Are we nearing the end of the golden age of BBQ YouTube?

[Michael_in_TX]

I was scrolling through some of the various Facebook BBQ groups I subscribe to and one member made an acutely interesting observation. He tongue-in-cheek phrased it as "I'm not sure I can take watching Jeremy Yoder do another brisket." It wasn't meant as a slight against Jeremy Yoder / Mad Scientist BBQ; Jeremy puts out fantastic and instructive videos, but the poster was asking.....are BBQ YouTubers/Content Creators running out of things to cook?

It's really been in the past 5-7 years that we've seen Cooking YouTube really mature. There are a great many hobbyists both in BBQ and general cooking that put out weekly (and perhaps even more frequently) videos with production values that equal or even surpass traditional broadcast productions. Many of these have gone on to make this a very lucrative source of income. Guga and Joshua Wiseman even have full-on production companies with many staff members.

But I really do wonder if the BBQ-focused channels are starting to run out of ideas. Malcom Reed (How to BBQ Right) has been doing this longer than most anyone. He used to do a video a week, but that cadence has dropped to perhaps a video a month at most, perhaps even longer between videos. Of course, he is now running a sizable retail business with several employees, which I am sure is taking up much of his time.

I've noticed some of the smaller channels I follow have stopped producing altogether. (Again, of course, there could be many reasons for this. Producing videos takes a lot of time and the ROI may not have been there for them.)

Other channels are starting to re-do old videos to update the recipes and production quality, but its nothing "new." (In contrast, Bradley Robinson / Chud's BBQ is producing some of the more creative videos and perhaps has the most variety of a modern professionally-produced channel.)

I think it will be interesting to see how BBQ YouTube continues to evolve when the classics are all "cooked out", as it were. One of my barometers is Matt Pittman's / Meat Church's channel. He's been doing this seriously for a little over three years, but he concentrates on Texas-Style BBQ. He is also very deliberate in what he selects to film, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts. I think he's done all the smoked turkey, brisket, and rib videos one can do. (Or, I could be pleasantly wrong.)

Just my musings on this Sunday morning.

[Jerod Broussard]

Only so many ways to wrap a brisket.

[Purc]

Maybe. I watched a lot of Baby Back Maniac, T Roy Cooks, Malcolm Reed, Ballestic BBQ, Cooking with Ry, BBQ Pit Boys and my favorite Phil n Florance. For some reason, I just don't watch as many as I did before, and I really don't know why. I still want to learn.

[Mosca]

I’ve found that at a certain point nobody is telling me anything I didn’t know. Putting that into practice is what is hard, and videos ain’t gettin’ me there.

[Michael_in_TX]

I forgot about BBQ Pit Boys. They probably have been doing this the longest..since 2008 if I remember right. They also have the most variety and really branched out into griddling, pizzas, etc.

[Johnny Booth]

I still watch BBQ Pitmasters all the time. 🤓 On Netflix - BBQ Showdown - I thought that was a new twist, but only two seasons. I never ‘watch’ YouTube, never subscribe, just search, so there is plenty I have yet to see.

I spend a few hours looking through vids to learn about the traditional / historical methods before I cook something for the first time. That’s fun for me. The other things I search for help me decide on a particular method or style, spice, sides etc.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

The pellet cooker guys need to do like I do... yes it can smoke stuff nice... but a good pellet cooker is a damn fine oven, start seeing what you can get away with baking with smoke... the cookbook greatly expands when you approach it that way. Otherwise, yes only a few of the youtube BBQ guys are gonna survive the next few years, because most of them have got not only stale but also annoying

[fkrall]

+1!

[LA Pork Butt]

I think you are correct. I’ve been in the Pit since 2014, and while I don’t have any data to support this, the cooking posts seemed begin decreasing about three years ago. There can be multiple reasons for this, but saturation may be one. There is only so much you can say about cooking a Boston Butt until we have heard it all before. It seems there have been more off topic posts which are much more facebook like in nature, Don’t get me wrong those post are safer here than they would ever be on facebook. The Pit seems to be a much more caring community than facebook. I would guess everything has a saturation point. I noticed when Kamados reached that point both in the Pit and the market place. In the Pit you can probably find any information on cooking that you need without engaging the Pit community. I guess that is one of the downsides to technology and social media. Those who regularly post make this a special community.

[Mosca]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs I was thinking the other day that it’s been a long time since I put an outdoor cook on SUWYC! Partly that’s because it’s winter, but a big part of it is also that at any time I’m going to do what interests me the most. So I try to at least keep it outdoor-adjacent, like the salsa, and the beans. But I gotta get out there and put some smoke on something, and soon!

[jerrybell]

I've thought the same thing about The Pit for a while. There's less discussion about recipes, methods, and equipment and more off-topic content than in the past.

[WayneT]

Saturation was the word I was going to use also. Like in economics, as long as profit or social capital potential remains, people will jump into an activity.

[DaveD]

I don't actually watch any given channel regularly; instead I search for whatever it is I want advice on, what I am trying to learn. I do subscribe to Chuds but I think that's it. But it's a good point that once one has mastered the basics, there is less need for such things and I could well understand the presenters reaching a point where they might feel they've contributed all they have to offer.

[UncleFester]

I think a shift to Tik Tok content probably plays a role here in some cases...

[captainlee]

After watching so many of the videos I think it comes down now, to the experienced pit masters, that you have figured out what works best for you. Unless there is something totally revolutionary, my style of smoking won't change. Of course flavor profiles are great to play with to keep your flavors fresh and exciting. I'm not interested in watching the videos anymore.

