set and forget smokers

[cal1956]

reading about all these new contraptions that are computer controlled and even sends you and alarm on your smart phone reminded me of something that I ( and several others ) witnessed in a campground once in Myrtle beach S.C. ,  a real fancy class A pulled into a camping spot and out stepped a fella in his 40s  he sat up a pretty little table and covered it with  a fine white linen table cloth , then went inside the rv and brought out a shiny bucket full of ice with what looked like a bottle of champagne and two glasses and sat them on the fancy table cloth , then he opened a door on the bottom of that big rig and swung out a real nice looking television set , turned it on and the about that time something strange happened !!!!   a yellow cab pulled up and he got in it and off he went ( leaving several of us standing there wondering just what the hell was going on )   a few minutes passed and we all see a stretch black limo pull up to  that that big fancy RV and out steps and older couple in their 70s , they walk over sit down at the table and start sipping whatever was in that big ol bottle that had been chilling , watch a little TV and disappear into the RV .   now several of us kept an eye on that RV for 3-4 days when suddenly that black stretch limo reappeared , the frail old couple got into it and we watched as it drove them away . about 20 minutes later the yellow cab drove up and that same fella got out and packed up the table , folded the white linen tablecloth  , packed away everything , fired up that fancy RV and drove away .

  that got a bunch of us atalking for sure , the question was : did the old couple go camping or not ?  after all they did nothing at all so how could anyone call that camping ?  yet they were in an RV and in a campground , so did they are didn't they ...lol

so when it comes to these computer controlled cookers some call smokers .can they say they smoked meat or not , hell the computer does all the work about all that's needed is to open the door plug a probe in close the door and go watch the ballgame ( it will call you when its done ) so did the person cook or did the computer cook ...lol

 

[amlong88]

I think it depends on what the person wants to do. Doesn't matter how it's done smoking is smoking.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I've got a so called "set & forget" in a GMG cal1956... It's a pellet smoker contraption that maintains the temp & cooks awesome Q ! Sorry ya don't approve of my contraption, but I quite like & enjoy it !

BTW,

I've also got a WSM 18.5 & WSM mini that uses charcoal & I can maintain a set temp for hours as well... These are not them contraptions, but I can maintain a steady temp on them & consider them as "set & forget" as my GMG !

So when am I really Qing ??

I've followed several of your posts since ya joined this forum & really from what I can tell, they are mostly negative...

I say to each their own & why would it bother ya so much ? Just curious !

 

[jlcnuke]

Did the baker really bake that cake? After all, the oven maintained the temp once the baker set it...

Oh wait, there is more to cooking (with any method) than maintaining temps.... So yes, he smoked it ;)

 

[bmaddox]

Did the baker really bake that cake? After all, the oven maintained the temp once the baker set it...

 

Best response ever.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Cal1956 , if you have nothing positive to say , lease just reply with ,nice , thanks for the look.

Each to his own , some don't have the time to S&F  , therefore the only means for having "Q" is in their manner

of Smoking .

Do you have any Q-view of your Smokes and your procedure

 , would enjoy seeing them.

Have fun and . . .

 

[worktogthr]

To go with your original analogy and your opinion, is it really camping if you are in a camper, not a tent?  Is it camping if you don't search the woods and construct your shelter for the night? Is it camping if you do it in your own backyard?  I would say it's camping no matter what those situations.  Just as BBQ is BBQ.  If you are using wood to flavor something you are cooking, it's smoking whether  your heat source is wood, charcoal, electric, or propane, or a zippo.   Great analogy with the baker and the oven.  Just my opinion, but this kind of nitpicking and pretension is the reason I frequent smokingmeatforums rather than the other BBQ forums.

