# Alton Brown  Good Eats  Right on Q



## alblancher

This show just came on the Food Channel,  don't know how many times it has been on before this but its new to me.

May want to check it out,  Alton Brown is generally pretty good

Al


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## jsdspif

when I read the description of it on the dish guide it said new .


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## eman

No link al. Alton is out there and does some good stuff.

 BUT, he also does some things that i consider unsafe and wouldn't recomend to anyone.


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## meateater

eman said:


> No link al. Alton is out there and does some good stuff.
> 
> BUT, he also does some things that i consider unsafe and wouldn't recomend to anyone.




X2 He's to unsafe for me.


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## alblancher

Well he already said to brine butts,  use only boneless butts and doesn't believe the pellicle helps the retention or smoke.  He was refering to butts and ribs, curious what he thinks about bacon?

The term Butt comes from the barrel the shoulders where stored during salting in the old days.


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## alblancher

He says not to use Mesquite because it burns too hot.  Likes electric and gas,  says an actual flame in a wood fire destroys the flavorful elements of a smoke.  Does say clear smoke is best.  Bakes his butts,  doesn't smoke them, says the smoke ring can be faked with meat tenderizers and a lot of competitions do not allow the smoke ring to be considered in judging?

Like all semi-instructional programs you need to dig out the gems of knowledge and kind of smile about the rest.  I still like him.  BBQ sauce hides bad BBQ

Thats about it, all in all an enjoyable program  on again at 2 am? Sunday


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## shooterrick

Not a big fan but I do watch infrequently.  Sometimes I just have to chuckle a bit but sometimes I do get a general idea from him that I modify for my comfort level.


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## scarbelly

This show was too stupid to give any credit

Violates the probe entering the meat before 140  rule

Puts the meat in the oven

Says Measquite is not an option

Has no idea how to do a minion method

Alton - just stay away from Q


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## bigbob73

I like his thermometer.


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## hardslicer

not a big fan of his Q.......give me the guys on this site anyday if you want to learn something


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## meateater

Scarbelly said:


> This show was too stupid to give any credit
> 
> Violates the probe entering the meat before 140  rule
> 
> Puts the meat in the oven
> 
> Says Measquite is not an option
> 
> Has no idea how to do a minion method
> 
> Alton - just stay away from Q


LMAO, I agree, stick with cookies.


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## chefrob

hardslicer said:


> ...........give me the guys on this site anyday if you want to learn something


yup..........


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## meateater

I just saw this episode. Here's my conclusion.

He's a great story teller.

White smoke? What is he talking about?

Electric the best and most authentic. Sorry I have a watt burner but prefer FIRE. 

Smoke is airbourne marinade............WTH! 

Did you see his room temp brine? Sorry I chill mine first.........Alton if you read this you should know better, after all you graduated culinary school. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





No pellicle....don't get me started. 

Controlling _*time*_ and temp.........? Ok father time. LMAO! 

This is where I just about puked when he started on the ribs with 4 oz. of salt. I'm done, see ya. Pretty bad for a food network.


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## alblancher

I don't want to start the whole watt burner vs wood burner thing but if I was going to tell my brother in law what smoker to buy I would recommend electric.  He is a set and forget kind of guy, if he adds the wood chips or dust then he can pull of good BBQ.  Alton did say that he preferred wood, but you have to remember who watches his shows.  I am sure a pastry chef would have trouble with his cookies but I learn a lot from him when he does something I am not familiar with.   I liked his charcoal grill to smoker conversion.

I don't brine butts but if I remember there are people on this forum that do, only problem I had was he implied it was a requirement.

I wouldn't call how he cooked the butt as BBQ,  I would call it baked pork shoulder, something I truly enjoy when I am too lazy to get the smoker started.

