There is No One Right Answer


 
Steve Whiting

Steve Whiting

TVWBB All-Star
Lately I have been reading a lot of posts here where the Op is looking for that one right answer to a particular step in creating great barbecue. For instance, "fat side up or down", "how long to wait after starting the fire before putting the meat on", "to wrap or not to wrap", etc. etc.

I understand the desire to learn and reach the goal of creating that perfect hunk of barbecue but I have to offer my two-cents as the answers to these questions always seem to be so definitive without a thought given to the actual situation at hand. In other words, it always depends. There is no one answer to any of these questions. How long to wait after starting the fire before putting the meat on? How about when the temp has settled down and it feels right. That could be 10 minutes that could be 1 hour. To wrap or not to wrap? Well other than following your BBQ theology (“I will never wrap” or “I always wrap”) I would say that depends on the cook. Is the meat getting tender enough and will it make the deadline you have set for having it plated and ready to eat? Do you need to wrap it so to speed up the cook? Fat side up or fat side down? Well as I wrote in response to someone else’s post that all depends on what type of cooker you are using. There are no definitive answers to these questions!

Friends BBQ is not an exact science. Every cook is different and what makes a great Pitmaster is reading the signs during the cook and understanding the steps needed and the adjustments that must be made to get the results you are after. It will never be the same cook each time. Don’t get so set in a certain way that you cannot adjust to the situation. That’s also what makes a great football team. They may start with a game plan but as the game goes along and they realize their running game is not working then they switch it up and go to the passing game. Except of course for the Miami Dolphins who will always stick to their failed game plan and continue to lose most every game. Yes, my team.
 
I agree with what you're saying and I know that most of my cooks of the same items vary considerably due to weather factors, variations in the product, even what grill or smoker I'm using.
I think a lot of the new folks on here that don't have any experience at all are like I was, overwhelmed with all the techniques and ways of doing the same type of cooks. Their looking for a starting point to get them going. I know I finally quit asking questions and just started reading and deciding what might work best for me and try it and adjusted as I went. I still do and it works well for me and that I believe is what makes grilling and BBQ so much fun. Up, down, front, back, foil/no foil, water/no water, pick one try it if it doesn't work try something else.
 
Yup, when I first started I bought tons of books and read until my eyes melted. I tried all sorts of ways. Some turned out ok, some not so ok. But what I finally found out at least for me was a few basic steps and keeping the whole thing simple. Just basic simple. So yea, there is no answer. Just go out and cook and try differant methods. You will eventually find your way.
 
Correct I am no genius at this BBQ thing every cook is a learning cook, as said wind,outside temps, humidity, all play into each cook. Like George i think if i keep the basics pretty simple the rest comes along fairly good,and i can repeat the cooks easier.
reading here i get great ideas of how to modify my simple cooks with another simple add on idea. And the folks here explain how they did it and what mistakes they have made before.
Great place to see and pick up ideas.
 
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Arguing on forums is a sport all its own, but I think that eventually you accept the fact that there is no absolute path to perfect barbecue. When you are first learning, it's usually best to follow one road until you become familiar with the process. Most of the conversations on TVWB are in a helpful spirit of barbecue brotherhood, though now and again someone gets a bit pedagogic, but hey, that's life.

Personally, I enjoy hearing about alternate ways to cook meat. If an idea seems interesting enough, I might even risk a $50 brisket on it.

Jeff
 
Here, I just like to experiment until I see what works and tastes the best, then I tend to stick with that for quite a while.
 
I may not have done a great job of stating my opinion in my original post so please allow me to make it more clear. I believe that the most important thing to consider, and the one thing most often missed in the cooking equation, is the circumstances of the cook. For instance, the cooker of choice (Bullet smoker, Cabinet Smoker Offset Smoker), the outside environment (wind, temp, humidity), the meat (No two pieces of meat are the same and will not cook the same). Every cook is different and so the plan of attack should not be black and white. There are way to many variables to say I always do it this way and it always works. If you only cook on a WSM, only cook on days where the temp is 75 degrees and the wind is 5 mph coming from the west and the meat is always off of the same cow and your smoker temp is always at 225 degrees then maybe you can always do your cooks one way and one way only. But my point is that we as pitmasters need to be versatile in our approach to making our barbecue and adjustment is always necessary. So continue to ask for advice, take that and experiement with it. But be prepared to change your game plan as is needed to make the best barbecue you and your family and friends have ever tasted.
 
In my opinion the biggest part of being on a website like this is learning. New and old cooks ask questions to get opinions on different situations. There is no right and wrong way but people want to understand why others do what they do so they can gain experience and come up with their own way of cooking. Asking questions, experiencing different conditions and learning is the only way to become a versatile cook! My favorite part about this site is reading peoples posts who do things differently then I do!
 
Great post Steve! I like the feedback so far, and the only thing I'll add is to learn how your WSM behaves in your backyard. Once you master that then everything is second nature.

Tim
 
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