I just saw an old video of Malcom prepping up a pork belly. His videos have changed a bit from the old days, for the better, and i believe a little of his techniques. On the funny side he used to have aluminum foil everywhere even his landing shelf. What major changes have you made in your cooking style since you first got involved with smoking? I know that i was absorbing all the info and differences trying to make sense out of everything. I would say that i no longer wrap ribs. I'm not a competition cooker and am satisfied with the results for our tastes. On my bucket list is to do a no wrap brisket and pork butt.
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I just did my first ribs in 30 years that I didn’t wrap, I’m probably not going back. I’ve never wrapped butts so brisket is the next trial for me.
As for changes, I’m beginning to open up my ideas on others rubs and sauces. I always felt if I wasn’t using my own blends and sauces I wasn’t cooking my food but just cooking someone else’s. I spent 100s of hours and countless dollars formulating my rubs and sauce. Slowly I’m moving away from those in favor of commercial products and really enjoying the outcome.
It started with the Weber seasoning blends for everyday grilling and feeding my family. They really brought some fresh tastes and my family really enjoyed them. I kept my “bbq” proprietary and very rarely tried anything new and almost never in the form it was presented. Always felt I needed to put my twist on it.
Im going to concentrate on the actually coking part / technique and enjoy the flavors others have created
I’m looking forward to the evolution.Last edited by CHNeal; January 31, 2023, 06:11 AM. -
Great one......
I used to spritz the meat all the time. Way too much and I never let that bark build up and set.
Basting ribs with sauce or glaze at the end. Now a days, I let the smoke and the meat talk more than anything. Nothing against some sweet smokey ribs with sauce or glaze but I guess my style has changed.
I used to inject briskets- I ave not done this for years. Too messy and I have never noticed a difference.
Cooking with the heat cranked while using cast iron. Once I realized that because it retains heat so well, you do not need to blast the heat to help the pan keep up, like you would with a steel pan. If you have it properly heat soaked, there is simply no need to crank the heat. Just cause you can blast the heat with cast iron does not mean you need to.
Great thread idea, I am sure I will be coming back to add some more to this!
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I learned to keep things simple and not sweat the little things. Dry brine, season, and toss it on the cooker until done as appropriate. Then the best part. EAT!Comment
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Smoking by hanging meat in a barrel has been the biggest change for me, and that happened years ago. In fact, it was getting the PBC that had me join The Pit. It was a different way to cook outdoors, different from a kettle or a gasser. And it was a ton of fun. A few years later came the WSCGC and a host of BBQ toys, rubs, and cooking gadgets that keep on coming.
Joining The Pit in 2014 when it first opened upped my game in all things related to smoking, outdoor cooking, indoor cooking, exchanging funny stories, and making new online friends. Win-win-win-win-and win.
KathrynComment
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I've been at this meat smoking thing for only about 18 months now, and it's fair to say my techniques have not stopped changing during all that time as I try things out, and expand my horizons. I came to all this with no preconceived notions, thankfully, and few bad habits to unlearn, having so little experience.
If I had to pick one thing that has made the biggest difference thus far (aside from smoking meat in the first place, rather than cook it in the kitchen), it would be dry brining. Big light bulb moment when the realization set in that NaCl can do things when it is alone that it can't do when mixed in with rubs & such. Diffusion ftw!Comment
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I still pretty much fly by the seat of my pants. 🤣
The biggest change for me over the years is understanding the differences between baking and cooking.
Baking is science. There's a reason for a specific amount of an ingredient.
Cooking is more flexible. Don't have an ingredient...skip it, or sub a different one. Like more of this ingredient in your dish...add it in..
while I do bake some, cooking is better suited to my style..
The other thing I've learned, and has been strongly reinforced here in the pit, is there is always more than one way to do something. Things not done the way I do them are not done wrong, they're done differently...Comment
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Gosh, so many things have changed. The biggest ones for me: dry brining, using Sous Vide before grilling or in conjunction with smoking stuff, and cooking to temp using various temp probes (both ambient and IT).Comment
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SV is the biggest change. I have been smoking meat and grilling stuff for a very long time and my basic techniques haven't changed; they have just been tweaked. I dry brine just about everything now; I don't sauce my ribs as much. I smoke different things beyond just butts ribs and brisket. Lamb neck is one of my favorites when I can find it. Chuckies. And, thanks to a bunch of enablers I know, I have many more tools and toys.Comment
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I find it interesting to note the differences in approach of disparate groups; e.g. here in The Pit vs. various FB groups. On here folks seem more interested in expanding their knowledge and subsequent skills, not so much relying on "THE WAY". In the other groups it tends toward the advanced newbs instructing the new newbs that "such and so is the best/only way/thing" to achieve whatever objective. Experimentation is learning, and here in The Pit folks will be more willing to experiment as their confidence grows. Perhaps those folks on the other groups who are more adventuresome end up leaving the narrow focused groups and move on to groups like we have here.
In earlier years, when I was deep in the automotive hobby world, we would joke (in a self revealing way) that the hobby was really just an excuse to acquire tools (toys justifying toys). I'm sure woodworkers understand. And watching various posts here shows some of the same proclivity. Cast iron implements, thermometer options, add on accessories, and other helpful/absolutely necessary (
) devices offer endless joy. And who doesn't enjoy watching a fellow Pit member step up to buying a device you might have suggested worth adding to the arsenal?
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What major changes have you made in your cooking style?
We've said it before: even if you don't change anything else about the way you cook proteins, the proper use of a GOOD meat thermometer will improve your cooks exponentially.Comment
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I have been fortunate enough to actually visit regions of the country to taste the local BBQ. The region I haven't been to is Texas and I've got my work cut out for me there because it's such a big place. What I have found is that the BBQ I am making at home is on par with local joints in different regions I've been to.
I also am now confident and turning out tasty, tender briskets. The brisket was overwhelming me when I came to this site, and you all have helped me turn my most dreaded cook into my favorite cook. (I don't wrap.)
BrianComment
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All of the above!
Edit: and all of the below!Last edited by CaptainMike; January 31, 2023, 11:43 AM.Comment
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I have to say, that my biggest change is my distress orange OKJ Bronco...
The greatest smoking device ever invented...
With very easy temperature control to the amount of clean smoke you can generate. Easy maintenance.
To the top quality finished product it produces...
I couldn't be more happy with the Bronco...
And best of all, it was donated by members of The Pit spearheaded by Finster.
I will be forever grateful...
I have yet to wrap anything in foil or parchment... Proper longish dry brining ensures a moist cook without the added step of wrapping or spritzing..
My solution to the stall is increased temperatures ( not too much) and time...Last edited by Allon; January 31, 2023, 11:38 AM.Comment
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I would say what has changed the most for me since joining the Pit is:
1. Dry brining
Never did this before joining the Pit in 2017, aside from possibly pre-seasoning my Thanksgiving turkey the night before, with a rub containing salt.
2. Brisket
I never thought to buy and smoke a brisket before joining the Pitmaster Club, simply because they were much more expensive than a Boston Butt, and I just didn't want to ruin a big expensive hunk of meat.
3. Not wrapping ribs
I was in a groove for probably 10 years before joining the Pitmaster Club of doing the 3-2-1 method with my ribs, on my trusty old offset. I've for the most part stopped doing the wrap, unless I am crunched for time and need to speed up the cook.
4. Mastering my kettle
This is probably the biggest change since I joined, and is mostly a matter of mastering the art of indirect 2 zone cooking - regardless of whether it is using a SNS, a Vortex or just banking the coals. Actually, I was learning this starting about a year before joining the club, from articles Meathead published on the free side.
5. Flat top and Kamado cooking!
I doubt I would have a kamado at all if it were not for the Pit, or a flat top griddle.Comment
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