I think the article exaggerates the lack of accessibility in BBQ. There sure is a fair amount of BBQ-broscience but resources like AmazingRibs.com, Aaron Franklin's YouTube videos, and Virtual Weber Bullet all have great recipes, guides, and forums. The challenge is that BBQ is true regional American cuisine, with a lot of variation. This is similar to authentic Chinese or Indian food where there are significant differences among the regional flavors, techniques and ingredients. The cooking tools aren't overly dissimilar, or don't really need to be, as traditional pits are pretty impractical... but you have to know what flavors and textures you're looking for.
I own a Big Green Egg (ceramic Kamado-style oven) and a Weber Smokey Mountain (a vertical water smoker) and I have a hunch right away as to the improvement with this device.
The Egg is quite versatile in that you can do direct grilling along with indirect slow roasting, by use of a "plate setter". This is a large ceramic plate with legs that is very similar to what is used to fire plates in a kiln, though in this case it acts as a heat sink and shield between the meat and the fire.
The hourglass shape enables a better blockage of direct heat from the main cooking chamber. BGE plate setters have gaps on the sides that in the case of large briskets can burn the ends, leading to a form of traditional "burnt ends" unless you're diligent about dousing hotspots with a water gun and mopping/spritzing regularly.
This is partly why I prefer the Weber smokey mountain for brisket. That said, Kamados are very easy to use - dump your lump, light a couple paraffin cubes, and you're up in 20 minutes.
I agree, there's plenty of good online resources, and brisket especially is pretty straightforward. When I was learning, I absorbed Aaron Franklin's videos and was delighted with the results even as a beginner. By the time I mustered the willpower to actually wait in line and try some BBQ at Franklin's, I was pleased to find that I really wasn't too far off.
This line from the article was a little silly:
"In the end, the secret was to precisely control the temperature both in the smoker and in the meat over the “low and slow” smoke."
When really the importance of heat control is pretty well known. Something I use and that may be of interest to HN is a heatermeter:
which uses a fan to maintain a set temperature automatically and has a web interface to monitor it remotely. The article mentioned the students had built something similar too.
I own a Big Green Egg (ceramic Kamado-style oven) and a Weber Smokey Mountain (a vertical water smoker) and I have a hunch right away as to the improvement with this device.
The Egg is quite versatile in that you can do direct grilling along with indirect slow roasting, by use of a "plate setter". This is a large ceramic plate with legs that is very similar to what is used to fire plates in a kiln, though in this case it acts as a heat sink and shield between the meat and the fire.
The hourglass shape enables a better blockage of direct heat from the main cooking chamber. BGE plate setters have gaps on the sides that in the case of large briskets can burn the ends, leading to a form of traditional "burnt ends" unless you're diligent about dousing hotspots with a water gun and mopping/spritzing regularly.
This is partly why I prefer the Weber smokey mountain for brisket. That said, Kamados are very easy to use - dump your lump, light a couple paraffin cubes, and you're up in 20 minutes.