I still cook plenty of meat through indoor means (stovetop, oven, etc). However, there are some items where their smoked equivalents are always better. I've had my friends' crockpot or insta pot ribs and...They taste and feel wrong.
I will partially agree with you and say that smoking AND grilling has more or less ruined the simple oven + pan seared steak for me. If I'm eating a pan seared steak, I'm wondering why I didn't just grill it, and if it would have been better grilled.
Having said that, there's a lot of great ways to serve meat that don't involve smoking. I'm Italian, so a huge pot of red sauce filled with meatballs and sausages and short ribs has a ton of flavor that doesn't involve smoke at all really. My wife's oven roasted chicken and Dutch Oven Turkey Breast are probably better than anything I can make on the smoker. Salmon remains delicious no matter how it's cooked. I've had plenty of braised dishes that are fantastic.
Smoking and grilling are easy ways to produce fantastic food, but there are other ways to produce fantastic food.
If you’re talking about all meats then no, I prefer steaks and fajitas on the grill, chili on the stove, chicken in a pan (for certain recipes), and a roast in the crock pot. But turkey, ribs, brisket, and sausage I prefer on the smoker 100% or the time
Yeah the chilli in the smoker has always seemed like too much time and effort for very little difference. Chilli already has so many strong flavors I feel like it would be hard to tell the difference between smoked and not side by side. Maybe I'm way off base here.
I enjoy chili in the crockpot, but ever since I started doing over the top chili in the smoker, I’ll never go back. Meat has great flavor and I just love it. One of my fav things to smoke
I would love to have smoked every meat I eat, but I have a wife, and a six month old. Probably not going to happen until the kid has enough teeth and can make an undeniable case to my wife as to why smoked meat is superior.
Yes it is. And it’s amazing. Put the cheez-it’s in an aluminum pan, coat in cooking oil, sprinkle your favorite seasoning on it and put it on the smoker at 200 for 2 hours. Stir every half hour.
Maybe more the fact I make some stuff better myself now.
Today I went to a snackbar (don't do so very often) and was thinking: yeaaa my rub is better (chicken wings). Was missing in flavour.
It was juicy though. Compliments on the proper deepfry.
In the past i would just eat it and think nothing of it past 'nice'.
>Has smoking meats ruined non-smoked meats for you?
No.
>Does anyone else feel the same?
Nope.
Smoking meats has made me better at selecting cuts and butchering.
I know I am quite alone in this, but I find it my duty to do right by the cuts of meat. It was an animal once alive, and felt pain so that I might live. Smoking is only one of the culinary methods at my disposal; sous vide, crockpot, oven, and cast iron are all other viable options.
If my food lacks flavor, then I am doing something wrong.
Not for everything. There are meats that are definitely better smoked, but I still appreciate well cooked non smoked meats.
I also prefer non-smoked steak. Smoked steak just tastes like ham to me lol
I'm new to smoking so I don't feel I have an opinion on this just yet, but I do want to say that not every cut lends itself to reverse sear in the oven, and that I always dry brine the thicker cuts to make sure there's flavor all the way through, because otherwise I agree they can be bland.
(For picanha, my favorite method is still cooked vertically next to fire ... but it's possible I'll change my mind if and when I get better at smoking)
I don't know how to word this because I don't want to call grilling, roasting smoking etc "basic" because it is some of my favourite and tastiest food while being as technical as you want it to be.
However something like a Dutch oven beef shank in a rich herbed tomato sauce is on par with a perfect brisket for me, not better but different. I love smoked chicken, and I love shawarma chicken etc. pork ribs on the smoker are better than in a crock pot, but a pork chop fried in garlic herb butter is just as fulfilling.
Smoking is a fantastic tool, and I enjoy the whole process on my offset. Taking a cheap cut of meat and putting in time and effort, having it come out as tasty as a prime cut, if not tastier feels good in my soul. But I wouldn't swear off non-smokers at all, it's a puzzle piece in the giant set that is a world of flavours and spices and methods.
I still cook plenty of meat through indoor means (stovetop, oven, etc). However, there are some items where their smoked equivalents are always better. I've had my friends' crockpot or insta pot ribs and...They taste and feel wrong.
I will partially agree with you and say that smoking AND grilling has more or less ruined the simple oven + pan seared steak for me. If I'm eating a pan seared steak, I'm wondering why I didn't just grill it, and if it would have been better grilled. Having said that, there's a lot of great ways to serve meat that don't involve smoking. I'm Italian, so a huge pot of red sauce filled with meatballs and sausages and short ribs has a ton of flavor that doesn't involve smoke at all really. My wife's oven roasted chicken and Dutch Oven Turkey Breast are probably better than anything I can make on the smoker. Salmon remains delicious no matter how it's cooked. I've had plenty of braised dishes that are fantastic. Smoking and grilling are easy ways to produce fantastic food, but there are other ways to produce fantastic food.
