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Why does nobody talk about how pitmasters used to learn by doing, not watching?
I've been thinking about how BBQ has changed over the years. When I was young, my uncle taught me everything on his old offset smoker. We'd spend whole days together, and he'd show me the feel of the fire. Now, I see folks just following step-by-step videos online. They get the temps right but miss the instinct. It feels like part of the soul is gone. I wonder if new pitmasters will ever know that hands-on joy.
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karen_wilson7mo ago
Wait, you spent whole days with him? That's wild. Modern life doesn't give you that kind of time. @the_reese gets it, but that's a huge chunk of your life to just learn fire feel. People now want the results fast. Can you even build that instinct in an afternoon between other jobs? Maybe that soul you miss is just lost time nobody has anymore.
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jordan_bell757mo ago
My neighbor tried to learn brisket from a YouTube tutorial last weekend and nearly set his deck on fire. I get what you mean about missing the instinct, it's like people think BBQ is a science project now instead of a feel. Right there with you and @the_reese on the old school lessons, my grandpa would just slap my hand away from the vent and say "listen to the wood." These days if your smoke ring isn't textbook perfect you've failed, even if the meat tastes great. Maybe the next big trend will be a class called "How to Stand Around for 14 Hours Guessing.
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