Automation in BBQ, Good or Bad?

[Greygoose]

Automation leads to a more rapid depletion of the inventory of PBR’s,,,,,,

[bbqLuv]

PBR's what are you trying to say?

[latenight71]

Automation!!

set it . . . and forget it . . .

course then we might be fielding noobie question like, "how long does it take to smoke ribs in my microwave?"

[bbqLuv]

The answer is simple, apply Liquid Smoke, Nuke til done.

[bbqLuv]

Long Beach Ca. I lived there about 66 years ago. Don't remember much. Maybe eating squid or octopus at the beach. I wonder if that little stand is still there. Will you check for me? I think it was white if that helps.

[radiodome21]

I like technology. Back in January I was watching some YouTube videos of some COS that I was considering may be purchasing one day. I also happen to have had a pork butt on my pellet grill while I was watching these videos. Outside it was in the low teens and it was windy with a low wind chill. I asked myself the question, If I had an offset smoker would I be using it right now to smoke this butt. Without batting an eye I said hell no. And ever since that I kind of pretty much stopped looking at getting an EOS.

if anything, having a pellet smoker has made me appreciate my WSM even more than before. In 2020 I hardly ever used it, maybe three or four times all year. And it was for shorter cooks like ribs and chicken. Last year I used it more and often in conjunction with my pellet smoker. I added a Billows fan too and will try some overnight cooks on it once the weather warms up. Love my pellet smoker and have a much deeper appreciation for the WSM. Planning on using both of them more in the upcoming year.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I guess I look at it a different way. My pellet grill and fireboard are about as automated as I'm gonna go. I like it because other than knife work and seasoning, my results are consistent. Makes it much easier to learn. I do plan on an offset or kettle of some sort at some point, I do play around with my PKGO from time to time.

I use what I've learned with my automated devices to reduce the things I have to worry about when playing with my dumb grill

[Draznnl]

Who anointed us the gatekeepers of legitimate barbecue?

If someone has no room to stack or store wood for an offset cooker, should they be denied the pleasure of smoked meat? If someone doesn't want to stand outside feeding a firebox in winter's negative wind chills, should they be denied the pleasure of smoked meat? If someone is all thumbs and can't maintain a fire or a consistent temperature no matter what, should they be denied the pleasure of smoked meat? If someone prefers the control and ease of a pellet smoker with a Fireboard controller over chopping wood and stoking a firebox, should they be denied the pleasure of smoked meat?

To the dinosaurs who say "pit, fire, meat." I say enjoy
To the purists who love their WSM's and EOS's, I say enjoy.
To those who want the convenience modern technology provides, I say enjoy your pellet cookers.

[MBMorgan]

Pellet cooker, sous vide, slow cooker ... all excel at relatively long-duration time&temp management ... which is something I don't enjoy fiddling with. So three cheers for at least those three automatons in my cooking world. FWIW, I'm pretty happy with the level of smoke that my particular pellet cooker (a Grilla OG) puts out so I haven't spent much time worrying about the need to augment (and automate, please) its capabilities in that area ... but I've been thinking about something WAY beyond just adding a little a little smoke tube if and when then urge ever strikes.

I like my automated rotisserie on my gasser ... so another cheer for that.

In the kitchen, beyond the obvious (mostly-automated) double ovens, Instant Pot, and dedicated rice cooker, I don't depend much on automation, per se. I depend 99% on my knife skills over what the (vaguely-automated) food processor can do ... although grinding hamburger and even mixing a few select types of dough ('though having nothing to do with knife skills) are exceptions ... so there's that, too.

I'm fond of (automated) timers indoors and out ... and will confess to geeking out over the fact that I can now simply verbally instruct my Apple Watch (via Siri) to start and stop a multitude of simultaneous timers and alarms ... without even having to pause and wash or wipe my hands. More cheers ...

So nope ... I have absolutely no use for automation in my BBQ'ing, grilling, smoking, and general cooking life ... beyond those little (more-or-less automated) conveniences that give me more time to devote to the things most important (to me):

Planning, prepping, seasoning, flavoring, consuming-adequate-wine-and-beer-while-waiting-on-the-cooking-to-finish, plating, serving, and enjoying ...

