2 hours ago, Duvel said:
I think for pit barbecue you are also striving for a constant & controlled cooking environment, but you certainly have to work for it.
The smoker I use - as I said: entry level - has automatic temperature control, timer, a reload feature for wood chips and feels pretty much like a SV setup.
To me, and that's just me, they're as different as night and day. Do you ever sit around a tub of water filled with plastic bags and a murmuring motor, drinking beer, watching football, and salivating because of the smell leaking out of the water? Do people gather around the tub of water all sorts of expectantly? Are people nagging you to ask when the sous vide is done?
Just like with everything else involved in prepping and cooking and eating, whether it's getting a 7° angle on a knife's blade, or cooking a hunk of meat with a thermal probe inside so that it comes out "perfectly" (like, what's perfect?), I find that removing the emotional aspect from cooking only lessens the experience of feeding others; after all, in my world, that's what cooking is all about. Other's worlds are most likely different.
