5 BBQ Myths Debunked (video)

[SlowmotionQue]

Where were these two guys when I was in high school? There's about 85% of a pretty good term paper just in the last couple of pages of this thread.

That's pretty good.:biggrin1:

 

[SlowmotionQue]

heh, this is getting to be like a bad Rocky movie where each of us take turns landing haymakers :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:






The test does answer the question and it does so in more ways than one. First, as you note, perhaps only a very small percentage of people would be able to tell the difference between all of the woods or some of them. This would answer the technical question of whether or not the woods gave off different flavors. Since at least SOME people could tell the difference, the answer would be "yes".

As you noted, there's a practical component as well. If the vast majority couldn't taste a difference between the woods, then for "practical purposes", "wood is wood, smoke is smoke". Again, question answered.


In reading your responses and thinking about them, it dawned on me that the test in question would tell us even more once you go in and start sifting the data. Forgive me here as it's been quite some time since I sat through a Marketing or Stats class, so I'm more than a bit rusty and not up on the correct terminology. But, as with any kind of poll/test, the more tests/results the better. As the data set increases, you can begin to make more and more inferences from that data.


On one hand, you can start dividing people into groups based on their ability to differentiate. On one side you'd have a group who can't tell a difference between any of the woods. On the other end of the spectrum, those who were able to differentiate all the woods. In the middle groups you'd have people of various levels of success.

From that data, you could then start to compare one species of wood to others. Or even groups of woods to other groups. For example, the data might indicate that X % of people have no trouble distinguishing between peach and hickory. Or that y% can taste a difference between pecan and apple.

Digging further into the results, it might turn out that certain woods are really close in flavor and difficult to distinguish between one or the other.









Will address below...





I disagree here. Sure, some might grab whatever is on sale, but it's possible that while they might taste a difference, they aren't overly partial to one or the other, so they grab what is cheapest.




Cool.




I haven't tried any kind of testing with all the woods, but I can tell you for sure that a couple of friends and family members have no trouble distinguishing between the smell of burning hickory and apple or the taste.






Again with the matching. I'm not asking them to match and matching or not matching doesn't accurately test the question. hell, I can't smell cheeses then taste cheeses and correctly match which smell went with which taste. But I sure can taste some Mozz and then some Jack and tell you that they are different cheeses.


Simple straight forward test. here are two pieces of meat that have been smoked. Do they taste the same or do they taste different ? <cleanse palate> here are two more, same or different ? <cleanse palate> Here are two more, same or different? <cleanse palate> Here are yet two more, same or different ? ...

I hope that you are having as much of a blast with this as I am.

I appreciate the dialogue, and whether or not we agree on all points, is beside the point. The importance is in the actual dialogue and exchange of thoughts and ideas.

i'm sure that those reading are watching with interest in the discussion. To say nothing of the the gentleman who put up the video and who has now inconspicuously stepped aside.

With regard to your last comment:

Simple straight forward test. here are two pieces of meat that have been smoked. Do they taste the same or do they taste different ? <cleanse palate> here are two more, same or different ? <cleanse palate> Here are two more, same or different? <cleanse palate> Here are yet two more, same or different ? ...

But here is my point.

When you ask "same or different" you're going to get some who say "same" when the two are different, and you are going to get some who say "different" when they are the same.

Which two woods are being compared, or which three woods are being compared, or which four woods are being compared, or which 5 woods are being compared, or which 6 woods are being compared, might, and probably will have an impact on those incorrect responses.

If the two, the three, the four, the five, or the six woods being compared are similar in smell and taste, well then I'd look for more erroneous responses.

With regard to:

...I haven't tried any kind of testing with all the woods, but I can tell you for sure that a couple of friends and family members have no trouble distinguishing between the smell of burning hickory and apple or the taste.

I don't doubt it.

There are some people who have exceptional ability.

Barry Bonds was said to be able to positively identify a number written onto a fastball pitched to him while he was standing in the batter's box.

Perhaps your friends and family members whom you describe above, are the exception as opposed to the rule.

Who knows?

At any rate, I appreciate the debate, and intend to continue to stay away from Mesquite and stick with hickory, pecan and peach for my smoking needs.

Good luck.

 

[Demosthenes9]

I hope that you are having as much of a blast with this as I am.

I appreciate the dialogue, and whether or not we agree on all points, is beside the point. The importance is in the actual dialogue and exchange of thoughts and ideas.

i'm sure that those reading are watching with interest in the discussion. To say nothing of the the gentleman who put up the video and who has now inconspicuously stepped aside.

I'm having a great time with it!! Thanks for the discussion. My worry is that the back and forth might be off putting to others, leaving them shaking their heads and saying STFU!!! :mrgreen:

With regard to your last comment:



But here is my point.

When you ask "same or different" you're going to get some who say "same" when the two are different, and you are going to get some who say "different" when they are the same.

Which two woods are being compared, or which three woods are being compared, or which four woods are being compared, or which 5 woods are being compared, or which 6 woods are being compared, might, and probably will have an impact on those incorrect responses.

If the two, the three, the four, the five, or the six woods being compared are similar in smell and taste, well then I'd look for more erroneous responses.

Sure, that will happen. One way to try and weed that out on the individual level is to repeat the exact same offering/pairing a number of times. It's kind of like how a personality test asks basically the same question 3 or 4 times to try and ensure that you are giving a truthful answer instead of just trying to game the test. On the macro level, it's ok to get some wrong/invalid answers here and there as they will all smooth out in the aggregate as the sample size increases.

In structuring the test, I'd probably just go with two woods for each comparison.

With regard to:

I don't doubt it.

There are some people who have exceptional ability.

Barry Bonds was said to be able to positively identify a number written onto a fastball pitched to him while he was standing in the batter's box.

Perhaps your friends and family members whom you describe above, are the exception as opposed to the rule.

Who knows?

At any rate, I appreciate the debate, and intend to continue to stay away from Mesquite and stick with hickory, pecan and peach for my smoking needs.

Good luck.

I don't know that they are like Barry Bonds. It's just that when i have a cook, they can take a bite and tell if I used apple or hickory to smoke the ribs. Or if the smoker is going when they get here, they can take a whiff and tell which of the two woods I am using.

 

[jestridge]

I agree 100%,

 

[medic92]

They said what I was thinking all along.

 

[BillN]

Enjoyed the video and have found what you are saying to be true for my experience. Especially for the wood I use. As long as I am producing "clean" smoke nearly "invisible" there is no difference in taste. Now if I let the fire get away from me and I start to lose my coal bed, then different woods will produce different smoke until I get my coal bed back to where it should be.

 

[SoCalWJS]

Good job Bigmista! :clap:

You are getting better and better with these things. This one obviously stirs up a bit of the proverbial hornets' nest as it touches several sacred cows. Interesting discussions going on.

I think that the basic premise of several different techniques will produce good/great BBQ is one that is obvious and I agree with. The main thing is the cook, not the cooker, and to know how to use your equipment to it's best advantage.

The one question I would raise would be the temp issue. I always read and believed that you needed to ease these fatty cuts of Meat in their "plateau" zone as long as possible for maximum rendering to get the most flavor and moisture. I have never personally done much experimenting as I am quite happy with most of my results (with the occasional clunker). I need to work more on recipes than technique. My Spices/rubs/marinades/mops/sauces are not as good as those I have run into over the years, but I am working on it.

Good video Neal! Loved the humor!