All in all I like him, just like I appreciate some of the other chefs.  When I watch people on TV cook Cajun or Creole food I often just shake my head and smile.  They do things that are just wrong but at least they are getting non-cooking people interested in the craft.  Maybe someone that watched the program or watches any of the other BBQ programs we criticize will become interested enough to join the forum and learn something.

Don't take anything on TV too serious.  Their audience is different then ours.  As long as it is safe


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## captain jim

Anyone know what brand of dual probe thermometer he used on that show?


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## alblancher

Looks like it will be replayed August 12 and 13?  Might catch it then.


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## meateater

alblancher said:


> I don't want to start the whole watt burner vs wood burner thing but if I was going to tell my brother in law what smoker to buy I would recommend electric.  He is a set and forget kind of guy, if he adds the wood chips or dust then he can pull of good BBQ.  Alton did say that he preferred wood, but you have to remember who watches his shows.  I am sure a pastry chef would have trouble with his cookies but I learn a lot from him when he does something I am not familiar with.   I liked his charcoal grill to smoker conversion.
> 
> I don't brine butts but if I remember there are people on this forum that do, only problem I had was he implied it was a requirement.
> 
> I wouldn't call how he cooked the butt as BBQ,  I would call it baked pork shoulder, something I truly enjoy when I am too lazy to get the smoker started.
> 
> All in all I like him, just like I appreciate some of the other chefs.  When I watch people on TV cook Cajun or Creole food I often just shake my head and smile.  They do things that are just wrong but at least they are getting non-cooking people interested in the craft.  Maybe someone that watched the program or watches any of the other BBQ programs we criticize will become interested enough to join the forum and learn something.
> 
> Don't take anything on TV too serious.  Their audience is different then ours.  As long as it is safe


Thats the problem.


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## smoque daddy

i do agree with him about mesquite.....good for grilling....but using it for a long smoke tends to leave a bitter taste


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## Bearcarver

If I remember correctly, he also does Bacon without cure & cold smokes it for about 7 hours.

I have not watched him since that one.

Bear


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## alblancher

No cure in bacon is definetly contrary to common sense and would be something that would make me be careful with anything he says.


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## SmokinAl

Hey it's a cooking show, how can it be that bad? 

Think of it as a comedy show!

Alton is a clown.


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## thebigred67

SmokinAl said:


> Hey it's a cooking show, how can it be that bad?
> 
> Think of it as a comedy show!
> 
> Alton is a clown.


and outside of Good Eats he tends to be a jerk too.


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## Bearcarver

I guess we should not badmouth anyone personally (by name) on here.

We were told this (from the top) about a year ago---same Character too (A.B.).

And I don't mean my favorite Fish Monger "Alaskan Bear".

Thought I should mention.

Bear


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## thebigred67

Bearcarver said:


> I guess we should not badmouth anyone personally (by name) on here.
> 
> We were told this (from the top) about a year ago---same Character too (A.B.).
> 
> And I don't mean my favorite Fish Monger "Alaskan Bear".
> 
> Thought I should mention.
> 
> Bear




Honestly not bad mouthing the guy. His manner is less then nice a lot of the time when not on Good Eats. He seems to be getting better as time goes by so maybe he is seeing it himself on the playback.


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## alaskanbear

WOW, with that AB ya had me for a moment--thanks Bear, as I used to watch the other AB, but found inconsistencies with some of his prep and cooking methods, that were, in MHO, teetering on the unsafe side.  He does have the credientials and I do not, but I do know what I think will be safe and most of that has been confirmed within this site and its many masterful smokers.  Although we do have some disagreements, thats what makes Texas BBQ and Tenn. BBQ diff.

Safety is THE MAIN issue no matter what the hell you cook, grill, bbq, poach, bake, broil, dry, cure smoke or eat raw.

Rich


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## alblancher

Lets remember that the most important thing that the cooking shows do is get other people interested in smoking and Q.  Maybe they will be get new people interested enough to look us up and get real, honest advice  (peer reviewed if I may add). 

