I fired up the Pit Barrell yesterday and made a few birds and a sirloin tip roast.
Did one chicken with a lemon pepper seasoning and the other with the PBC all purpose rub. I decided to hang the chx whole and they were awesome. Next time I will try cutting them in half to see which way is better. I used the PBC beef and game rub on the sirloin roast.


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We ate 1 chicken last night and shredded the other for a meal this week. The roast got wrapped and put in the fridge and will be sliced for sammies today.
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Nice looking stuff guys.

Gary, in Thing 2, one of my UDSes that incorporates some elements of the PBC design thanks to some help from Dom, I've found that the whole chickens take a little bit longer to cook but come out juicer than splits, I never really noticed a flavor difference though.

Since the cookers are different, it would be interesting to hear what you think after you've tried it both ways.
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Adam, Dom tells me that the split chickens always take exactly 2 hours and my whole chickens took 3. They came out so juicy and were simply awesome! I'm going to do splits for sure but it's gonna be hard to beat the whole bird. I will definitely let you know my thoughts after I make the splits.
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:-) Yep, that was what swayed me towards the whole bird. Plus on my drum with the larger diameter, because I only have 8 hooks, I can actually get more in there with whole birds; 6 whole birds, maybe 8 if they are small, vs. 4 split onto 8 hooks.


Not exactly a smoker, but I did 3 small pizzas in the Weber yesterday.

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Yum!
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This thread has inspired me to buy a PBC. It's arrives today. It seems like a better option for small meals vs. rolling out my log burner. Any hints or tips for my first cook?
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I love smoking chicken leg quarters. I usually do them similarly minus the sauce. Plus, I always put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven on broil for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. It's truly fantastic but you have to keep a close eye on them. I did burn one set a while back. The meat was fine but the skin was inedible.
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Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine.
Best thing I did was buy a smaller charcoal chimney.
It makes dumping the hot coals into the PBC so much easier.

Be sure to post some pics of your cooks. :-)
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I've got a pair of chickens ready to to go today. Few hours over some smoke while I sit watch smoking a good cigar and watching football.
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Pork and more pork. :-) ribs and tenderloin that is!



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IMG_20141026_150033 by kydsid, on Flickr
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...:-):-)
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(2) Spatchcocked chickens.
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How'd those two chickens come out? Been giving a lot of thought to spatchcocking a turkey this year to cut down on cook time.
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Spatchcocking chickens is easy and delicious.
Never done a turkey that way.
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Excuse me for asking spatchcocking?
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Cutting out the backbone of a bird, which allows you to lay it flat while cooking. It allows the white and dark meat of a bird to cook more evenly, meaning less overcook of the white meat, and allows you to easily crisp the skin. Only downside is it doesn't look pretty and its a little butcher work.
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:-):-)
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My favorite way to cook chicken when I have to use a gasser. Brined for 4-6 hours then spatchcocked, rubbed and cooked.

It even makes propane/LNG cooked food taste decent.

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Very tasty! My wife likes to do chickens like that a lot. We thought it might be neat to try a turkey like that this year.
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thank you sir I'll have to give it a try
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