OK, I can't take it anymore. What are the artificial means for building bark?
All the Innovative ways people have come up with making bark on their meats outside of the simple Salt + Meat + heat + time = Bark. I think some of them are cool. And years and years ago, when there was no internet, BBQ, esp competition BBQ was taught face to face. The internet and the new techniques that have arisen in order to teach it to people without the benefit of touch, smell, taste, look and even sound... have made new methods. Thing is... most everyone is now using those methods, which make the old methods... well, less utilized on the circuits. It is easier to think you can mix up something that will make your bark better than learn a technique.
Its a big business...and the economic forces in control know they can simply make quicker coin by persuading a greenpea to buy a "secret concoction of spices" or Rubbs or injections other than learn the technique. Don't believe me... google the amount of Rubbs available and compare them to DVDs that teach you the techniques for sale.
Eventually, it comes down to technique... you have to learn those skills sometime... its unfortunate that now that usually comes after wasting tons of meat. I leraned it, forgot it or rejected itm then had to learn all over again.
Take me for example, trained by arguably the best in the biz... then I broke away... tried to mix things up... create too complex a rub, lower my temps too much, and was somewhat lost to the art for a period of years. Then one day I was showing a friend how the old schoolers used to make it and realized, hey... no one hardly cooks like this anymore... the Billy Walls are slowing down, the Milroys, all of them... slowing down, well maybe not Bill and Barb but mostly to promote their sauces. Bill's ribs are stupid simple and I think some of the best.
Anyway... had to come back. I thought I had nothing to offer in pushing the envelope for all those years only to find that I am pushing the envelope by seemingly not doing anything ground-breaking.
I liken it to - well - watching Bryan Setzer or Prince perform these days. So... my artifical comment was a compliment... frankly, if we stuck only to traditional recipes, we would simply not need the forum at all... someone could post "use salt, pepper and 270 or above" and that would be it.
But we all know from my videos that I don't JUST use salt and pepper. Hee hee hee. Even I can't resist.
