A warning about the dangers of digital


 
S

Scott Smith

TVWBB Pro
A number of years back, photography went through a digital crisis when all of the sudden photographers suddenly realized that most all of their photographs had tiny flaws (inherent to the physics of all lenses) that could be spotted easily if you looked hard enough at the zoomed in images.

This led to a spat of name calling - terms like "chimping" and "pixel peeping". Some photographers became more obsessed with the theoretical quality of their images than with actually taking decent pictures.

In a grilling situation, control of the heat is great, to a point. However, technology seems to be evolving in a direction toward providing increasingly more precise feedback on what our grills are doing. I'm not going to speculate on what is the best level of digital control - that may be different for different folks. I would simply urge everyone to remember that the ultimate goal is to enjoy the food and not necessarily to be more accurate than someone else on your grill temperatures.
 
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I recently visited my son and he smoked a pork butt on his Komado Joe. He used probes for meat, ambient temp etc. that went to an app on his phone. He was constantly getting alerts or checking progress on the app. While the end result was excellent, it seems we are taking the art out of cooking.
 
I agree 110%. When I started out with my WSM I had a Maverick and obsessed with the temps. Replaced with Maverick with a Smoke and bought a PID controller. OBSESSED.

I finally realized to let it do what its gonna do. Even my electric oven will go as high as 375 when I set it to 325.
 
I enjoyed cooking on the different kinds of cookers over the years. When I discovered a digital thermometer it was just another tool. Four years ago I realized that I was approaching the age when we can go downhill fast. After researching pellet grills I bought my first Craigslist Pellet Pooper. My Smokefire is my third and the others are in happy homes elsewhere. For the first 2.5 years of Smokefire ownership I did a lot of research burns on my grill so that I really knew how it works.. With my health taking a bad turn in February I would not still be cooking BBQ except for how easy it rolls out of the garage and is a fast setup. Since putting good tasting food on the table is the goal I do the same prep as when I cooked on my WSMs. I monitor the cooks exactly the same way I monitored my WSM when it was new to me. I don't believe in set it and forget it when a live fire is involved. I can't speak to the high dollar pellet grills but for those at the SF price point and below the PID controller displays a rock solid temp on the screen. Don't believe the myth that it's an accurate reading. My remote temp probe tells a different story. PID controllers display the set temp and won't change until the temp gets outside the PID range. That range can be plus or minus 50° F. Yes, I'm using a lot of electronics in my cooking but at 81 I have already paid my old school dues.
 
Scott Smith said:
A number of years back, photography went through a digital crisis when all of the sudden photographers suddenly realized that most all of their photographs had tiny flaws (inherent to the physics of all lenses) that could be spotted easily if you looked hard enough at the zoomed in images.

This led to a spat of name calling - terms like "chimping" and "pixel peeping". Some photographers became more obsessed with the theoretical quality of their images than with actually taking decent pictures.

In a grilling situation, control of the heat is great, to a point. However, technology seems to be evolving in a direction toward providing increasingly more precise feedback on what our grills are doing. I'm not going to speculate on what is the best level of digital control - that may be different for different folks. I would simple urge everyone to remember that the ultimate goal is to enjoy the food and not necessarily to be more accurate than someone else on your grill temperatures.
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Thank you Scott for sharing your perspective.

I consider myself lucky enough to remember a time when the only electronics were transistor AM radios.

Many here are not so fortunate.

In my opinion of course.
 
I use a digital remote to monitor grate level temperature on my kettle and, when cooking cuts, like pork butts, chuckie, brisket or chicken I also monitor the internal temperature in the later part of the cook, always probing for tenderness and/or using a handheld thermometer as a final doneness test. Being old and sensitive to temperature extremes, this saves me several trips outside. Like @LMichaels , I'd rather sit inside and enjoy an adult beverage or 3.
Since recently upating my 2013 model Traeger to a PID controller, I'll be monitoring the central cooking area until I'm confident with the new controller. So far, I'm seeing good control and no glitches to speak of, so confidence is building quickly. I went with the PID controller because it came with 2 temperature probes, not for better temperature control. I don't nitpick about 30- or 40-degree variations in the cooks I use the pellet grill for.
My favorite grill is my kettle with the Santa Maria Attachment. The fact that there's really no way to continuously monitor temperatures is why I like it so much. I refrain from using it when temperatures are out of my comfort zone.
 
Lew Newby said:
I enjoyed cooking on the different kinds of cookers over the years. When I discovered a digital thermometer it was just another tool. Four years ago I realized that I was approaching the age when we can go downhill fast. After researching pellet grills I bought my first Craigslist Pellet Pooper. My Smokefire is my third and the others are in happy homes elsewhere. For the first 2.5 years of Smokefire ownership I did a lot of research burns on my grill so that I really knew how it works.. With my health taking a bad turn in February I would not still be cooking BBQ except for how easy it rolls out of the garage and is a fast setup. Since putting good tasting food on the table is the goal I do the same prep as when I cooked on my WSMs. I monitor the cooks exactly the same way I monitored my WSM when it was new to me. I don't believe in set it and forget it when a live fire is involved. I can't speak to the high dollar pellet grills but for those at the SF price point and below the PID controller displays a rock solid temp on the screen. Don't believe the myth that it's an accurate reading. My remote temp probe tells a different story. PID controllers display the set temp and won't change until the temp gets outside the PID range. That range can be plus or minus 50° F. Yes, I'm using a lot of electronics in my cooking but at 81 I have already paid my old school dues.
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Thanks for the inspiration, Phil I totally agree with all you've said. Just a few yesterday's ago both Barb and I really enjoyed our time with the grills. Having fun not worrying about all the details.
Then as age and health issues have made us, more so me having to take a different approach.
The reason I say me as I'm now I'm doing all the grilling solo. Barb now has to use a walker to get around and will have to have both hips replaced and possibly her knees also. She is in constant pain walking and standing and just can't do it anymore, I'm not a whole lot better but I decided to start using the tools available to make my grill time easier. Using the Camp Chef more and getting my cart built and a Jumbo Joe to do most of our charcoal cooking, instead of the performer. Much easier to load and clean.
My smoke has made it easier for me to monitor my cooks and not have to be moving around to keep an eye on them so much.
One of the reasons I sold the WSM and bought the Camp Chef which was one of the best investments I've made.
We do more simple cooks now that don't require a lot of hands on and constant attention.

