Food network

[benjaminr]

Whos watching this, this guy made a ceramic smoker.... no water pan... looks ghetto made it for $47 or something like that.

I think this is stupid because now morons are going to go "try" this, have horrid results and think smoking sucks. And he said that real smokers are way to expensive.

WHY????!!?!??!?!?!

 

[jimvans]

That stuff looked so tough and dry. He was really having to work at pulling that stuff. Mine I made yesterday just fell apart and was super moist. I like him but that was just stupid.

 

[mikey]

Who's watching what?? Got a link to that particular episode or the name of the show?? A lot of folks thought Alton Browns cardboard box & terra cotta pot smokers were "stupid" also, but guess what, they worked.

 

[benjaminr]

Yeah it did look super tough.

I have nothing against home rigging something up don't get me wrong. But the lack of the water pan I think did it in for its demise. I have seen cardboard smokers and they did work.

I was just pointing out he was doing a hack job at it and the results looked tough. I just wouldn't want people to think "hey I can do this for $40" then be one of them people that say "iv tried smoking and it always turned out crappy so smoking sucks" I want to turn as many people on to it as I can.

 

[mulepackin]

I think thats what they were watching. At least thats what I saw on the Food Network tonight, the Good Eats "Q" episode. Like anything, it think it should be taken with a grain of salt. My take away was you don't have to spend $100s of bucks to make good BBQ. My ECB was given to me, I modded it for less than $10 and I, and my family are very happy with what I turn out on it. Yeah, it did look like he was struggling to pull it, but it may have been rushed for the sake of production. As far as not using a water pan, well thats a topic very open to debate around here and a whole nother can of worms.

 

[cuclimber]

Yeah, it was Alton Brown's show Good Eats, "Q" episode. Though the BB did look a little tough, he was just trying to demonstrate a cost effective DIY method for a newb that has never experimented with BBQ before and doesn't want to commit to a modest investment in a decent smoker. He is basically only trying to highlight the very basics of smoker cooking, while giving a brief summary and example of the history and roots of barbecuing. Thats kind of the premise of his show. While his model does leave a lot to be desired, if it works it works.

Though I do resent his view of propane smokers, as I use a Perfect Flame LP smoker.

 

[hoser]

yeah, ask Alton if he can plug that thing in and run it after the storm when the power is out for three days.

I'll stick with my propane gosm.

 

[mikey]

Thanks for the clarification on what show was on the Food Network. I was just using Alton Brown as an example as I had no idea what episode or who the host was. I had thought that maybe it was someone else. Does someone wanting to try out his ideas make them a "moron"? I think not.

 

[surfer_e]

My buddy watched the show a LONG time ago and made the smoker. He smokes about every other month. Everything he makes turns out great. What is nice about that smoker is the clay pots retain the heat so when he has to open it up to add more chips it gets back up to temp really quick.

And to be honest I think the ceramic smoker is genius. You can buy all the material and if you do not like it or want to up grade you can still use the pots in your backyard. What is wrong with that?

 

[scarbelly]

If you watch Alton Brown often,( Food Network is my default home channel) he is always telling folks that you can cook with less. He always says if a kitchen tool does not do more than one thing he does not have it in his arsenal, so it does not surprise that he would use "something from his garden" to make food.
He is mostly trying to teach folks the science of food as opposed to the gourmet side.
Funny how this brought out the negative side in a site that is always 100% positive and supportave

 

[geek with fire]

There have been a couple of threads on this forum using that method. Here's one:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=55115

It actually does work. But seriously it's a small drum smoker. I agree that ceramic is more efficient on the thermal side, but the poor seal between the 2 pots offsets that. In my opinion, the size of it throws it out of the water. For the same money, you can build a drum and cook larger items.

As for his method and the meat being tough, I would submit that his process is no different than an oven; no water pan there either and a roast comes out very moist there as well. I don't want to start the moisture battle all over again, but moisture comes from within the meat, not externally. The important part of a moist result is to minimize moisture loss. Vapors from water pans, mopping, and spritzing only keep the outer layer from drying out due to the long cook times. I would suspect that the magic of television probably did him more damage than the cooker.

 

[ddave]

Not trying to start the battle either.

Just wanted to point out that Josh is right.

Dave