Spraying with apple cider vinegar vs other fluids

[Spinaker]

I don't spritz at all. I find the bark forms better and the cook goes faster without it. I have never noticed a significant difference, either way. ACV has almost no sugar at all (.1g per 15 grams) so don't really see a clear advantage there.

If something makes a huge difference, I adopt it. Like adding a sprinkle of MSG to boost some flavor on the ribs, or like Huskee 's method of adding a handful of brown sugar to his ribs, that one works!

[Richard Chrz]

I only spritz bread on the grill.

[Spinaker]

I do now spritz when I am cooking brisket or beef ribs on the KBQ. Only because there is so much airflow then ends tend to get crispy before the meat is done. So it does make a difference there.

[Stevo]

I thought Dr Blonder showed that spritzing every 1/2 hour early in the cook helped smoke adhere to the cold meat? Too lazy to find the article.

[Huskee]

Yep, but only if the meat gets dry does it need spritzing for that purpose.

[Henrik]

Thanks for all the great input. You all confirmed what I already 'knew'. I did talk to Aaron Franklin about it, and he said it was a matter of simplicity for him. Instead of having two spray bottles by his large smokers, one with water and one with apple cider vinegar, he just kept the ACV, for a single reason: it was cheaper (by a hair) to buy a gallon of ACV vs water. And it didn't add taste either. That meant he never had to figure out which spray bottle to grab at 3 am in the morning, tending to the smokers half-asleep.

[Henrik]

Ha ha, I wish!

[Jerod Broussard]

Troutman don't believe him, Franklin brought his huge offset smoker to Henrik's house

[Troutman]

That makes sense, I thought there was an uncanny resemblance !!

[GadjetGriller]

I've read somewhere that smoke sticks to 2 things cold and moist. Cold being a relative term (70 degree protein and 225 smoker) thats why I wait the first couple of hours (recently I've run into a bunch of young folks that dont know what couple is so 2 couple is 2) then I spritz with apple juice (or Grape, cherry juice for pork) to attract more smoke flavor. To that end I have started putting less rub on proteins as well. What can I say I like what I like smoky flavor and especially on pork SWEET!

[rebuhl3]

I was poking around earlier and stumbled on exactly what you were recalling...

https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews/grill-smoker-combos/pellet-smokers

Look for the paragraph that starts with, "I asked the AmazingRibs.com science advisor Prof. Greg Blonder"

[Smoked Transistors]

Recently viewed a couple YouTube videos comparing spritzed ribs and not spritzing ribs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJCVqBBrKcE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT5Rb7XWH0o

[Attjack]

It's interesting that this thread has popped back up because I'm doing some ribs today and I'm using a mop.

I mixed 2 cups apple cider vinegar with 1 cup water, 1/4 cup of the same green mango rub that's on the ribs, and 1/4 cup of bbq sauce. I'm applying it every hour.

[Santamarina]

I only spritz with water. It may be "more expensive" than ACV (according to Franklin), but it comes out of the filtered water dispenser on the front of my kitchen refrigerator. 😎 Simplicity for the win!

[LA Pork Butt]

I don’t usually spritz ribs, but when I have with apple juice what I have noticed most is the appetizing mahogany color. I general I haven’t thought it was worth the trouble.

[Spinaker]

I use a mixture of Apple Cider Vinegar, Champagne Vinegar, Amino Acids and Water. (Equal Parts) I usually only spritz when I am using the KBQ just because there is tons of airflow in there. I will spray every hour or so for the first 4 hours. Just to keep those edges moist while the rest of the brisket is cooking.

[Attjack]

These spritzed ribs from last night turned out very well. Based on the results I'm going to keep doing it.

[JeffJ]

I can’t imagine spritzing has any kind of flavor impact that is anything g more than extremely subtle. It seems that it would add to smoke adhesion and would slow bark development (not necessarily a bad thing depending on cooking strategy). I don’t like the look of black bark on pork. It looks more natural with beef but visually I like a nice mahogany on my pork.

[csiszeronas]

I use some real apple cider. But not always. It adds flavor and helps preserve the bark because of the sugar content. Most of the time I look for other ways, looking for something interesting and more useful. With water you can. Unless you're using something with a strong flavor profile, it doesn't really matter. It's to keep the ribs moist after the bark is fixed. And that, before I knew the effect of this, I read an article on https://druggenius.com/nutrition/app...-side-effects/. It is better to prepare in advance for future consequences.I use some real apple cider.

[SmokingSteve]

csiszeronas Welcome to the Pit!

[RonB]

If you are for real, I apologize in advance, but we get a lot of spammers trying to sneak in by posting on old threads. So, if you are truly interested in what this site has to offer because you like to grill and/or BBQ, welcome and tell us what you are cooking on and what you like to cook.

[Starsky]

I was told that by spritzing you can actually lower the temperature of the meat and achieve longer smoke times

[Dewesq55]

My understanding is that ACV had a higher boiling point which results in a longer period of evaporative cooling after the spritz. But I could be wrong. BTW, I never spritz ribs, but I do with brisket because I can use every possible advantage I can get with it. 😕