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[pmillen]

It appears that BBQing is moving from low & slow to hot & fast.  Many competitors are BBQing brisket, for instance, at 350-400°.  They’re done in around four hours.

This may have been pioneered by drum smoker users.  They sometimes have difficulty getting their drums’ temperatures into the typical low & slow range.

So, have any of you upped your temperatures into what might be considered the hot & fast range?

Does it degrade the product?

BTW, I tend to call this technique smoke-roasting, not smoking or BBQing.

[triplebq]

I have tried a brisket hot and fast but prefer low and slow. Now I do cook beef ribs hot and fast. For me it just depends on what I am cooking. 

[Bar-B-Lew]

I make most everything at 275 degrees

[Osborn Cox]

I made a pork shoulder earlier this week at 300 until I wrapped and then bumped it to 325.    I did it out of necessity because of time constraints, but my family agreed it was the best pulled pork I have ever made.   Still had good smoky flavor too.     Haven’t tried brisket yet,  but given these results I’m planning on it next time.

[hughver]

Except for searing, I use the lowest temperature possible to achieve my cooking objective. Here is a quote that I read in an article recently. …. "We took two 6‑pound rib roasts and roasted one at 450 degrees and the other at 250 degrees until each was medium-rare. We then weighed the cooked roasts. The slow-cooked roast had lost about 9.25 percent of its starting weight, while the high-temperature roast had lost nearly 25 percent of its original weight."....  I still normally cook pork butts to high temperature but everything else, I smoke for several hours and then sous vide at less than 145°. To obtain the Maillard reaction and aesthetics reasons, I sear most items but it's not necessary.   

[pmillen]

The slow-cooked roast had lost about 9.25 percent of its starting weight, while the high-temperature roast had lost nearly 25 percent of its original weight."

Was that water weight that was lost?  Did the high temperature boil more water off even though it wasn't cooking as long?

[Bentley]

450° is grilling temperature in my book. 

Weigh loss is interesting, as you can cook a brisket at 200°, and by the time it is tender, it is going to have lost about 45-50% of weight.  If you cook that same brisket at about 325-350°, I bet you would find that loss is around 35-40%.  It is why some of the BBQ joints have gone to a higher heat cook, all about profit margin and how to increase it!

[hughver]

If you cook that same brisket at about 325-350°, I bet you would find that loss is around 35-40%. 

Since I sous vide my briskets after low temperature smoke, the next one I will weigh before and after and let you know about the weight loss.

[Bentley]

OK, but not sure there is any correlation in these 2 styles of cooking.

If you cook that same brisket at about 325-350°, I bet you would find that loss is around 35-40%. 

Since sous vide my briskets after low temperature smoke, the next one I will weigh before and after and let you know about the weight loss.

[Canadian John]

 The Big Green Egg crowd has been doing "turbo cooks" for years..Most will never go back to low and slow..I believe Myron Mixon was the instigator.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I think this was all driven by competitions and how to cook the fastest on the least amount of equipment and still have good results.

[pmillen]

I think this was all driven by competitions and how to cook the fastest on the least amount of equipment and still have good results.

So the competitors who cook hot and fast (say, a brisket at 350-400°) must think that their turn-in is as good as if they had smoked it low & slow?

[hughver]

This is not truly an apples to apples comparison, but, FWIW, I took a frozen flat out of the freezer and had it for supper last night. I thawed and warmed the flat via sous vide to 130°. Weighed both the flat and the juices. The juices were about 20% of the total weight. I smoked the brisket at a very low temperature so I doubt that much moisture was lost during smoking. 

[Bar-B-Lew]

I think this was all driven by competitions and how to cook the fastest on the least amount of equipment and still have good results.

So the competitors who cook hot and fast (say, a brisket at 350-400°) must think that their turn-in is as good as if they had smoked it low & slow?

I would think yes as there is a lot of money involved in some of these comps and costs incurred to participate.

[pmillen]

This is not truly an apples to apples comparison, but, FWIW, I took a frozen flat out of the freezer and had it for supper last night. I thawed and warmed the flat via sous vide to 130°. Weighed both the flat and the juices. The juices were about 20% of the total weight. I smoked the brisket at a very low temperature so I doubt that much moisture was lost during smoking. 

Is this an accurate recap? 

• You froze a smoked flat
• You SVd it
• The juice in the SV bag was 20% of the frozen weight