Spritzing: Not buying that it makes any difference

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CentralOhioBBQ

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Apple juice. Apple juice concentrate. Vinegar brown sugar mixes. I’ve tried them all.

Aside from subtly, if at all, impacting the flavor of the bark- I see zero benefit. The old saying “it keeps the meat moist” seems like BS to me. How does periodically spritzing impact the moisture of the internal meat? Bark forms whether you spritz or not, so the bark formation protecting meat from drying out, if that’s your belief, takes place regardless of spritzing.

I’ve recently stopped spritzing brisket, shoulders, chickens, ribs, etc. I see no positive benefit for the hassle (even though it’s a small one).

I know others wholeheartedly disagree. I’m curious as to the logic against mine. Thoughts?
 
I rarely mop or spritz. The amount of cooking time it adds, is much worse, than the benefit you get. When I wrap ribs, I do like to put some apple/cherry concentrate in the foil. That does add a noticeable flavor. FYI, I don't like water smokers either, so I think it is a personal thing.
 
I never spritz but the PBC provides a moist environment so I see no need.
 
I never spritz. Opening the cooker over and over? Not good in opinion. But that's just me. Nothing wrong with spritzing if it works for you.

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I agree with all the comments above but I still spritz my ribs. I guess I’m a creature of habit. I also use one large ice ball in my Old Fashioned rather than cubes, ice is ice....
 
It depends on my mood, to be honest. Some days I like to baby sit my meat and spritz. And when I do, it’s with apple juice, vinegar, and honey warmed up to dissolve the sugars. It’s definitely noticeable.
 
Czarbecue said:
It depends on my mood, to be honest. Some days I like to baby sit my meat and spritz. And when I do, it’s with apple juice, vinegar, and honey warmed up to dissolve the sugars. It’s definitely noticeable.
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I would think honey would be noticeable.

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I spritz with acv. It works for me. To each is their own? Who cares. If it works for you good. If it don’t fine. DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!
 
My experiments have not found spritzing to make a big difference. It will keep the outside of the meat moist, which will subsequently evaporate off in the heat, so I can't see how spritzing contributes to the overall moisture of the meat.

I think it's more about about the prep of the meats, how your pit cooks, and timing.
 
CentralOhioBBQ said:
Apple juice. Apple juice concentrate. Vinegar brown sugar mixes. I’ve tried them all.

Aside from subtly, if at all, impacting the flavor of the bark- I see zero benefit. The old saying “it keeps the meat moist” seems like BS to me. How does periodically spritzing impact the moisture of the internal meat? Bark forms whether you spritz or not, so the bark formation protecting meat from drying out, if that’s your belief, takes place regardless of spritzing.

I’ve recently stopped spritzing brisket, shoulders, chickens, ribs, etc. I see no positive benefit for the hassle (even though it’s a small one).

I know others wholeheartedly disagree. I’m curious as to the logic against mine. Thoughts?
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Exactly. The one thing I've heard claimed for spritzing that I agree with: it slows down your cook (not just because of smoker heat loss from opening the door, but from lowering the temp of the meat with cool liquid). If you want lower and slower, that's the only benefit I see. I don't do it.
 
Agreed on it being a waste of time. Adds slight flavor to bark and I don’t really see a difference in moisture. Maybe if you don’t use a water pan and the air in your smoker is very dry you might get some evaporative cooling but I’ve never seen any difference. I feel like I’m just rinsing rub off if anything.
 
Spritzing and mopping can add flavor and effect color. What's in a spritz matters, it needs alot of flavor to add anything noticeable.

Spritz and mops are older techniques. Wrapping replaces them. Modern pits are also better....
Well I mean more controllable. Especially with thermometers. We can now walk the line getting hotter cook temps up to but before the point of burning. Old school, with no temp measure and less controlled fires can make use of mops and spritzed to help cool the surface. This is magnified on direct heat type cookers.

When I cook I take care to not let the bark get burned up. If it does the meat inside is likely nuked. There are multiple ways to deal with this. We can trim in a way that prevents this, add a difusser or plates, wrap before things go too far, move meat in the pit to cooker spot or even spritz and mop. One of my tricks has been to use aluminum foil as a space shuttle style heat shield to protect from the brunt of the heat.

Another tool in the kit and a way to layer in more flavors
 
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