Mesquite poisonous ?
 

Has anyone seen Alton Brown's show where he says that mesquite is poisonous when used for smoking meat?

No hadn't heard that. All smoke contains carcinogens that are in fact poisonous to some extent, but I wouldn't go far as to say smoke itself is poisonous. Sheesh Alton.

Well, it IS Mesquite.... :wink:

Yankee.:roll:

OMFG I MUST BE DEAD:shock: I think AB ate the wrong Shrooms before that episode

I just went back and looked at that episode again.


I am a huge fan of Alton, but he needs to stay away from BBQ!!!
He makes so many outlandish statements, just in that one episode, that his BBQ credibility is ZERO with me!

Outside of BBQ, I think he is quite knowledgeable and entertaining.

TIM

Another gem that came out of AB's mouth, "If you cook ribs at higher temps than 230, you will end up with pork jerky".

On the same episode, he brined a pork butt for 24 hours, didn't rinse it off and tossed it in his cardboard box smoker with no rub at all. Same episode, he showed us how to make a rib rub that was over 75% sugar!

:shock:Ya, gotta watch out for the thorns, but poisonous.

i have had some bad bbq that was cooked with mesquite that actually made my mouth numb. maybe it was that poisinous kind lol. or just really bad pitmaster. alton brown just need to keep his lips zipped when it comes to bbq. everything esle, he's the shizzle

Just googled Mesquite and found a ton of info. Here's one brief explanation -

"CAUTION: Smoked foods smoked foods contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are known carcinogens. Smoked foods are known to be carcinogenic when eaten as a regular part of a person's diet. Most people do not eat enough smoked foods for this to be a major concern. HOWEVER, the hotter the wood or charcoal burns, the more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are produced. And mesquite burns hotter than hardwood charcoal, and produces much more of these dangerous hydrocarbons. One study found 8 times the cancer causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in meat cooked with mesquite than hardwood charcoal, and 40 times the benzopyrene, the most dangerous hydrocarbon."

LOVE Alton Brown, but agree that he makes some errors here -- particularly as it relates to cooker temps, and BBQ sauce (wtf!?).

I will say this about the guy, though. He is a wizard at being open-minded at creating cooking environments that mirror the "real" thing. I totally agree with him that you can re-create smoking environments in just about anything that holds heat. I love the idea of finding boxes and barrels for cheap, and with just a little creativity can create some amazing BBQ.

That being said -- I love my BBQ equipment as is :-)

-Bastid

I guess The big Casino will get me in the end, I eat BBQ at least 1 meal 6 days a week.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I always figured a higher temp burn would mean less nasty stuff in the smoke. The same reasoning behind the fact that cooking at 300 doesn't reveal much visible exhaust smoke, but if you smell the exhaust, it smells like heaven.

If Mesquite was poisoning, the population of TX would be down to 100K or so Vegans around Austin! 8)

And, the population of Marianna would be 2 less cause Mesquite is my "go-to" wood for all beef and has been for years! 8)

TIM

LMAO!!!!!!!:pound:

Here's a thought, with all the GMO's and crap pumped in to today's meat, you have a grater chance of getting something from the "safe food" they make for us. Back in the old days smoking food was common and standard practice since they did it have the sophisticated refrigeration we have today to preserve food. Tastes too fogging good to worry about the risks. Guess well find out in 10-20 years when peeps start coming down with something. But he way that I see it, smoking is older than TV so....

That's right folks, keep thinking that mesquite is bad, and there will be more of it for those of us that like it and know how to cook with it. :thumb:

Was that a YELLOW Thermapen he had in his case of probes

That's just great... I should drop any minute now.

Though I do have to wonder how mankind made it without stoves, propane, etc if that is the case. We've been cooking over fire since we figured out we could.

The video was entertaining though. :grin:

I heard an interview on the radio with Walter Williams, a Nobel Prize winning Economist. He was talking about his doctor giving him a hard time about with diet. He said (paraphrasing):

"As an economist, do you know what the worst thing you could be is? An organ donor. If you enjoy drinking, smoking, and eating the ideal scenario would be to die when your heart, liver, and lungs all failed simultaneously. That means that you go the most out of them and left nothing on the table."

If you like mesquite, then use it. I'm a pecan man, myself.

Mesquite may be poisonous, but hickory is REALLY poisonous, so send it all to me and I'll get rid of it for y'all. Same for pecan & cherry. Just trying to help. :bow:

Much of what AB said in that episode is dubious but ya gotta love the red MasterTouch that he used for the ribs. I just got one :wink: