Great thread. I’ve learned so many things since joining AR over the last 5 years, that I think I could write a book about them. But mainly it’s been learning the science behind some of the techniques (dry brining, cooking to temp., fire management etc.).
Another thing that I really appreciate was from Chef Jean-Pierre about “Mise en place”, getting everything measured and laid out before you start cooking has made the cooking part a really simple and enjoyable process now.
Mise en place.... never heard that term before even though that's the way I've always done it.
I learned it taking cooking classes in high school. Even with 4 of us per kitchen, you had to be pretty damn organized to get everything done in a 48 minute class.
This is also where I learned clean as you go to the extent possible...
God Bless You Mrs Toombs for the valuable, and enduring, life lessons...
Good thread…
I'm most disappointed in myself… by deviating from my original goal to be old school…
Roasting meats over wood coals/fire with few tricks was my goal…
I’m reining myself back in…
Geez, where do I start? I’ll start by saying I NEVER soak my wood chunks anymore. My whole life I was soaking my wood chunks in a coffee can full of water for a good 30 minutes to an hour before cooking, not realizing it was a waste of time. After getting Meathead’s book, I was surprised, but happy, to learn I didn’t have to do that anymore. I also have weaned off my use of lighter fluid. I had a chimney a few years before joining AR, but rarely used it. Now I use the chimney almost exclusively. Fire management and learning about the different smokers/grills out there was another eye opener for me.
If you must know…😉 For long smokes I’ll use tumbleweeds in the charcoal basket or the SnS and…..I still use lighter fluid occasionally! If I’m doing a fast smoke in the Bronco, for an hour or 2, I’ll start the basket of coals with lighter fluid. Ain’t nothing wrong with that and I’ve NEVER had an inkling of foul odor/taste using it. Plus I’ve found that using lighter fluid is good for your brane….😂
Thankfully I had weaned myself off the lighter fluid when my dad gave me two chimney starters he was no longer using, about 10-15 years ago. I was using newspaper to start it, then when we quit getting a local paper, I would grab random printer paper or such. Now I use lighter cubes or other style starters...
I am with you on using the starters IN the grill sometimes, rather than under a chimney. Depends on how much charcoal I am lighting. I rarely use the chimney with the kamado for example.
Learning the difference between good food science and myth from Meathead and Dr Blonder has had a huge affect on my cooking. Dry brine, flavor penetration, smoke color, most of what I was doing was wrong. I’m not a total convert as I still make beer butt chicken. I use different smoking woods as if they were an ingredients in my recipe now. Before it was mesquite because thats what we’ve always used. Several years ago I came here and learned about cooking on my kamado. There were write ups on how to sort the charcoal and stack it to get best fire, threads on air flow, and moisture retention. It was amazing what changing those things did for my food and confidence. I cook some things hot and fast now and get great results. I use an instant read thermometer all the time now. There’s a big difference between done and ready. I could go on and on.
Weber S-335 gas grill
Weber 26†kettle
Weber 22†kettle
Camp Chef XL Smoke Vault
Camp Chef 3 Burner cook top
Camp Chef Woodwind 36 Pellet grill with sidekick burner
PBC
Accessories:
SnS XL
SnS standard
Vortex
Weber Rotisserie for 22†Kettle
1st gen FireBoard
2nd gen FireBoard
Griddle for Camp Chef cooktop
Several Thermoworks items
Set of Grill Grates
I'm pretty much like everyone else and keep changing actually. It's the joy of learning new techniques and tweaking them to fit your way of cooking is what make this such a fun hobby.
I no longer wrap ribs or pork butts.....unless I do....HA!! Now days I can put out either ribs or butts that are edible either wrapping or not.....just depends on who i'm cooking for.
The biggest technique that i've learned is now cooking hot and fast indirect. I've always kind of done it but never set the grills up to actually do it this way. Now I love cooking hot and fast indirect, chicken wings, burgers, pork steaks and even veggies.
There's a lot more I could list but I have to say the biggest change in my cooking came about when I joined AR and listened to how others were smoking/grilling/cooking foods!!!
I didn't have any technique when I started smoking. I would just throw a brisket (with salt and pepper rub, I'm not a Philistine) on the ECB i got with Marlboro Miles, fill the water pan, dump a chimney full of charcoal in, toss in a bunch of wood chunks that have been soaking and let it go.I'd add another chimney of charcoal when the first got low and more soaked wood chunks. Eventually, I'd pull out a meat thermometer and check the poor brisket. 205 F meant time to take that hunk of meat off and slice it. Somehow, they were always edible. A few were even good.