 

[unclebubbas bbq]

 
reading about all these new contraptions that are computer controlled and even sends you and alarm on your smart phone reminded me of something that I ( and several others ) witnessed in a campground once in Myrtle beach S.C. ,  a real fancy class A pulled into a camping spot and out stepped a fella in his 40s  he sat up a pretty little table and covered it with  a fine white linen table cloth , then went inside the rv and brought out a shiny bucket full of ice with what looked like a bottle of champagne and two glasses and sat them on the fancy table cloth , then he opened a door on the bottom of that big rig and swung out a real nice looking television set , turned it on and the about that time something strange happened !!!!   a yellow cab pulled up and he got in it and off he went ( leaving several of us standing there wondering just what the hell was going on )   a few minutes passed and we all see a stretch black limo pull up to  that that big fancy RV and out steps and older couple in their 70s , they walk over sit down at the table and start sipping whatever was in that big ol bottle that had been chilling , watch a little TV and disappear into the RV .   now several of us kept an eye on that RV for 3-4 days when suddenly that black stretch limo reappeared , the frail old couple got into it and we watched as it drove them away . about 20 minutes later the yellow cab drove up and that same fella got out and packed up the table , folded the white linen tablecloth  , packed away everything , fired up that fancy RV and drove away .

  that got a bunch of us atalking for sure , the question was : did the old couple go camping or not ?  after all they did nothing at all so how could anyone call that camping ?  yet they were in an RV and in a campground , so did they are didn't they ...lol

so when it comes to these computer controlled cookers some call smokers .can they say they smoked meat or not , hell the computer does all the work about all that's needed is to open the door plug a probe in close the door and go watch the ballgame ( it will call you when its done ) so did the person cook or did the computer cook ...lol

Hell is that an electric steel guitar your playn...where I come from they don't have them fancy contraptions...is it really a guitar if it's electric??? not sure...

Brother don't criticize how other live their lives and no one will criticize you...glass houses remember! 

 

[cal1956]

Hell is that an electric steel guitar your playn...............................

NO .......its an electric cheese slicer

 

[drewed]

Meh, I refer to a propane grill as a "fancy outdoor stove."   

Smoking is the method of cooking, not the act of doing.  The meat was smoked, the meat was grilled, the meat was pan seared then oven finished, the meat was boiled.  It is a description.  

I am a hobby blacksmith.  I do "historical" demonstrations.  I use a coal forge and no power tools.  The stuff I make is hand forged.  If a company employs some drooling goober to hit their factory made widget with a hammer twice on an anvil, is it still hand forged?  Sure, technically it is hand forged "to  form  by  heating  and  hammering;  beat  into  shape."     Are they a master smith? Oh hell no.  As an FYI, I don't consider myself a master smith ( by definition I could....) but I dont.  

So yeah, the person who loaded the contraption can be said to have smoked the meat.  

The question you should as is  "Are they a pit master?"

(ducks and runs for cover)

 

[cal1956]

all I'm saying is that that the  beauty in what we do is in the simplicity not the complexity of it

 man has been smoking meat since the caveman days . it shouldn't be complicated , a piece of smoked meat tastes pretty much the same to day as it

did waaaaaay back then

 

[grillmonkey]

 
all I'm saying is that that the  beauty in what we do is in the simplicity not the complexity of it

 man has been smoking meat since the caveman days . it shouldn't be complicated , a piece of smoked meat tastes pretty much the same to day as it

did waaaaaay back then

I think what everyone is trying to tell you is, "Where do you draw the line?" Should we all just hang some meat in a cave and build a bonfire at the entrance? Or, should we embrace technology, and attempt to make our smoking as easy and effective as it can be?

I think the line between "smoking" and "too far" is when you stop using actual smoke and start using liquid smoke, or other artificial smoke flavoring. But, then again, who am I to decide what is "real smoking" and what is just posing.

