A philosophical question


 
The best answer is cook the way you want to. Wood, lump, charcoal, electric, newspaper etc.
There is no one way.
I learned to enjoy smoked meat on a Lil Chef. Has I not tried it...I probably would never have tried the wsm.
 
I never did do the experiment...

After a year of Q'ing I think I've come to some realizations, however. I think that you can make excellent Q with just about anything...pellet smoker, kettle, WSM, even an ECB. That being said, I think it's also important to consider the ramifications of using something as automatic as a pellet cooker or an electric smoker, contraptions which (theoretically and, in some cases, practically) can regulate heat and smoke so carefully you don't even have to watch it. Barbequeing for me is about tending the fire, kicking back and doing nothing but that, and hanging out with friends/family toward the end of the cook. Hands on Qing kind of forces you to slow down and enjoy the things that really matter in life...friends, family, good food, good conversation, good music, etc. There's something to be said for such things, I think.
 
There's something to be said for such things, I think.
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I think there's a lot to be said for such things. I think people need to re-connect to the food they choose to eat (and think about the choice(s)), need to connect to cooking, need to give the food and the cooking some thought. We abandon food and cooking choices at our peril. We have seen the results of this already.
 
I bought the WSM because,after extensive reading here,it seemed to be a cooker/smoker that used cahrcoal but required minimum attention once adjusted. I was right. If it had turned out that I had to constantly "fiddle" with the fire/vents,I would not use it. Phil seems to enjoy that part of the cooking process. I do not.
My father-in-law,who passed a long time ago,had a large,iron pit on wheels that he would use for big family/friends Q at his place in the country. Not being from here and also never having seen this type of cooking,I was intrigued by the practice of all of the male memebrs of the group gathering around the pit all afternoon for no apparent reason. I thought it was strange.I still do.
 
Not to put words in Phil's mouth, but I don't think that is exactly what he is getting at. I don't think he is saying he likes to constantly fiddle or fiddle for the sake of fiddling. Otherwise he would use something like an ECB that required much more monitoring and adjustment than a WSM.

Rather, I think what he is saying is that he likes a style of Q that leads to more meaningful human interaction.
 
Hi guys,

I definitely can taste the difference between something cooked over charcoal/lump/wood than gas, and even electric. I don't know if it is my tastebuds, but I'm pretty sure that in a blind taste test I would be able to tell.

As for the use of electric smokers, etc. I feel that if you can produce food that tastes good to you with one of these, and prefer this method, then by all means you are free to do so. That's what makes this country great, freedom of choice.

Is it barbeque? IMHO no. I believe that to have barbeque, you must have meat cooked at a low temp, for a long period of time over a live fire fueled by either wood or charcoal. At least that is the traditional form of barbeque. I am not a traditionalist in any sense of the word. I like good tasting food. I love tending a charcoal fire, I love the smell of the smoke, I love the inexact science and challenge of the what the fuel, meat,the seasonings, the elements etc provide, and trying to put it together to produce a perfect meal. That is why I love this site, because so many here share the same love for the process, and not only the results.

Barbeque has always been as much about the process as it has been about the results. While the original thread was bout telling the difference in taste, it is as much about honoring the process of what makes a great cook. I believe that most who consistently go through this process can tell if the food which they are eating has been cooked over natural fuels or not.
 
Lots of interesting ideas here I must admit. So I thought I might add 2 cents worth as the saying goes.

I have even studied the idea of a cookbook but my thinking goes like this:

I enjoy and trying to keep alive the idea of outdoor cooking period. No gas, no electricity, nothing, just you and nature. I do more Dutch oven cooking than anything with coals only, either real firewood coal, lump coal or charcoal. The kettle and WSM both work perfectly for this along with a fire ring that I built myself with a attached grille section and hangers for Dutch Ovens. Learning to deepfry something over a open fire or coals is lots of work but can be done.

I am not against all the gadgets that require elec. or gas I just choose not to use them, but they are alot easier when used. I don't think I will ever try a guru etc.

Something has to be said for taking my 6 year old to a pond bank with a pocket knife, skillet, cornmeal, a little hog lard and building a fire and having supper right there on the pond bank which we have done several times.

I always think of the ole "cookie" in a wagon train from years and years ago. That is my favoirte style of cooking anything. Yes I can tell a big difference in something cooked outside naturally vs any indoor method.

True BBQ needs to be low and slow over any type natural heat whith the smoke flavor from the fuel added in. I have taken the same butts we use in the WSM and simmered in a Dutch Oven for many hours and it turns out some great meat but to me its still not true BBQ because it was cooked in a pot with no wood or smoke flavor.

Randy
 
The food off a BBQ is great, but the part about slowing life down enough to be able to look around you and reaquaint with the important things - family, friends, the great outdoors (even if it's just your backyard
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) - that's what it's all about.

Remember that saying - a person on their deathbed NEVER says, "Gee, I wish I'd spent more time at work."
 
I mean exactly what David said...that things like Q can lead to more meaningful human interaction.

I equate it with french cooking. I've been into it for awhile now (though I don't claim any specail talent at it) and at first, I was amazed and kind of annoyed at the level of detail french recipes call for. "Simple French Cooking" by Richard Olney is a good example...there is a recipe for roast rabbit that takes 7.5 pages, small font with almost no pictures. I thought at first it underlined the stereotype of the french as being snobbists about food, or overly exacting. But now I think differently...maybe all that preparation is meant to get one away from the TV or other trivial matters and immersing ones hands in life through food. Or something like that...
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Well said Phil.

To me BBQ or any outdoor cooking is a way of enjoying life in general away from the normal hustle of the real world. I have both my kids involved just for that reason, to get them off the couch and and away from the TV, playstations, etc. and to spend some quality time together.

Randy
 
Just my two useless cents.

I've "smoked" a few holiday turkeys on the Weber kettle. No smoke wood. just charcoal. There is smoke flavor from the charcoal. You would never confuse it with an oven backed bird.

For many years, I used an Electric Brinkmann and once I figured out that it was going to run 275F plus, the so called "Ideal" no matter what I wanted, and I learned how much smoke wood to use, and rubs and pastes and so on, then I got some decent Q out of the electric. The one thing I never got right on the electric was brisket. IMO, although guests damn near inhaled it.

I switched to the WSM to get those lower temperatures and for the "event" or self created drama of a longer, lower cook over charcoal. I think my Q is better now with the WSM, but I could be fooling myself.

I gave the Electric brinkmann to my neighbor a few weeks ago with a couple of chunks of apple wood to get him started. I also told him it's a tar baby, if the Q gets touches him, it going to be an expensive free gift.

A week later he flags me down on the way to the mega-mart. "Can I do a brisket in that?" For every electric smoker owner there is a good deed not yet punished. Tar baby indeed.
 
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