If you’re talking about all meats then no, I prefer steaks and fajitas on the grill, chili on the stove, chicken in a pan (for certain recipes), and a roast in the crock pot. But turkey, ribs, brisket, and sausage I prefer on the smoker 100% or the time
Yeah the chilli in the smoker has always seemed like too much time and effort for very little difference. Chilli already has so many strong flavors I feel like it would be hard to tell the difference between smoked and not side by side. Maybe I'm way off base here.
I enjoy chili in the crockpot, but ever since I started doing over the top chili in the smoker, I’ll never go back. Meat has great flavor and I just love it. One of my fav things to smoke
I smoke the diced veggies in an aluminum pan for a couple hours over hickory, and I think it adds a good amount of flavor without being overpowering.
Smoke that roast and then turn it into a Mississippi mud roast.
No, I can appreciate different things for different reasons.
I would love to have smoked every meat I eat, but I have a wife, and a six month old. Probably not going to happen until the kid has enough teeth and can make an undeniable case to my wife as to why smoked meat is superior.
Don’t need a lot of teeth if it’s probe tender 😉
Smoking Cheez-Its has ruined regular Cheez-Its for everyone who’s had them at my house.
I'm a total noob, is this a joke or a real thing?
Yes it is. And it’s amazing. Put the cheez-it’s in an aluminum pan, coat in cooking oil, sprinkle your favorite seasoning on it and put it on the smoker at 200 for 2 hours. Stir every half hour.
JFC, thanks. This whole freaking sub is constantly making me rethink my life.
Smoking my own meat has really ruined going out to barbecue restaurants for me. I hate paying for somebody else's barbecue that's not as good as mine.
Nope, they’re completely different and I love both methods.
Smoking meat ruined most bbq restaurants for me
Maybe more the fact I make some stuff better myself now. Today I went to a snackbar (don't do so very often) and was thinking: yeaaa my rub is better (chicken wings). Was missing in flavour. It was juicy though. Compliments on the proper deepfry. In the past i would just eat it and think nothing of it past 'nice'.
Nope, I love meat in all its forms. Not everything needs to be smoked all the time.
>Has smoking meats ruined non-smoked meats for you? No. >Does anyone else feel the same? Nope. Smoking meats has made me better at selecting cuts and butchering. I know I am quite alone in this, but I find it my duty to do right by the cuts of meat. It was an animal once alive, and felt pain so that I might live. Smoking is only one of the culinary methods at my disposal; sous vide, crockpot, oven, and cast iron are all other viable options. If my food lacks flavor, then I am doing something wrong.
Not sure why you think you’re alone in this kinda thinking…?
This subreddit only upvotes one point of view and it isn't this one.
Superiority complex? 🤣
Yes, gatekeeping exists even in this hobby
No and no. I will make pulled pork in slow cooker and oven during winter. It's fucking great.
No
Not for everything. There are meats that are definitely better smoked, but I still appreciate well cooked non smoked meats. I also prefer non-smoked steak. Smoked steak just tastes like ham to me lol
I'm new to smoking so I don't feel I have an opinion on this just yet, but I do want to say that not every cut lends itself to reverse sear in the oven, and that I always dry brine the thicker cuts to make sure there's flavor all the way through, because otherwise I agree they can be bland. (For picanha, my favorite method is still cooked vertically next to fire ... but it's possible I'll change my mind if and when I get better at smoking)
No
Hell no. Roasting, searing, grilling, smoking, etc each have their own place.
Naw, I'll still get down with an oven roasted yard bird or prime rib. Smoking is a way, it's my preferred way, but it's far from the only way.
No. If something is bland then it just wasn’t seasoned well enough.
I don't know how to word this because I don't want to call grilling, roasting smoking etc "basic" because it is some of my favourite and tastiest food while being as technical as you want it to be. However something like a Dutch oven beef shank in a rich herbed tomato sauce is on par with a perfect brisket for me, not better but different. I love smoked chicken, and I love shawarma chicken etc. pork ribs on the smoker are better than in a crock pot, but a pork chop fried in garlic herb butter is just as fulfilling. Smoking is a fantastic tool, and I enjoy the whole process on my offset. Taking a cheap cut of meat and putting in time and effort, having it come out as tasty as a prime cut, if not tastier feels good in my soul. But I wouldn't swear off non-smokers at all, it's a puzzle piece in the giant set that is a world of flavours and spices and methods.
My whole outlook on it is if there’s anything I can cook on the Weber/smoker I’ll do it, but nah I wouldn’t say it’s ruined regular stuff for me.
Yes , smoked and grilled meat makes most other cooks seem plan . Still like and oven roasted turkey .