Ideas for BBQ video series?

[adamcoe]

Hey gang...so I'm thinking come springtime I might start a Youtube series of videos, but I wanted some input from my potential viewers (you folks) as to what you like and don't like to see, and if there's anything people aren't doing yet that you'd be interested in seeing. My setup is absolutely nothing special...just a drum smoker, a Jumbo Joe, and a run of the mill gasser (it doesn't get used a lot, usually just for keeping stuff warm or if I'm just gonna rip some quick burgers and dogs. The odd time for baked potatoes or something if I'm out of room. The vast majority of the time I'll be using the two charcoal cookers.)

My general ideas so far are:

- keep the videos 15 mins or under, hopefully around 10-12
- be very succinct in terms of showing prep...I'll always let people know what ingredients I'm using and what techniques I'm employing, but we've all seen videos where it's 4 solid minutes of a guy just putting rub on racks of ribs so I want to keep that to a minimum while still letting people know what I'm doing
- I'm thinking in addition to just straight up "here's a recipe and how to make it" type stuff (I'll still do some of those though), I'd like to do comparison cooks, ie. this method vs. that method for a particular cut of meat, or this rub vs. that rub, or 2 of the same cut at different times and temperatures, this sort of thing...even this vs. that brand of charcoal or whatever if that interests people.

Beyond that, I'd love to hear your input...what you like to see, what you don't like to see, and what I might do that no one's doing yet. I've got a modest but solid camera and audio setup (I'm an audio engineer and musician by trade), a couple of GoPros and whatnot so I think I'm pretty well set up to make a decent looking bunch of videos.

Anyway let me know your thoughts folks!

[Ahumadora]

I am currently making a run of 20 BBQ videos in Spanish of various recipes. For anyone with websites here is some great info https://goo.gl/w6xwka about videos in 2019

[lonnie mac]

I would say let's see em! Got a channel?

The main thing I would suggest is to decide right off the bat that this will be for fun. Not profit. Profit will happen if it's good, and only if you are having fun at it. And then probably not. LOL. I have a couple of channels, my music guitar channel I let go defunct many years ago. That was way back when YouHoo was bought out by Google monster, or whoever, and amazingly it was the same exact day I had a password reset. I lost all access to this channel and to this day I can not log in to it no matter what they have tried. But it was completely for fun and fun only although the dang thing has a few hundred thousand views. The last vid I posted on it was 10 years ago.

My other channel, motorcycle, a bit of guitar and I had a few cooking vids but I took them off, is also just for fun. I had it monetized for a very short while but that's when YouHoo changed everything up. It was no matter to me cus it is just a hobby. Vimeo channel, yea, no body watches my Vimeo channel!

If ya want to have fun, use up all your good gear and just shoot, then get after it man! I'd like to see! Just do it well. There is nothing that you are going to do that has not been done, even if it's just one video, someone somewhere has done it.

With great gear myself, and some editing skills I'll bet you have, make whatever you do quality, and not just content. I'll watch a crappy recipe in 4K and great audio, but I have a hard time sitting though a great recipe that I can't hear shot in 480p.

Let's see em man!

[adamcoe]

Oh yeah I have no illusions of making my millions as a YT star, especially not with the gear I'm cooking on now. This is strictly a for-fun maneuver. I'm out of the country for a couple of months yet (not to mention the current weather would be not so fun to film in) but come April-May I'd like to shoot maybe a half dozen to start and see if there's any interest. Release one a week or one every 2 weeks or something, see how it goes. I have a few ideas for topics for the first few so I'll give it a go and just see where it leads.

[lonnie mac]

Actually brother, cold snow weather Q would be something new! Can't wait to see some.

[adamcoe]

Oh yeah I don't mind cooking in the cold weather, it's just awfully hard to film is all. But I might give it a go...as I say, I don't get back on land (I work on a cruise ship) till April but Calgary has been known to get the odd April snowfall so you never know.

[Buck Flicks]

Nice! I'm looking forward to watching them.

