Barbecue (alt.food.barbecue) Discuss barbecue and grilling--southern style "low and slow" smoking of ribs, shoulders and briskets, as well as direct heat grilling of everything from burgers to salmon to vegetables.

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  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
butch burton
 
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Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

Recently somebody asked a question about whether a particular SS gas
grill was a worthwhile purchase and many responded with suggestions of
buying entirely different outdoor systems. When you think about
it-there are a plethora of options out there. One division would be
fuel-here is a partial list:

gas
electric
charcoal
wood

Then you have different ways to apply the heat (for the lack of a
better term)

direct
indirect

Then you have different rates of cooking

fast (direct heat)
slow (offset smoking)
super slow (cold smoking)

Then you have amount of preparation/time required

Turn a knob (gas grill or electric unit like ECB)
Some effort (charcoal fired units)
More effort (offset smoker)
Lots of effort (cold smoker)

With or without seasoning, rubs or sauces

Then you have hybrids of some or maybe all of the above.

Is there one best method-nah it all boils down to taste and how much
effort a particular method requires. It was a real shock to me when
close friends said my 10+ hour offset smoked ham and brisket was way
too smokey for them. To me it was manna from heaven. SO when we start
talking about which method is best-I think we better consider taste
here-best for whose taste and how much effort they are willing to make
is the question.

My future to do/try list includes a cold smoker, one of those neat
porcelain cookers and a big honking smoker made from a 250 gallon fuel
tank or maybe from scratch using a large 24" or 36" steel pipe and
mounted on a trailer. The latter is an excuse to buy a plasma cutter
and a mig welder. Yeah I like toys.

So when somebody asks which "cooker" is best-well determining which is
best covers a lot of territory and wow do we all have different tastes
and amount of effort we are willing to make.

If anyone can stick in more segments/partitions in the above, please
do so cause when the game is finished, don't want to have missed a
single wrinkle.
  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
Graeme... in London
 
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Default Different methods of outdoor cooking


"butch burton" > wrote in message
m...
> Recently somebody asked a question about whether a particular SS gas
> grill was a worthwhile purchase and many responded with suggestions of
> buying entirely different outdoor systems. When you think about
> it-there are a plethora of options out there. One division would be
> fuel-here is a partial list:
>
> gas
> electric
> charcoal
> wood
>
> Then you have different ways to apply the heat (for the lack of a
> better term)
>
> direct
> indirect
>
> Then you have different rates of cooking
>
> fast (direct heat)
> slow (offset smoking)
> super slow (cold smoking)
>
> Then you have amount of preparation/time required
>
> Turn a knob (gas grill or electric unit like ECB)
> Some effort (charcoal fired units)
> More effort (offset smoker)
> Lots of effort (cold smoker)
>
> With or without seasoning, rubs or sauces
>
> Then you have hybrids of some or maybe all of the above.
>
> Is there one best method-nah it all boils down to taste and how much
> effort a particular method requires. It was a real shock to me when
> close friends said my 10+ hour offset smoked ham and brisket was way
> too smokey for them. To me it was manna from heaven. SO when we start
> talking about which method is best-I think we better consider taste
> here-best for whose taste and how much effort they are willing to make
> is the question.
>
> My future to do/try list includes a cold smoker, one of those neat
> porcelain cookers and a big honking smoker made from a 250 gallon fuel
> tank or maybe from scratch using a large 24" or 36" steel pipe and
> mounted on a trailer. The latter is an excuse to buy a plasma cutter
> and a mig welder. Yeah I like toys.
>
> So when somebody asks which "cooker" is best-well determining which is
> best covers a lot of territory and wow do we all have different tastes
> and amount of effort we are willing to make.
>
> If anyone can stick in more segments/partitions in the above, please
> do so cause when the game is finished, don't want to have missed a
> single wrinkle.


Butch,

I would like to add Cost vs Lifespan. There's no point spending a shit load
of money on a unit, only to find that it rusts or fails after a few years.


  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
Louis Cohen
 
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Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

I think you pretty much have it. As a programmer, I tend to start with user
requirements first. Which of the following do you want to do (roughly in
order of temperature):

- Grill (~600°)
- Bake bread/pizza (500°)
- Roast (350-450°)
- Hot smoke BBQ (220-250°)
- Cold smoke (not sure, maybe 160-180°)

Then, identify the units that will do the things you want to do. Then, rank
them on the other criteria that may be important to you:

- cost
- capacity (how much can you cook at one time)
- looks
- fuel(s)
- convenience (all you need for great BBQ is a constant 220-250°; getting
and holding a pit there for a long time (5-24 hrs) can be very different for
different types of pits; a gas grill is great for a quick week-night grilled
fish/boneless chicken/steak)
- extra features (rotisserie, side burners, portability, etc.)
- intangibles (e.g, some people just want a traditional Texas-style
offset-style cooker)
- reliability/life



--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Louis Cohen
Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"