 

[cal1956]

i think a lot of people enjoy making something simple  sound complicated .  if a total novice asks how to cook a piece of meat someone will tell them something like

 " pre heat the smoke to 96 degrees and hold it at the temp for 46 minutes before putting the meat in then  after placing the meat on the rack bring the temp up to 117 degrees 

for exactly 6 hour 4 minute a 12 sec's  before taking it off

come on give me a break,   its cooking  not rocket science plus its cooking in its most basic form , IF anyone can't figure out the basics of this , then they would be better off

taking the wife out to a good bbq joint and letting someone else do the cooking instead of wasting their time wading thru a science lesson  .....this is cooking at its most basic level !!!

lighten up guys

 

[bmaddox]

 
i think a lot of people enjoy making something simple  sound complicated .  if a total novice asks how to cook a piece of meat someone will tell them something like

 " pre heat the smoke to 96 degrees and hold it at the temp for 46 minutes before putting the meat in then  after placing the meat on the rack bring the temp up to 117 degrees 

for exactly 6 hour 4 minute a 12 sec's  before taking it off

come on give me a break,   its cooking  not rocket science plus its cooking in its most basic form , IF anyone can't figure out the basics of this , then they would be better off

taking the wife out to a good bbq joint and letting someone else do the cooking instead of wasting their time wading thru a science lesson  .....this is cooking at its most basic level !!!

lighten up guys

I'm starting to get the feeling that this site might not be for you if that is truly how you feel. There are a lot of great people that give quality advice to help them use their smoker. To say that those of us that choose to use an electric smoker and then choose to follow "detailed" instructions are not "smoking" is crazy. My wife and I both work full time jobs and we have a toddler. I don't have the time to tend a fire for 20 ours to smoke something so I use an electric smoker a lot of the time. The food I smoke on my MES is better than at almost any BBQ restaurant and I always get rave reviews. Sure I have modified my MES, but that is because I am the "DIY" type and like to build things. It has nothing to do with being lazy, it is a matter of using a combination of my skills and the technology at hand to cook food for my family.

On a side note, I find it very funny that you came to an Internet forum to complain about technology. If you really wanted to be true to the old time methods you would have used a carrier pigeon to send a note to all of us. 

 

[worktogthr]

 
I'm starting to get the feeling that this site might not be for you if that is truly how you feel. There are a lot of great people that give quality advice to help them use their smoker. To say that those of us that choose to use an electric smoker and then choose to follow "detailed" instructions are not "smoking" is crazy. My wife and I both work full time jobs and we have a toddler. I don't have the time to tend a fire for 20 ours to smoke something so I use an electric smoker a lot of the time. The food I smoke on my MES is better than at almost any BBQ restaurant and I always get rave reviews. Sure I have modified my MES, but that is because I am the "DIY" type and like to build things. It has nothing to do with being lazy, it is a matter of using a combination of my skills and the technology at hand to cook food for my family.

On a side note, I find it very funny that you came to an Internet forum to complain about technology. If you really wanted to be true to the old time methods you would have used a carrier pigeon to send a note to all of us. 

Totally agree and the carrier pigeon made me laugh out loud.  Cal1956, if you have 20 uninterrupted hours to smoke your unseasoned, self hunted and butchered meat in a cave, that's your prerogative.  A hobby, which to many of us cooking/smoking is, should be fun, experimental, and interesting.  What is cooking if not the ultimate chance to tinker.  You have one dish close to perfect, but now you want to try something else.  You have one smoker that puts out good food, but you go on craigslist to find another toy.  Sometimes you enjoy tending the fire, another day you want some awesome ribs without checking on them once.  Embrace technology, variety and change.  Otherwise you'll end up a bitter and crotchety man whose only joy comes from bad mouthing others on a food forum....

 

[hamrhead1971]

On a side note, I find it very funny that you came to an Internet forum to complain about technology. If you really wanted to be true to the old time methods you would have used a carrier pigeon to send a note to all of us. 

If I may quote Larry the Cable Guy, "Now that's some funny stuff right there, I don't care who you are."

 

[smokesontuesday]

I'm one of those "techie" smokers. I'll be monitoring my smoke tomorrow through the web interface from the HeaterMeter http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35674-HeaterMeter-v4-0-for-RaspberyPi-Standalone which is always fun.

Can I fire up the stick burner and smoke brisket for 20+ hours and turn out good food? Yep, on the exceedingly rare occasion I have that kind of free time these days. I'd probably get to make my own Q once or twice a quarter that way though, if that often.

Instead most of the time I fire up my MES and go to town turning out Q just as good as the stickburner without having to watch it nearly as much.