Speaking from experience: Don't be so in love with your own writing and voice that you spend too much time talking to the camera while setting up the video. Quick intro, and then let your cooking and your banter while cooking and prepping be the majority of the video.

Also, don't go too crazy on the cheap video effects. A simple title with the name of the show, your name, and the topic of the video are enough. If you go heavy handed with the moving titles and flashes and pulses, it's just distracting. Dropping a nice hunk of meat over live coals is a far better visual than Video Toaster effects.

As Lonnie said, have fun with it, don't take yourself too seriously.

[adamcoe]

100% agreed on the graphics. My videos will definitely not feature any text that is on fire, explosions of any kind, or words like "extreme." And yeah, I feel like I'll do a lot of the talking via voice-over while showing stuff rather than my stupid face just talking into the camera.

[jumbo7676]

Based on questions I've seen pop up in the Pit and a few of my own, would be interesting to see some comparison cooks and how material these differences are in cook time, bark, smoke ring, moistness of meat.

Foil vs Butcher Paper vs unwrapped
Cooking 225 vs 275 (maybe even higher depending on the meat/cut)
Dry brining 24 hr vs 12 hr vs right before the cook
Dry rub vs adding liquid to a dry rub make a paste

[adamcoe]

All good suggestions...I know Aaron Franklin did a foil/paper/naked comparison for brisket, and I think I've seen a few others as well, but I might give it go either with brisket or pork butt. I've seen several for pork ribs. But yeah, can never have too many!

Definitely a 225/275 comparison would be interesting, I'll put that on my list for sure. Maybe even a 225/275/300 comparison. That dry brining comparison sounds cool too. Maybe do that as well as a dry brine/wet brine contest.

Also planning on doing a charcoal comparison, as normally I like to use all natural hardwood charcoal vs. Kingsford blue just because of the lower amount of ash, but I'd be interested to see if there's a huge difference in temperature and overall cook time, so that'll be one I do. Might do one comparing some of the so-called high end/competition charcoals as well to see if there's a huge difference in cook time or flavor.

Thanks for the suggestions and by all means keep em coming!

Cheers

[Old Glory]

I always liked Alton Brown's show...he explained why you use certain methods and techniques focusing on the whys and hows. Once you learn the technique you can play with the flavor and spices to adjust the cook to the way you like it.

[au4stree]

There has been good input so far, like Alton Brown, make it fun (not profit), comparison vids, cold weather vids, etc. I can tell you the videos I enjoy the most. I enjoy Baby Back Maniac vids, he does lots of comparison vids and product reviews. Plus he keeps it light-hearted and fun. Tom Horsman vids, because he does a good many restoration and modification videos. I like T-Roy cook vids because he generally does different recipes on different cookers, again, he keeps it layed back. Ballistic BBQ vids because he is always doing recipes that are clones of popular burgers, he'll throw in some bbq on occasion. Lastly, All Things BBQ vids because those recipes are always fantastic. I could go on and on, but I generally like modification and Alton Brown type cooks. Keep it fun and I'll subscribe.

Hope this helps.

[au4stree]

I would say let's see em! Got a channel?

The main thing I would suggest is to decide right off the bat that this will be for fun. Not profit. Profit will happen if it's good, and only if you are having fun at it.

This.

[adamcoe]

Definitely agree...T-Roy does great stuff, Alton Brown obviously needs no introduction, and I actually saw my first Ballistic BBQ video a couple days ago, he was doing some smoked wings in the one I saw with a really great sauce. Absolutely looking to keep it light hearted and in sort of the same vein as Baby Back Maniac, I've watched several of his and really like what he does as well. Getting stoked to get home and start filming these, I think I've got enough material to shoot maybe 5 or 6, then I'll release them maybe weekly or bi-weekly or something. Thanks for the ideas everyone!

[Buck Flicks]

If you like Alton Brown's style of "here's how and why this the best way" ... check out my favorite food book (not a cookbook, though it does have recipes) "What Einstein Told His Cook." Lots of food science. Love it. That could give you some ideas for demonstrations.