Now, the ECB is long gone. I've made my way to a Yoder pellet grill. I've learned about wrapping in butcher paper. I started smoking more meats: pork butts and loins, chuckies, turkey breasts, and whatever looked good at Costco. Using Meathead's recipe and method, my pastrami is to die for. Before, pastrami came from a deli.
I haven't even mentioned grilling and sous vide. Before, grilling meant throw the meat on a high flame. Now, reverse sear and watch the flame temp.
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.
I recently made a brisket using the "foil boat" method and was pleased with the results
I’ve changed many things over the years, mostly for the better, but the one thing I’ve found is I don’t really care for commercial rubs anymore. Me and my family lean towards SPG, one that I do my self. I vary the ratios depending on what I’m cooking. On occasion, I’ll mix in seasoned salt with my course grind salt. But always fresh black pepper and course ground garlic powder.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I use recipes as a guide, and I look for recipes of things that I want to cook, but I don’t follow them slavishly like I used to. If I’m missing something? Oh well, I’m not going to the store for that! I’ll substitute something else. It will be fine.
I’m not really adventurous in my cooking, I’m a very basic guy with little tolerance for foofalah. But I’ve learned to look in the fridge and freezer and figure out what might go together and what might not. I know when something is going to work. So, more confidence.
Also, Mrs Mosca’s diet is severely restricted now: no tomatoes, onions, tomato sauce, citrus or anything acidic, etc. So I’ve worked around her restrictions, and come up with a revised set of basic meals that fit and taste good. Mushrooms, garlic, red and green pepper, cucumbers, and fresh herbs go a long way. If something has to have onion, I’ll use half and much as in the recipe, and spin it up in the food processor to get maximum flavor from the least amount. (Understand, she loves onions, tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc. It isn’t easy for her. I can’t be making my stuff with that, and then separate stuff without it for her, that would be unloving.)
So, less by rote, more by feel, with more confidence.
Using a thermometer is probably the biggest change I have made. Before then, everything was hit or miss. NOw I can nail doneness of whatever almost every time, and when I screw up, I have to blame myself 'cause it normally means I wasn't paying attention.
Realizing there is more to grilling than cooking over super high heat
Coming to the realization that low and slow bbq does not have to equal cooking at 225 degrees - not a recent one for me but a divergence from when I got my first smoker ~8 years ago and was trying to learn things as I went.
In addition to those, I have more of an understanding of how to cook and have the variables impact a finished dish, both in the particular ingredients as well as the cooking method/time and temp. That has allowed me when looking for a recipe online, I can sift through the billions of recipes online and generally discard the ones that don't make sense to me or seem off or use an ingredient or temp that doesn't sound right to me, even if i'm not 100% familiar with the dish. Definitely not always right but feel like I have had very few flat out fails in the past few years when using a new recipe that I found online.
Offset cooking mostly.
Less fuss, more satisfied with simple smoke and spices.
Temps of the smoker are much less important. I have let a fire go out, and/or had blazes well over 300F and it was still good food.
more attention to wood being used based on food and flavor profile.
I’d like to add something I didn’t include in my earlier post….. all of the neat grilling/smoking accessories I found out about after joining The Pit! I’d probably never have owned a Vortex or SnS without learning about them here. It’s one thing to read reviews from random strangers online about these things, and it’s another to actually hear about them from my friends here on AR. I use the Vortex a lot, it produces the best steaks and wings I’ve ever done! Even though most of us have never met, communicating with one another almost daily, well, it’s just so much better! I trust the folks here much more than just reading some stranger’s review on Amazon.
I can almost guarantee you I wouldn’t own a Bronco, SNS Kettle or Pit Boss griddle if not for being a paid member here. These are my 3 favorite cookers I’ve ever owned. I’d probably still have a Weber kettle as my only cooker. [The SNS is at my house and the Weber stays at Mom’s] So, in addition to learning new cooking techniques here, I’ve learned a hell of a lot about outdoor cookers in general…which has also helped up my cooking game. Oh, almost forgot…..I don’t do beer can chickens anymore either….
Last edited by Panhead John; January 31, 2023, 02:02 PM.
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