... now if only someone would automate the cleanup process.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

the last part... still waiting on our Rosie the Robot we were promised in our youth

[MBMorgan]

… dang Heinlein … promised but never delivered on that one. At least we have our Roomba.

[Richard Chrz]

Pretty much anything beyond digging a pit in the ground, is using some sort of cheat. I personally do not want a grill that needs to be plugged in,or firmware updates, and peel;ets, and hoppers, etc. but,for some they are the ideal. So, for those I am happy that there is something that gets you started.if they really enjoy the craft,they likely will switch or add. But, if others are happy, I’m happy for them. Just not my thing, currently.

[Mark V]

This. If you want to learn, automation is not the thing. If you don't learn, you can't instruct a machine to do better, so it can't. I hope what I mean comes through there ... Oh wth.

[Richard Chrz]

Made total sense to me, and I agree.

[DavidNorcross]

It is all about preparing food....How you get there is up to you.

[SmokeyGator]

Technology is your friend. Would you buy a car that had a hand crank starter? No. You expect at the minimum just having to turn a key. But everything new has a push start button.

The joy is in the finished product. And it is still done "right". I can put something in my Primo XL tonight, set the controller up, and then go to bed. I do not need to stay up all night checking on the cooker and fiddling with vents to keep the temperature from going too high or too low. So when the food is done, I am not too tired to enjoy it.

Basically, tech makes low and slow more available to me. Therefore, I enjoy it more often. The alternative? I am sure I could do it, but I wouldn't nearly as often.

[DaveD]

Amen.

[grantgallagher]

For me its just what works when. I want to cook with fire and i have the time, i can do that. I want to smoke a chuckie for 8-10 hours for dinner and get an undistracted full days work in…pellet grill is the best thing since sliced bread.

[Oak Smoke]

In the beginning I was one of those that sat outside and watched the temp all day. Then I quit drinking and decided I didn’t want to set there all day. A smobot changed that perfectly for me. Good food, good flavor, and no watching that temp gauge all day. I have no problem with how anyone rolls automated or completely primitive. If at the end of the day you love what you’ve cooked it doesn’t matter how you got there.

[texastweeter]

I think it comes down to your individual preference on balancing 2 things. What is the enjoyable part to you, and how important are they to you. The process or the food. If you just want the food, automation goes up. If you enjoy the process then it goes down. For each of us there is a balance. Its like hunting to me. Once I pull the trigger or loose the arrow, most of the fun is over.

[DaveD]

Really appreciate this thoughtful thread! And please don't get me wrong, I love to make a fire, tend it, watch the flames, there's a primal attraction to that. I can easily see how for some that could be one of the best parts of the whole deal. Case in point: When my lovely bride and I first got together, I was a die-hard charcoal-burning kettle user. Use a GAS grill??? Pffffft. But my wife, who is just an amazing cook, patiently continued to point out where a gas grill has many advantages, and after a few years I gave in, and haven't gone back. Reproducibility and controllability won out, just as they have in my choice of smoker.

But I could see getting a kettle again now, to add to the gasser and smoker... things have come a long way since then (looking at you, SnS)...

[Joey877]

I have no issue with technology nor anyone that takes advantage of it. I often take advantage of it myself. That said, my own personal preference simply does not involve something like a pellet pooper. It's not the technology I don't like, it's the "set it and forget it" I don't like. I enjoy the process of BBQ, and to me a fully automated process means I get no enjoyment out of it. I regularly cook food I don't like and won't eat because I enjoy the cook. Pushing a couple buttons and filling a hopper just isn't BBQ to me. It's much less about the result and more about the process. Do I enjoy smoked ribs? Sure. Does it matter how they got to my plate? It does if I was the cook. It does not if I wasn't. Just my personal preference. Hope that makes sense.

[BBQPhil]

A pellet cooker (Yoder) was life changing for me and enabled me to smoke consistently and often. I had struggled with a BGE, adding fans and feedback thermometers with inconsistent success. A pellet grill allowed me to smoke for 15 hrs or longer overnight. I would agree automation and tech can be taken too far and it's important to know the difference. I avoid using tech to turn on a light bulb when I can use a switch.