Getting old ain't for Sissy's.
 
TL;DR:

I cook for enjoyment just like I take pictures. I enjoy sharing a great picture when I take it and I enjoy sharing food with friends and family. In the end isn't that what really matters?

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I'm not sure I agree that the digital camera crisis affected mainstream photographers and on the other hand good digital cameras have enabled better pictures for mainstream users. The fact that I have a pretty good camera with me almost all the time means I take a lot more pictures.

Years ago I was sort of "into" photography a bit and enjoyed experimenting with manual settings on the camera and had some great photos over the years, yet with the cost of the film, time and cost to have it developed time and cost for copies or enlargements I moved on to digital. I never went off the deep end with DSLR but I borrowed one occasionally.

If I take this analogy to grilling and smoking, imagine a camera with manual shutter and aperture settings and a fixed focal length lens. Photographers measured light with a separate meter and made adjustments. Good photographers knew when to push the settings for the optimal field of view. Great photographers didn't need a light meter and knew the settings and speed of film to use from experience. Excellent photographers knew all the mechanics of photography and also had an eye for the shot.

Eventually film cameras went automatic varying shutter or aperture or both. My film camera was shutter priority and there was a meter that would show the estimated aperture for the shutter speed. The camera was decent and I learned to use it well yet I wouldn't say I was "great" and certainly not "excellent"

I guess the same can be said for "old school" smoking and grilling with options from stick burners, water smokers, open coal grills, kettles, gas grills or even a grate held up by rocks with a wood fire burning under it.

The skills ranged from meat burners to pit masters and this was likely a combination of the grill and experience with experience making more of a difference.

Today we have the internet to learn from others. We can go old school or have more automation in our cooks. I think advanced tech levels up the quality of cooks across the board. Sure you can still burn meat on a digitally controlled pellet grill if one is not on top of it, but I think more people can cook better food with today's crop of grills and smokers.
 
Scott Smith said:
I would simply urge everyone to remember that the ultimate goal is to enjoy the food and not necessarily to be more accurate than someone else on your grill temperatures.
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I read somewhere that it takes about 10,000 hours to master a skill - I am about 100 hours in on charcoal cooking, lol.

I cooked a brisket on the WSC yesterday. It was about a ten hour cook, and I relied on the dome thermometer and my wristwatch mostly- I used an instant read thermometer twice.

The brisket turned out well, my family thought it was the best brisket so far.

The only thing that stands out in my mind is that it was more relaxing cooking this way.

Like I said, I have much to learn before I start giving anybody here advice on anything relating to bbq.

Just my observation.
 
JSaus said:
I recently visited my son and he smoked a pork butt on his Komado Joe. He used probes for meat, ambient temp etc. that went to an app on his phone. He was constantly getting alerts or checking progress on the app. While the end result was excellent, it seems we are taking the art out of cooking.
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Excellent point. I have a ThermoPro dual. One in the top lid and one in the meat. The only "mod" is a BGE charcoal basket. I pride myself in learning how to use the WSM 14.5 with no whistle and bells. I can peg whatever temp for hours on end.

Not sure how to say this. My concern is that newbies will get the impression that they have to have the whistles and bells on their WSM to turn out a great smoke. Any WSM out of the box will give a great smoke. All you have to do is learn how to use it. I highly recommend that newbies learn the basics of their WSM before any mods. Just a thought. BTW. I used the WSM 14.5 for many years before getting the BGE charcoal basket. It certainly is not needed but I like the way it cradles the charcoal.
 
Brad Olson said:
So does everyone in this thread also know how to drive a stick? ;)
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Not only do I, the Civic I bought from my g/f several years ago is the first automatic equipped vehicle that I've owned and customarily driven. The Civic only gets driven half the year, during the winter months I drive a 4wd stick pickup. All been sticks for 40+ years.

Electronics.... the smoker I built will run pretty well on nothing but natural draft and hold temps well. OTOH, the electronics on it do allow me to concentrate on the food, rather than fully on the method. I spent a few years fighting a leaky horizontal offset before I went this direction, and I'm not goin' back.
 
Like everyone else in this thread, I have an AI computer controlled automatic transmission but prefer the zen-like experience of matching revs by ear on my unsynchronized transmission while drinking a cold beer and eating ribs.
 
I dragged an older Vizio flat screen TV I had in the basement upstairs thinking I would put it in the garage to watch while screwing around out there. It still works fine but I realized that it was literally just a TV, no apps, no WiFi. I would have to hook it up to cable and that wasn't the plan so it's useless to me. It's just funny how quickly you get spoiled by technology.
 
Steve Hoch said:
I dragged an older Vizio flat screen TV I had in the basement upstairs thinking I would put it in the garage to watch while screwing around out there. It still works fine but I realized that it was literally just a TV, no apps, no WiFi. I would have to hook it up to cable and that wasn't the plan so it's useless to me. It's just funny how quickly you get spoiled by technology.
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Does it have HDMI?

I'll send you an amazon fitestick for cheap. 2.4ghz wifi.
 
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