True entertainment!


 
For dumb newbies like me, can @Bob Bailey explain what makes it "one of the funniest posts yet"? I don't see the "funny" in it. If you want to develop flavor in your food preparation, it usually takes more steps and more time. Whether the improved flavor is worth the effort is an individual judgement.

It reminds me of artisan bread making. I can bake a baguette-shaped loaf of "French bread" in a couple hours with only a few steps. Technically, it would be "bread." Some people may like it, but it would not have much flavor.

I can also bake a baguette that rivals baguettes from our local bakeries. It takes more steps and two days to do that. The important point is the steps are relatively brief, so the total time is not that much. The inconvenience is that you have to be around when needed for the next brief step. I have a hunch that @Rich Dahl gets the point.
 
A couple of years ago I got a Sous Vide and began experimented with combining the two cooking methods. I tried Sous Vide then smoke, smoke then Sous Vide, and finally smoke then Sous Vide then smoke. I don't consider myself a great Pittmaster but although every experiment was a hit with the family, flavorful and tender, the BBQ quality never exceeded straight BBQ. I did it with ribs, Pork Butts, and Brisket. At the end of the summer, I abandoned the project and now do straight BBQ. Combining the methods is more work for no improvement in the finished product. One Brisket cook spanned 3 days and I don't ignore any appliance when it's cooking so that took a lot of attention. Some folks get so enamored with Sous Vide that they think it's the "be all-end all" to tenderness. I did at first but came to realize that a WSM will give a Brisket the same tenderness with less effort and time.
 
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For dumb newbies like me, can @Bob Bailey explain what makes it "one of the funniest posts yet"? I don't see the "funny" in it. If you want to develop flavor in your food preparation, it usually takes more steps and more time. Whether the improved flavor is worth the effort is an individual judgement.

It reminds me of artisan bread making. I can bake a baguette-shaped loaf of "French bread" in a couple hours with only a few steps. Technically, it would be "bread." Some people may like it, but it would not have much flavor.

I can also bake a baguette that rivals baguettes from our local bakeries. It takes more steps and two days to do that. The important point is the steps are relatively brief, so the total time is not that much. The inconvenience is that you have to be around when needed for the next brief step. I have a hunch that @Rich Dahl gets the point.


Producing tender ribs isn't exactly rocket science. For newbs, there are a boat load of articles and videos available. For someone to complicate the process to the point of needing a dissertation to explain it (pretty sure that was what Rich Dahl made reference to) and turn it into a 2-day affair strikes me as funny. I found the fact that he smoked the ribs for 4 hours before they even went into the sous vide to be particularly humorous. Maybe your sense of humor is different than mine.

I bake bread too, so fully understand the difference in a simple loaf and quality artisan bread.
 
A couple of years ago I got a Sous Vide and began experimented with combining the two cooking methods. I tried Sous Vide then smoke, smoke then Sous Vide, and finally smoke then Sous Vide then smoke. I don't consider myself a great Pittmaster but although every experiment was a hit with the family, flavorful and tender, the BBQ quality never exceeded straight BBQ. I did it with ribs, Pork Butts, and Brisket. At the end of the summer, I abandoned the project and now do straight BBQ. It's more work for no improvement in the finished product. One Brisket cook spanned 3 days and I don't ignore any appliance when it's cooking so that took a lot of attention. Some folks get so enamored with Sous Vide that they think it's the "be all-end all" to tenderness. I did at first but came to realize that a WSM will give a Brisket the same tenderness with less effort and time.
Never tried it myself, but have a neighbor that has, and came to the same conclusion as you.
 
Producing tender ribs isn't exactly rocket science. For newbs, there are a boat load of articles and videos available. For someone to complicate the process to the point of needing a dissertation to explain it (pretty sure that was what Rich Dahl made reference to) and turn it into a 2-day affair strikes me as funny. I found the fact that he smoked the ribs for 4 hours before they even went into the sous vide to be particularly humorous. Maybe your sense of humor is different than mine.

I bake bread too, so fully understand the difference in a simple loaf and quality artisan bread.
Thanks for the explanation. I get it now.
 

 

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