"butch burton" > wrote in message
m...
> Recently somebody asked a question about whether a particular SS gas
> grill was a worthwhile purchase and many responded with suggestions of
> buying entirely different outdoor systems. When you think about
> it-there are a plethora of options out there. One division would be
> fuel-here is a partial list:
>
> gas
> electric
> charcoal
> wood
>
> Then you have different ways to apply the heat (for the lack of a
> better term)
>
> direct
> indirect
>
> Then you have different rates of cooking
>
> fast (direct heat)
> slow (offset smoking)
> super slow (cold smoking)
>
> Then you have amount of preparation/time required
>
> Turn a knob (gas grill or electric unit like ECB)
> Some effort (charcoal fired units)
> More effort (offset smoker)
> Lots of effort (cold smoker)
>
> With or without seasoning, rubs or sauces
>
> Then you have hybrids of some or maybe all of the above.
>
> Is there one best method-nah it all boils down to taste and how much
> effort a particular method requires. It was a real shock to me when
> close friends said my 10+ hour offset smoked ham and brisket was way
> too smokey for them. To me it was manna from heaven. SO when we start
> talking about which method is best-I think we better consider taste
> here-best for whose taste and how much effort they are willing to make
> is the question.
>
> My future to do/try list includes a cold smoker, one of those neat
> porcelain cookers and a big honking smoker made from a 250 gallon fuel
> tank or maybe from scratch using a large 24" or 36" steel pipe and
> mounted on a trailer. The latter is an excuse to buy a plasma cutter
> and a mig welder. Yeah I like toys.
>
> So when somebody asks which "cooker" is best-well determining which is
> best covers a lot of territory and wow do we all have different tastes
> and amount of effort we are willing to make.
>
> If anyone can stick in more segments/partitions in the above, please
> do so cause when the game is finished, don't want to have missed a
> single wrinkle.



  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Kevin S. Wilson
 
Posts: n/a
Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 12:33:06 -0700, "Louis Cohen"
> wrote:

>I think you pretty much have it. As a programmer, I tend to start with user
>requirements first. Which of the following do you want to do (roughly in
>order of temperature):
>
>- Grill (~600°)
>- Bake bread/pizza (500°)
>- Roast (350-450°)
>- Hot smoke BBQ (220-250°)
>- Cold smoke (not sure, maybe 160-180°)
>
>Then, identify the units that will do the things you want to do. Then, rank
>them on the other criteria that may be important to you:
>
>- cost
>- capacity (how much can you cook at one time)
>- looks
>- fuel(s)
>- convenience (all you need for great BBQ is a constant 220-250°; getting
>and holding a pit there for a long time (5-24 hrs) can be very different for
>different types of pits; a gas grill is great for a quick week-night grilled
>fish/boneless chicken/steak)
>- extra features (rotisserie, side burners, portability, etc.)
>- intangibles (e.g, some people just want a traditional Texas-style
>offset-style cooker)
>- reliability/life


You sure used a lot of words to say "GET A KAMADO."

--
Kevin S. Wilson
Tech Writer at a university somewhere in Idaho
"Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?"
  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
butch burton
 
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Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

Kevin S. Wilson > wrote in message >. ..
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 12:33:06 -0700, "Louis Cohen"
> > wrote:
>
> >I think you pretty much have it. As a programmer, I tend to start with user
> >requirements first. Which of the following do you want to do (roughly in
> >order of temperature):
> >
> >- Grill (~600°)
> >- Bake bread/pizza (500°)
> >- Roast (350-450°)
> >- Hot smoke BBQ (220-250°)
> >- Cold smoke (not sure, maybe 160-180°)
> >
> >Then, identify the units that will do the things you want to do. Then, rank
> >them on the other criteria that may be important to you:
> >
> >- cost
> >- capacity (how much can you cook at one time)
> >- looks
> >- fuel(s)
> >- convenience (all you need for great BBQ is a constant 220-250°; getting
> >and holding a pit there for a long time (5-24 hrs) can be very different for
> >different types of pits; a gas grill is great for a quick week-night grilled
> >fish/boneless chicken/steak)
> >- extra features (rotisserie, side burners, portability, etc.)
> >- intangibles (e.g, some people just want a traditional Texas-style
> >offset-style cooker)
> >- reliability/life

>
> You sure used a lot of words to say "GET A KAMADO."


My point of writing this post is simply there are a bunch of different
ways to cook/roast/smoke/broil and so forth meat/food and there is not
one best or end all method for everyone. In my opinion a person ought
to have several options depending upon a lot of factors and the most
important of which maybe individual taste. Some may find their needs
so specific that only one method or system is required to satisfy
their requirements-that is not me.


  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
Duwop
 
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Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

butch burton wrote:
> My point of writing this post is simply there are a bunch of different
> ways to cook/roast/smoke/broil and so forth meat/food and there is not
> one best or end all method for everyone. In my opinion a person ought
> to have several options depending upon a lot of factors and the most
> important of which maybe individual taste. Some may find their needs
> so specific that only one method or system is required to satisfy
> their requirements-that is not me.


And you think you are unique? Ihope that didnt take you too damn long to
come up with.

But this IS alt.food.barbecue, not food.boiling or food.baking or some other
variation, so the conversation is pretty much about wood fired cooking,
especially low n slow which is barbeque, lot's of grilling conversation too,
but it's mainly bbq. So get off whatever hobby horse you were gettin a leg
onto, it's misplaced.

D
--



  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
Dave Bugg
 
Posts: n/a
Default Different methods of outdoor cooking

butch burton wrote:

> Is there one best method-nah it all boils down to taste and how much
> effort a particular method requires. It was a real shock to me when
> close friends said my 10+ hour offset smoked ham and brisket was way
> too smokey for them. To me it was manna from heaven. SO when we start
> talking about which method is best-I think we better consider taste
> here-best for whose taste and how much effort they are willing to make
> is the question.


However, this IS alt.food.barbecue, so it reasonable to believe that the
folks here have barbecue on the mind. Perhaps your point is better made at
rec.food.cooking? BTW, smokey flavor IS NOT an essential to defining
barbecue. As with any other spice, how much smoke IS an individual taste.
Dave


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