We don't need to be critical of anyone, just point out what we don't agree with.  To be honest I wish I had his gig and if I where to bad mouth him it would just seem like jealousy.

Al


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## mdboatbum

I've been a fan of Good Eats since the beginning. While I do agree he is wildly inconsistent on methodology from show to show, I also agree with the earlier poster who opined that the main benefit of cooking shows is getting a wide audience interested in cooking. I can make this assertion mainly because I am one who, before I started watching Good Eats, was a fan off cooking shows as a form of entertainment while in my personal life I tended to shy away from experimentation and attempts at things I considered "too advanced". Something about Good Eats made it all seem familiar and possible somehow, and in the past 10 years I've gone from a "cook only out of necessity" kind of guy to a "Let's jump in and try something new" kind of guy.

In short, AB and Good Eats got me thinking on my own and I'm a much better cook for it. At least I think so.

As for food safety, he does bear the responsibility to represent basic food safety standards on his show, but the ultimate responsibility rests on the shoulders of the guy putting the meat in the smoker, so to speak. When in doubt, check it out. In his defense, rather than just focusing on washing his hands and being clean in the kitchen, he has highlighted the reasons for all the safety precautions. In fact, I can think if at least 2 half hour shows completely devoted to safe food handling.

I'm not defending the guy, or his show, just sharing my experience. I have noticed his persona has changed a lot from the early days, both on and off the show. I've never met him personally, but he appears to have gotten a bit cocky and holier than thou, especially on the second season of the "Feasting on" series on the boat. You can really see him going from a rather humble guy trying to make it, to a guy who, in his mind anyway, has made it to the top and is much better than the audience who put him there. Too bad really, as there was a time when I'd have really loved to sit down and have a beer with the guy.


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## Bearcarver

I should have mentioned in post #23 above, I didn't mean anyone in particular.

All I did was tell everyone that we got Heck last year for saying "not nice" things about the name in question.

My warning was to ALL, including me!

Thanks,

Bear


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## grange

I use his method for making porterhouse steaks (use a charcoal chimney) when I have a steak.  Good eats is entertaining as far as cooking shows go.


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## tgeorge73

I think the thermometer is the "Thermoworks Two-Channel Thermocouple BBQ Thermometer With Alarm" based on Googling and image matching...

Ain't cheap...


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## cooker

I like his show most of the time, its funny and like another poster said, you do find a few gems. Just not in the BBQ area...

I do get some good recipes for baked goods, his Baklava recipe is great, if you add vanilla to the syrup, and switch out pecans for walnuts 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






, so maybe he is more of a baking guy than a BBQ guy.

He does come off as impressed with himself but so do most of the movie and t.v. stars today, at least he makes me laugh.

That's my 2 cents anyway!


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## squirrel




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## alblancher

Hey Cooker

Welcome to the forum

Do you do any smoking?  What smoker do you have, how much experience?  Why not  go to Roll Call and say Hi, tell us about yourself so the members can give you a real SMF welcome







Al


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## chef jimmyj

Ok, so the Q had some flaws but as a teacher, I have to give him credit for his knowledge of Food Science and his use of props to explain WHY food happens when you apply heat, mix various ingredient or the effects of Acid, Base and seasonings.  The foam balls covered in push pins used to illustrate how Lecithin and the Phospholipids it contains, keeps emulsions like Mayonnaise in suspension, from one of his older shows, is Brillant! I refered to it frequently in my Soups,Stocks and Sauces classes...JJ


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## solaryellow

I like what Alton is trying to do but his episodic advice constantly contradicts himself. When I watched his episode on curing and smoking salmon (without evil nitrites!) I turned him off for the last time a few years ago. Great attempt, poor execution on his part.


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## uhmgood

he has a lot of very useful info i just don't care for the format he uses to tell it . its probably the most expensive cooking show to produce, he has so many people dressed up in costumes and making skits up about everything . who cares , like joe friday said " just the facts mam, just the facts "


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