The Biggest BBQ Myth

While I think you are likely correct in your assumptions, I don't think this is "The Biggest BBQ Myth" ................

My vote, for biggest BBQ myth, is that 220 or 225 is a magic number...

who cares, it's adding BACON to meat and smoking it. Myth or not, it's an improvement

Lake Dogs said:

My vote, for biggest BBQ myth, is that 220 or 225 is a magic number...

Click to expand...

Yes.

I'd have to agree. Wrapping bacon around my meat never got the results I was hoping for. :icon_blush:

I happen to disagree when it comes to venison and loin, both are extremely lean meats, the addition of a fat would help to limit the loss of moisture. Mind you the juiciness of meat does not only come from liquid such as water, but from fat. Hence the idea of bacon providing the barrier from evaporation and providing fat.

Alas, you also have to realize that fat molecules are much too large to penetrate fibrous muscle, that is why you are looking for marbling in cuts of meat. So the benefits would seem to be more about flavor than about juiciness. I don't think it is a myth as it holds some weight.

And if it is smoked isn't the smoke supposed to surround the cut? Why would bacon put on the top have anything to do with keeping the smoke out of the meat? Maybe limit the smoke on the top but definitely not the whole cut.

"Wrapping bacon around my meat never got the results I was hoping for."

All I can say is, you must be doing it wrong...


Heck, I wrap my wife in bacon!
I dip bacon in my coffee!

I guess I'm just a bacon kinda guy

I dont see why people wrap fatties. Thats about as moist of a product as you can have.

I agree with that. Why pick on bacon.

Along the same lines, another big myth is that you should cook brisket "fat up" to keep it moist.

Nice to see you here Juggy

WineMaster said:

I dont see why people wrap fatties. Thats about as moist of a product as you can have.

Click to expand...

Cuz it taste good!

I think I agree with the OP.


The reason that meat dries out is because it is cooked too long.
You want moist and juicy pork loin, venison or other lean roasts? Cook them over HIGH heat and pull them before they hit the target temp. Also....KNOW what that targe temp is.


You can put 10 lbs of bacon around a pork loin and if you cook it until it's 180 IT.....it'll be tough and dry.


Bacon is definitely an improvement, but it won't fix overcooked meat.

The Culinary definition for this act is called Barding. I thought I would share this article for discussion.

When meat is wrapped in strips of fat while it cooks, the practice is called barding. Barding helps to keep meat moist while it cooks, and also imparts flavor. A related practice, larding, involves inserting pure fat into a cut of meat with the assistance of special tools. Whether barding or larding, the result is a rich, flavorful cut of meat which is also moist and tender.

Bacon and fatback are two cuts of meat commonly used as barding. Fatback is exactly what it sounds like; it is a fatty cut from the back of a pig. Any meat rich in fat will work as barding, however, with darker fats like goose and duck lending a distinct flavor to the meats they are cooked with. The barding is often seasoned as well, to further flavor the meat.

The meat which is most often barded is poultry, because poultry tends to dry out during the cooking process. By wrapping the breast of a bird in bacon or fatback, the cook can ensure that the meat stays tender and moist. As the barding cooks, the fat will render out, trickling through the meat. In a sense, barding is an automatic basting system. When the meat is close to done, the barding is usually removed to allow the meat to brown.

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon.

You can cook a port loin to 145 safely, and have a moist tender loin. But, you can't do that with chicken or turkey breast. You have to hit at least 160 to be safe.

I brine my birds, but I have also had good results with bacon wrapping, or "barding," as described above.

CD

I would like to lay to rest the "myths" that pork butts and briskets are done a certain temperature...they are done when they are done! I suggest folks use all those temp probes as something to test the texture of the meats with...instead of depending on the temp they are reading to tell you your meats are done...

jasonjax said:

While I think you are likely correct in your assumptions, I don't think this is "The Biggest BBQ Myth" ................

Click to expand...

Agreed. The biggest barbecue myth is that people who choose to cook at 225 are stupid and wasting their time.

:tongue:

I love bacon. I love cooking with bacon. I love the results I get when I cook with bacon. Bacon makes nearly everything better. Now if others cook with it or don't cook with it, it is really irrelevant to me. If others are happy with what they are doing, more power to them. I'll keep my bacon, thank you. And I would agree there are other bigger bbq myths than this.

I like to double butterfly venison roast and open it like a tri-fold brochure. Then I lay strips of bacon inside and roll it back up and tie it. This definitely gets fat into the meat!