Great BBQ is it the machine or the mind

[btcg]

Originally Posted by JD McGee

Seriously??? You folks really believe a machine can be the deciding factor...put your guitar on top of your smoker and see what happens without YOU...lol! Give me a break!

Not getting you.

A 10 to 30 percent improvement isn't worth doing? It won't make a difference?

From what I've heard, you're a pretty darn good cook. Seems to me that you'd want to improve any aspect you could.

[btcg]

Originally Posted by Kenny Rogers

Farked Up Beyond All Recognition

In the service biz, the "R" is repair.

[Bourbon Barrel BBQ]

Originally Posted by smokingj

well plenty of folks have won comps with just a UDS, even the Grand Champion of the Royal in 2005. But I guess some folks need to have a Jag, Mercedes, $100,000 yacht, etc. in order to feel important or whatever the case may be.

Or like to sleep.

[JD McGee]

Originally Posted by btcg

Not getting you.

A 10 to 30 percent improvement isn't worth doing? It won't make a difference?

From what I've heard, you're a pretty darn good cook. Seems to me that you'd want to improve any aspect you could.

Lol...where would the percentage of improvement come from? The smoke...the fuel...the meat...the sauce...the spice...or the person eating the bbq? All are weilded by the person operating the machine except the person eating your que...and THAT is totally subjective. I seek improvements in our flavor profiles...not the machine...:o)

[btcg]

Originally Posted by Bourbon Barrel BBQ

Or like to sleep.

I don't think anyone is saying that good equipment will turn a poor cook into a good cook... but if you could make a change that improved your product by even 5%... why wouldn't you do it?

That slight improvement might be all it would take to tip a situation in your favor.

To me, acknowledging and implementing something that makes you better, even if only marginally, is a sign of strenght, not weakness.

And especially so, in a comp. If I'm in any kinda comp, I want every edge I can get, and I'd wager most feel like I do.

[btcg]

Originally Posted by JD McGee

Lol...where would the percentage of improvement come from? The smoke...the fuel...the meat...the sauce...the spice...or the person eating the bbq? All are weilded by the person operating the machine except the person eating your que...and THAT is totally subjective. I seek improvements in our flavor profiles...not the machine...:o)

How about the taste of your food. That's my reference.

All other things being equal, better equipment that makes you even 5% better tasting food is worthwhile, at least to me.

[JD McGee]

Originally Posted by btcg

How about the taste of your food. That's my reference.

All other things being equal, better equipment that makes you even 5% better tasting food is worthwhile, at least to me.

Again...the taste of the food is subjective to the person eating it...the improvements would come from the mind creating the flavor profile...not the machine. I have had my arse handed to me by folks using the cheapest gear out there...then again...I have been fortunate enough to return the arse whoopin' to folks using the high end machines...

[Mister Bob]

In my opinion, as long as you can control temperature, humidity, and smoke level in your pit, a piece of meat doesn't know if it's in a UDS or a Jambo. Granted, some pits are so leaky or poorly designed that you can't control those factors, and so will not produce the highest level of results, and if that's the case, an upgrade will help. But to think that a high end cooker will automatically improve your BBQ, might be wishful thinking. Your money might be better spent on higher quality meats and/or spices, or maybe a cooking class or two.

On any given Sunday, the best BBQ might come out of a UDS, or an EGG, or a WSM, or a Jambo, or a homemade pit that looks like something out of a Frankenstein movie. So to answer the original question, I believe great BBQ comes from the mind (and hands) of the pitmaster.

[kihrer]

Let me ask it this way... Take Joe Average BBQ cook who's turning out a 160 average on brisket using an SnP. He doesn't change his recipe but buys a Backwoods or a Stumps. Does his average go up? If a baker bakes two loafs of bread - one in a GE and the other in a Thermador is the one from the Thermador better?

To add to the mental aspect, what if the cook is more confident with his Backwoods or Thermador, does that give him a mental edge that might improve his score?

Just curious.

[viper1]

I've been in skilled trades for almost 40 years. Heard that its the tools not the person for ever it seems. Well trained a lot of guys and to tell the truth never seen one able to earn his wages till 8-10I years worth of training. And that's with a lot of testing before hiring to get the best and smartest. A tool usually never improves you work. It usually makes the job a little easier and faster. But hardly ever better. Skill and experience is the bottom line and only comes with time. No matter how smart you think you are.

[viper1]

Only a couple of things I can think off the top of my head. Meat would be one of the biggest. Top quality meat always makes a difference,grind your own spices from fresh stuff. Buy pids an d things to control heat. Watch it temps closely. Have good proven recipes and do them enough to always get it right. Oh yes if you need help get it. Either by pals or taking caress on what needs improved. Stupid is not trying to get better. Asking is always a good thing.

[btcg]

Originally Posted by kihrer

Let me ask it this way... Take Joe Average BBQ cook who's turning out a 160 average on brisket using an SnP. He doesn't change his recipe but buys a Backwoods or a Stumps. Does his average go up? If a baker bakes two loafs of bread - one in a GE and the other in a Thermador is the one from the Thermador better?

To add to the mental aspect, what if the cook is more confident with his Backwoods or Thermador, does that give him a mental edge that might improve his score?

Just curious.

Alton Brown answered this in his show "Right on Q" recently, when he placed his meat into his oven:


"Why even do this? Because it's an enclosed, moist environment, and trust me, the pros do it all of the time."


As good as my Weber kettle is, my Backwoods is far superior to it, as it's an insulated smoker, and it's much moister and more efficient environment.

[landarc]

Originally Posted by kihrer

Let me ask it this way... Take Joe Average BBQ cook who's turning out a 160 average on brisket using an SnP. He doesn't change his recipe but buys a Backwoods or a Stumps. Does his average go up? If a baker bakes two loafs of bread - one in a GE and the other in a Thermador is the one from the Thermador better?

To add to the mental aspect, what if the cook is more confident with his Backwoods or Thermador, does that give him a mental edge that might improve his score?

Just curious.

I don't think the example of the 160 brisket gets to it, as the brisket might be getting 160's becaue it tastes bad, the cooker won't fix that. It might be getting 160's becaue it is just average across all scores, that suggests the cook needs more skill, then again, maybe it was just tough, that might suggest a better cooker could have helped. Then again, a better cook might have gotten better results just because he is better. There is no one solution.

A better cooker is like a rising sea, it will lift all boats, any of us will be better if the cooker we change to allows us better control, better smoke, better timing etc...what will differentiate will still be the skill of the cooker.

[btcg]

Originally Posted by landarc

I don't think the example of the 160 brisket gets to it, as the brisket might be getting 160's becaue it tastes bad, the cooker won't fix that. It might be getting 160's becaue it is just average across all scores, that suggests the cook needs more skill, then again, maybe it was just tough, that might suggest a better cooker could have helped. Then again, a better cook might have gotten better results just because he is better. There is no one solution.

A better cooker is like a rising sea, it will lift all boats, any of us will be better if the cooker we change to allows us better control, better smoke, better timing etc...what will differentiate will still be the skill of the cooker.

My wife put it this way, after my first BWS brisket:

"Your food was really good with the Weber... but nothing like this"

Same recipe, but as you say, a rising tide lifts all boats.

[landarc]

Bill, as I see it, if your brisket was good already, then the BWS maybe made it better, or maybe just allowed you a little more control than the Weber. But, you started out making good brisket. It didn't make you a better cook, it maybe allowed your skill to shine a little more.