5 BBQ Myths Debunked (video)

[Bigmista]

With regards to wood and flavor profiles, if a person can't distinguish between hickory smoked, or mesquite, then their palate has issues.

I'm sorry, but saying that wood is wood would be like saying fruit is fruit, therefore an apple and a peach taste the same.

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You missed my point. Apple wood doesn't taste like apples and Peach wood doesn't taste like peaches. Fruit has a flavor. Wood doesn't.

If you have two similar smokers, smoke two racks of ribs. One with apple wood and one with peach wood. Keep all other variables the same. Then tell me you can tell the difference.

 

[Bigmista]

I have. Oak, hickory, mesquite apple and cherry. Apple and oak are pretty subtle and I might not be able to pick them out in a blind test. Cherry is the most distinctive. Surprisingly, the cherry flavor is in the wood and heat stable. It carries over into the food and can be tasted in mild flavored foods like chicken and fish.

I cook with cherry every day and have never had any of my meat taste like cherries.

 

[Bigmista]

I disagree with all of them and here's why: if doing any of those helps someone to produce what they feel is good BBQ, then it matters to them. When you start defining what is and isn't important in producing good BBQ, it becomes a homogenized product. A good example is Competition BBQ. People are told over and over to use a certain rub, sauce, meat etc etc if they want to win. Therefore everything becomes the same. So why those 5 things don't to matter to you, they matter to someone and is part of the reason they like to cook.

It appears (I could be wrong and often am.) That you read the graphics and didn't really listen to what I said.

I stated several times to "learn your smoker" and "do what's best for you". The entire gist of the video is that there are no hard and fast rules except you need wood smoke to make BBQ.

 

[Pappy Q]

It appears (I could be wrong and often am.) That you read the graphics and didn't really listen to what I said.

I stated several times to "learn your smoker" and "do what's best for you". The entire gist of the video is that there are no hard and fast rules except you need wood smoke to make BBQ.

I watched the entire video but guess I had a different interruption. Your question was whether agree or disagree and why, however it appears from your responses that you want everyone to agree and most will. Therefore my opinion really doesn't matter.

 

[Saucy]

My opinion, as a doctor, the seatbelt is impressive. Those things save lives.

I agree that I could produce good barbecue with any smoker, any wood, any heat source. There are certainly subtle differences and some days and some meats are just better than others. But, overall, make barbecue...if you know how.

 

[Bob C Cue]

I think one of the biggest myths is that you need to cook your food to make barbecue. Another is that you can tell if it's done when your probe is tender.

 

[jasonjax]

Mesquite. We're finished here.

 

[Demosthenes9]

You missed my point. Apple wood doesn't taste like apples and Peach wood doesn't taste like peaches. Fruit has a flavor. Wood doesn't.

If you have two similar smokers, smoke two racks of ribs. One with apple wood and one with peach wood. Keep all other variables the same. Then tell me you can tell the difference.

I got your point Mista, I just happen to disagree with it. Different species of woods have different chemical compositions which give off different smells AND flavors when burning. Just light up some mesquite and SMELL it. Throw a piece of chicken on and taste the results. Then fire up some Hickory and smell it. Does it smell different than the mesquite ? Of course it does. Why ? Because it has a different chemical composition. Throw another piece of chicken on and when done, taste it. The two will taste different.

With Apple and peach, the differences will be more difficult to detect as the woods are very similar (close cousins so to speak). Hickory and Pecan are even closer to each other in flavor. If you look at the taxonomy of both, they are from the same Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family and Genus. Try Hickory and peach, or Mesquite vs just about anything else.

 

[Demosthenes9]

I cook with cherry every day and have never had any of my meat taste like cherries.

This is a red herring. The wood itself isn't going to taste like the fruit, nor will it's smoke give off flavors similar to the fruit. If you want to make your pork taste like apples, inject it and/or baste it with apple juice or cider. Using Apple wood isn't going to give that apple flavor.


THAT said, the flavor that you get from using apple wood IS different than the flavor you would get from Hickory or Mesquite.

 

[pjtexas1]

Looks like the wood flavor is what we all have an issue with. I don't care for mesquite as its too strong for me. I'm ok with the rest especially with knowing how to cook on anything. I love trying all kinds of different cookers.

 

[medic92]

Here's the secret...

*looking around*

It's done when...

Do I hear ticking?

It's done when the bone slides out clean.

*running away blending into the crowd*

Great. I use boneless butts. Now what?

 

[Jam Jam]

I took away a completely different idea from what he said in the video. I interpreted him saying literally wood taste like wood, but the different types create a different flavor profile and is just another ingredient to successful BBQ. I don't think he was saying all wood cooked meats will taste the same.

 

[D&D BBQ]

I agree that most fruit woods are going to turn out similar flavors in meat, but are you REALLY saying you couldn't pick out the difference between hickory and mesquite aka "smoke from the devil's butt crack" (as Dr. BBQ calls it) in the final product?

 

[Jam Jam]

I mean it came off as if he was saying if you bit into two types of wood (that's what he inferred in the video).

 

[dadsr4]

The video is fun to watch with the sound turned off. Enjoyed it with the sound turned on, too.

 

[Bigmista]

This is a red herring. The wood itself isn't going to taste like the fruit, nor will it's smoke give off flavors similar to the fruit. If you want to make your pork taste like apples, inject it and/or baste it with apple juice or cider. Using Apple wood isn't going to give that apple flavor.


THAT said, the flavor that you get from using apple wood IS different than the flavor you would get from Hickory or Mesquite.

That's what I said! You saw me responding to this statement by Hank B

"Cherry is the most distinctive. Surprisingly, the cherry flavor is in the wood and heat stable. It carries over into the food and can be tasted in mild flavored foods like chicken and fish."

 

[Bigmista]

Great. I use boneless butts. Now what?

Stop it.

 

[Bigmista]

I agree that most fruit woods are going to turn out similar flavors in meat, but are you REALLY saying you couldn't pick out the difference between hickory and mesquite aka "smoke from the devil's butt crack" (as Dr. BBQ calls it) in the final product?

Hard to say. I would never put mesquite in my smoker.

 

[Smoking Piney]

Can you taste it or smell it?

I can taste it.

 

[Bobc]

I use cherry, maple, apple, and oak. I taste smoke. Either too little, just right or too much. I don't think I could pass a blind test. Maybe my taste buds are shot. They say the older you get the more you loose your sense of taste.