On 18-Sep-2007, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:

> wrote:
>
> > I can't for the life of me figure out why there is a 1000% increase in
> > flavor from heating on the pit as opposed to heating on a baking sheet
> > in the oven. Neither have smoke, both are controlled temps, neither
> > are foiled, but the flavor difference is huge.
> > Any thoughts on that one? I figure you might be all over this mystery
> > since you no doubt face this problem every day in the restaurant. And
> > of course, if you know of a better way to reheat those last two racks
> > of spares, I would love to hear it.
> >
> > Robert
>
> Maybe it has to do with the seasoning of the pit vs the cleanliness of the
>
> oven? :-) I honestly don't know. A lot of folks will cut left over slabs
>
> into single bones, stick 'em into a foodsaver or other vacuum sealer bag
> and
> seal, and then throw the intact bag in a pot of boiling water to reheat. I
>
> think the biggest factor in reheating is to do it in a manner that reduces
>
> meat exposure to air movement (drying).
>
> Brick has spent a lot of time researching vacuum system bags and costs,
> etc.
> and can give you more info.
>
> --
> Dave
> www.davebbq.com

I can't add any daylight to that discussion. Vacuum bagging greatly
reduces the loss of moisture and or dilution of flavor attributed to other
methods of reheating. And anything that does leak out of the meat will
end up on your plate if you put it there. I confess, I haven't tried
reheating
in the pit. It wouldn't be reasonable for the tiny quantities that I reheat.

Something I heard Mario Batelli relate on his show recently lends
credibility
to Dave's guess about the environment of a well seasoned pit. Mario said
that bread baked in a brand new oven isn't near as good as that baked in
the same oven months later. In the case of bread, he attributed it to
particles
of yeast hanging around in the air. Given that, just sticking my head in my
pit and checking the smell, I can say with authority, that it doesn't smell
anything like my kitchen oven. It's bound to have some effect on whatever
is heated in there.

I've seen Big Jim reheat the day after cooking, using foil. I've had decent
results doing the same thing. On two occasions I used one of those big
portable roaster ovens to reheat a variety of 'Q' products. I did that last
month when Big Jim, BobinGA, Ginger and TFM® & Company were here
to chow down and swap lies.

All I'm going to say about that is that it beats keeping guests waiting for
some food after they have driven half a day to get to my place. I wouldn't
have tried to reheat and hold in 'MY' pit because I can't control the temp
well enough. I liked the portable roaster because I was able to fill it
completely full. I don't know how that translates to taste, but it made
me feel better.

Bottom line; I don't know either.

--
Brick(Save a tree, eat a Beaver)