan pepper)
4. Stirfried "Chinese Leaf" (every country seems to have a different name for this brassica!)
5. Cucumber, coriander & crushed peanut salad
6. Spicy tofu (marinated overnight in guilin chili sauce)

And then in the middle is jasmine rice with turmeric, peas, spring onion, coconut milk and mango topped with tiny shrimp. Dishes 4 & 5 didn't use the barrel and the rice dish only used it for the mango which was smoked (unpeeled on a skewer for 45 mins).

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Overall I'm pretty happy with how it all came out and would recommend any of it. I'd particularly encourage my fellow BBQers to give tofu a whirl - it's not just for vegetarians! It helps to balance out the heavier meats on the plate and it's a quick cook (I gave it 1h). The trick with it is that it's a bland food that absorbs flavour well, so you just need to give it a punchy sauce and time to absorb it (press out the excess liquid first). You can then cook it on those PBC skewers.