[Old Glory]

I love watching cooking videos on YouTube. I does seem like the BBQ guys have reached a saturation point. There are many other "shows" I watch now but will always go back to my favorite BBQ gurus for a refresher or to see new content.

[Smoked Transistors]

+1 for using BBQ videos as a refresher course. I never like to take notes, but probably should

[BKYDBBQ]

I would like to see more side dish videos, that might be a good shift for some of them.

I listen to Malcolm's podcast and his wife often talks about some of the sides and non grilled items that she fixes and I would love to see a recipe / video on them.

[HawkerXP]

+1

[acorgihouse]

Agreed with the above. Forgive me for being obnoxious, I can go quietly if not acceptable. I'm used to it, I rub the wrong way pretty often. Some people here really need to branch out, I think. Smoking a brisket is not the mountaintop, nor is making a smash burger on your griddle. These are basics, and yes, we all want to master them, but you come to a point of hitting the wall. Nowhere left to go.
I come here for the conversation, but also for the seeing things that others who get way into cooking are doing. Those cool pizzas, and the fish dishes, and the fancy burgers and great steaks. Who really needs to see another smoked hunk of meat that looks like a hundred other photos? Yes, is cool if you did it, and I would never discourage, but not particularly exciting.
YouTube would be same, I think. Not only are the people posting there in the same boat, but putting more energy and resources into repeating would not be terribly productive. So, if Meat Church makes a great video of smoking a brisket, do they really need to do another every few months? No, I'm thinking.
In the food/cooking realm, there is a lot more out there than bbq. Lots. Sometimes meat related, or grill/smoke related, often not, but we can all benefit from looking at those other spots and seeing what is out there. I get that this is a website started with grilling and smoking, but in the end, we are all eaters. And we all want to eat well, amirite?

[Johnny Booth]

Not obnoxious, maybe just direct. I agree, and I don’t. 😂

[MsTwiggy]

I learn something everytime I cook. I love it, sometimes I am tired but I will always enjoy cooking. The wind, the cooker, the charcoal, who I’m making the meal for, what I end up doing with the leftovers because of the vegetables that were in my fridge. I don't think one cook is like another at all. If we step back far enough, yes we are repeating steps maybe even emulating the method we used last time. You can’t stand in the same river twice . . .its the journey, I want to hang out with it 🐿️

[WayneT]

I’ve seen a lot more diversity in cooking/smoking in my short time here in the Pit. I really learned a lot about Sous Vide cooking too, which was a game changer for me. In particular, the SVQ and QVQ approaches for animal proteins was a great experiment and addition to the body of culinary knowledge. And, as she ^ said, “I learn something every time I cook”.

[bmillin]

Might be that the rudimentary " how to cook a whatevre " might be getting saturated. I enjoy Sam the cooking guy, usually something new there. Guga has some good experiments. The drive to create new content with just brisket is not going to last.

Also the content focused on offsets - that is a limited market.

[tenphases]

Bbq needs young blood the different cook videos are new to them but they need updated videos. Buuutttt - they buy pellet cookers and many like meat but they all have vegan/vegetarian/pescetarian friends. For it to thrive and grow the way it has in the past 20 it has to attract the youngins.

or not, I got enough vids to last a lifetime 😁

[MsTwiggy]

Folks need to eat more plants, meat is fine and protein is important, but what keeps us from oxidizing are all the amazing compounds in fruits and vegetables. If we prepared as many vegetables as we should be eating the vegans would feel right at home at the table. 🍆🥗🥦🥒🥕🍅🥬🧅🧄🫛🫑🍆🥗🍠🍒🍓🍇🍎🍉🍑🍊🍋🥑🍌🔥🔥🐿️

[tenphases]

No it can thrive by being just what it is, bbq doesn't have to change

OP asked if we are entering the end of the YouTube golden era. I think we are and I'm ok with that. I learned a lot and have my favorites.

I do believe for it to grow in the social media world and cross generational it will have to appeal to a broader audiences which means including different dietary habits.

That being said bbq can thrive even after the YouTube "golden age" lol it thrives in my backyard 5x a week.

[tenphases]

I agree Veganism as a fad is fading but the young bucks are making healthier choices than we did. They have access to info that we didn't and they are using it.

[Uncle Bob]

There's a lot that could be unpacked from your opening dialogue Michael_in_TX. We could go deep into discussions about business start up, marketing, human psychology, and on and on. All in addition to the commentary already posted. An additional factor that gave the whole YT world a boost was the pandemic reactions of the political class that essentially "shut down" the world for a time, which drove folks to seek some alternate form of social interaction. I'd love to see charting of YT growth in that time and immediately after.

Like any new "technology", there's an evolutionary cycle to be traversed, and so it is with YT. The barriers to entry are comparatively low, so new players come in who range from not very good to amazing, and all that goes between. If you were to go to the search bar on YT (if you haven't already) and look for vids on "Why are creators quitting YouTube" you'll find quite a few YT pioneers doing some manner of catharsis explaining either their reasons or commenting on others. That isn't to say YT is dead or dying, it's just evolving. There will likely be (in some cases, already are) extra creative people who will figure out a way to spice up their favored market slice presentations so as to continue to satisfy/increase their audience.

None of this is new of course, from the media evolving pov. Think of other entertainment/learning venues, such as TV series. We have the expression "Jumped the shark....." from the show Happy Days. It basically means the writers had done it so long they ran out of ideas so started churning out ridiculous, out of context, pap. Time to move on or refresh.............................

[Michael_in_TX]

Wonderful points. It seems the creators that have managed to secure consistent and varied external sponsorships seems to be the most stable. Relying solely on Youtube's algorithm to generate revenue seems fickle and stressful.