Alton Brown Good Eats Right on Q

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

Think of it as a comedy show!

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

Ain't cheap...
 
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
drool.gif
, 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!
 
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

welcome1.gif


Al
 
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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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.
 
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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