Good Eats: Right on Q 8/6/11

I love the skits from the earlier shows more, but he still has a great show. I'll have to record it, sounds like a good one.

Jalon
 
I tagged the show for recording, and the iQue 110 from pitmasterIQ.com looks like a must-have! I'll need to save some penneis and get one!
 
Just got done watching the show and I have to say that I was impressed. I really loved the part where he debunked the notion that a water pan in a smoker keeps the meat moist and instead acts as a heat sink. That's something we in this community already knew but it's great to see someone of his stature educating the rest of his audience on what is a common misperception. Also, the iQue 110 feature was just stellar. Way to go AB!
 
As much as I love AB, this show scared me the same way the flower-pot smoker show did with the whole idea of putting a hot plate in the vessel. Even at 225, your standard run-of-the-mill hot plate power cord is succeptable to heat damage if you're not careful. I learned this the hard way with a five-and-dime hotplate that nearly caught fire when I tried his flower-pot method a couple years ago.

Loved the fact that he debunked the myth about oven finishing butts - it works and is far more convenient for us folks who work with small cookers.

I understand he doesn't like sauce, but it's such a prevalent part of 'que that I wish he'd at least demonstrated some of the more basic finishing techniques on the ribs.

Loved his use of the iQue on the kettle, but to insist that a low-and-slow isn't achievable without the use of such gadgets is nonsense. Also, I noticed that he had the top vents closed down during the kettle cook, which didn't make sense.

Still a good show nonetheless. I think AB's the perfect candidate for a UDS or mini-WSM!
 
I love AB, always have, always will... and I did love this episode, but I have to ask...

Boneless pork butt, AB?

The joy of pulling a clean bone from a pork butt after 12-15 hours is not something I am willing to sacrifice!
 
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AB is almost a complete mystery here... None of his shows have ever made it to Australian TV, and I am still scratching my head as to why.

In fact, when we got the new "Iron Chef America", only because the Original Iron Chef was so popular here... I didn't know who Alto Brown was!

Now I've found and downloaded many of his "Good Eats" shows and I'm just amazed that this show appears to have been totally looked over by Aussie networks;

I've be looking for a link to the new show soon!

Cheers!

Bill
 
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I was really disappointed in this show at first. Boneless butt. Eletric wood box smoker. I understand that the majority of America has a gasser and liked him showing that a gasser can be used for low and slow and I started queing in this exact way. He redeemed himself by busting out the kettle and ique 110. I wish he had used an UDS or other smoker. He did say this was for his last meal, and I can honestly say my UDS does far superior que than my gasser ever did. Some of this might be due to my experance level now. But I attest it more to the ability to control temps consistently. Air tight and designed for this exact use. The UDS is so basic and wonderful I really do personally prefer the direct fire taste, the flavor it adds is awesome. Reminds me of my grandfather cooking over a pit while camping as a kid. Im okay with him useing the oven to finish the butt but I can do the same thing at 300 on my UDS as well. :p
 
I wouldn't say that I learned a lot from this episode, as much as I do from a usual episode from alton. But I did enjoy seeing him use the same hardware as I do in the iQue. I was really hoping that maybe just maybe, him being the weber lover that he is, he would bust out a WSM, but alas, he went with the hot plate method, which I am not a fan of.

I was invited over to a friends house to smoke a pork shoulder on their electric smoker. This was the first time I had used a electric smoker which basically operated the same way as altons, a heated coil under a tray with wood chips/chunks. I must say the flavor was completely different....bad different. I missed my wsm... So when Alton said that electric was better for making bbq, I shook my head...

But I still thoroughly enjoyed the episode
 
Durzil said:
I was really disappointed in this show at first. Boneless butt. Eletric wood box smoker. I understand that the majority of America has a gasser and liked him showing that a gasser can be used for low and slow and I started queing in this exact way. He redeemed himself by busting out the kettle and ique 110. I wish he had used an UDS or other smoker.
Click to expand...

I have to agree wiith Durzil on this one. I liked seeing the temp/fan control being used. I was thinking he would use a decent smoker. Not a funny painted box, come on!
 
Sleepy Smoker said:
I love AB, always have, always will... and I did love this episode, but I have to ask...
Boneless pork butt, AB?
The joy of pulling a clean bone from a pork butt after 12-15 hours is not something I am willing to sacrifice!
Click to expand...

That's the part I just didn't get. He said to get boneless so you don't have to spend time de-boning. Who in the heck de-bones a pork butt?
He was filmed at Memphis in May and was probably within spitting distance of about 500 butts being smoked bone in.
I'll forgive him for that part and the electric smoker part. I still need to watch the last half on DVR, I haven't seen the kettle / iQue part yet.
 
I watched it last night as well. With you all on the deboning a Boston Butt. Never done it my self. I can understand why he went with the electric smoker/gas grill. You figure that the majority of his viewers would rather go that route, with out having to spend a fortune or buying something new.

I still like watching for the science behind things and the tid bits of information he shares. I have the 1st cook book of Good eats and it has some awesome recipes in it. Sadly though this is the last season of Good Eats, but he is suppose to be working on some new shows.
 
Pappy said:
I have to agree wiith Durzil on this one. I liked seeing the temp/fan control being used. I was thinking he would use a decent smoker. Not a funny painted box, come on!
Click to expand...

I think you guys are missing the point on this one. It seems to me that he was trying to show a way of using what a majority of Americans have or can get for very cheap. Sure using a UDS or WSM would have been great but he went the route of using some that was familiar to most normal folks. Seeing a something "weird" like a UDS is a turn off to most and since he was featuring how to cook vs how to build, I can totally see why he did what he did. The controller was pretty cool, wish they hadn't covered up the mfg, but oh well smart people will still seek it out.

As for the hot plates, I found it funny that he went back to this method. I can't find a hot plate anywhere that doesn't have that internal fuse where if the ambient temp get to a certain point it pops and shuts off. The other thing that I would be worried about is if that box had been treated with some sort of chemical. I understand that it the temps would be low but I wouldn't want to take the chance.

For me, it was a good show. I love AB. I love what he does with a mixture of cooking, science and factoids.



---
I am here: Google Maps
 
I as well have always loved Alton's shows and have learned a great deal from them. I found this show very entertaining and enjoyed watching it. I was also confused with the boneless butt and slightly disappointed with the electric smoker but all in all it was a good show. We must remember that Alton's normal audience aren't seasoned barbecuers like the people on this forum and he did a good job of introducing BBQ to his vast audience.
 
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