Does a day of cooking reduce your taste ability?

jfarley · January 23

I know this has been discussed before but it really came true for me over the MLK three day weekend. Cooked back ribs Saturday, two "beer can" chickens Sunday, and a chuck roast Monday as I posted previously. Everything tasted pretty good the day of cooking, but something told me it was not quite where it needed to be for perfection. To keep this from getting too long I'll focus on the pulled chuck roast for taco meat. When all was complete it tasted just fine but I still questioned about whether I could have gotten a similar effect from a Crock Pot with much less effort. Most was frozen after the cook but some was put in a container in the fridge to use through the week. Got home from work today and tasted the stuff in the fridge right away. The taste was phenomenal compared to yesterday. All the smoke and spices were there.

So what is it? Does being around the smoke during the cook de-sensitize our taste buds, or does the sitting in the fridge for 24 hours help the taste come together? Is it a combination of both? Was spending a day away from the smoke similar to the way that wine testers cleanse their pallet between wines?

FanOfFanboys · January 23

More desensitized than anything else. Just like when you put cologne on. You quit smelling 15 mins later, other people can still pick up hours later

jfarley · January 23

So the Hai Karate I liberally splash on in the AM is still there when I leave work in the afternoon? I had no clue. :)

SMITTYtheSMOKER · January 23

We see this at every contest we do, after preping and doing 4 different smoked meats over the 10/12 hours. I lose the appetite for any smoked food....time for Chinese or a simple BLT. We take home any leftovers and a day or so later it tastes great, but it seems to take that long for the BBQ cravings to kick in.

gerhardk · January 23

I vote for that the smoke affects your ability to taste smoke. I have had those kinds of comments with ribs were everybody says love the smoky taste and I think geez they must just be polite because I told them they cooked 5 hours. But if there are left overs for lunch the next day I get the flavor. Seems to be less of an issue with pork shoulder maybe because usually eat that a couple of hours after the cooking is done. Gerhard

Skiddymarker · January 23

Desensitized, that's what it is. Kinda like folks in Hershey Pa, bet they can't tell if there is any chocolate aroma or not. Visitors go crazy and the staff looks at you like you've lost it.

Same with the egg, my 6 year old granddaughter says I smell like chicken.....

Village Idiot · January 23

I never hear the "gong" of our Grandfather clock, but it drives overnight visitors bonkers. I think that's a similar phenomenon.

cortguitarman · January 23

When I grill pork chops on the egg, the smoke flavor is much more dominate the next day with left overs.

jerryp · January 23

It's actually far more simple than that. It is common practice in restaurants to prepare soup a day ahead because 24 hours in the fridge marry all the flavors together. Besides, I can't imagine your hovered directly over your egg the entire time.

lousubcap · January 23

A day of cooking on the BGE reduces taste and other abilities depending on how I manage the supervisory adult beverages. That said, I do think the overnight fridge stay mentioned by jerryp does play a bigger role than hanging around the BGE all day. But this opinion could be impacted by the beverages! FWIW-

Griffin · January 23

If you have the time, try and hop in the shower real quick after the meat comes off the Egg (or wash your hands, face and hair in the sink). Seems to help some.

I'm not sure I am buying the smoke flavor being more dominant the next day. If anything, I would think it would mellow out some. Think of smoked cheese and how it mellows out over time. I think its just that we get de-sensitized.

Stoater · January 23

Griffin said:

If you have the time, try and hop in the shower real quick after the meat comes off the Egg (or wash your hands, face and hair in the sink). Seems to help some.

I'm not sure I am buying the smoke flavor being more dominant the next day. If anything, I would think it would mellow out some. Think of smoked cheese and how it mellows out over time. I think its just that we get de-sensitized.

What about a salt water nasal spray, I wonder if that would help with all the smoke you inhale? They say smell is a huge part of taste.

Mickey · January 23

It's the beer.

NibbleMeThis · January 23

I often can't eat after doing a long cook. The rest of the family will be devouring it and saying how good it is, but I just don't have the appetite for it. The next day? I eat it and love it.

Like Griff says, sometimes a good shower helps.

henapple · January 24

A shower in beer will do the trick...

calracefan · January 24

I often can not smell or taste the smoke after a cook, but the next day I can ! I think it may sensory overload !

jfm0830 · January 24

I too suffer from this malady. It was far worse with my old smoker, particularly in the winter when I'd spend a lot of time outdoors playing with the vents trying to hold temps on a cold windy day. I'd try to stand upwind but I always had trouble tasting the smoke flavor in the food. With the Egg being set it and forget it I don't seem to get it quite as bad. It certainly is a bit embarrassing when I have to ask how the smoke flavor is, but most of them get it now.

Personally I think it is a combination of the two. I think your nose gets desensitized and I think the flavor becomes more intense when the food is stored. Although I may not taste much smoke the day I make it, when I take the food out of the fridge as leftovers the smoke is the first thing I smell when I unwrap it.

500 · January 24

Mrs. 500 loves the food that comes off the Egg, but hates the smell of me when I cook it; especially right after I light it and am messing with it to bring up to temp. I don't like it either. The VOC gasses make me want to hurl. At minimum, I have to change my shirt before sitting down to eat. If there's a long rest, I'll shower before dinner. Maybe I'm getting more sensitive to the smoking woods also, but I'm using less and less of them on foods, and just getting the wood flavor from the lump. Ribs and Butt are another story. I can't seem to get enough smoke on them for my taste, but maybe they are smoky enough, and I just can't tell.

henapple · January 24

And reduces sobriety...

nolaegghead · January 24

I used to mill about the egg, but anymore, I attend to it quickly, and go about my business in the house or manbearcave. So unless I'm cooking something that needs constant attention, I don't really get exposed to much smoke.

Eggcelsior · January 24

I need my wife to videotape me doing the egg dance while I wait for something, trying to avoid the smoke from hitting me. Amazingly, it just follows me around; the smoke gods are trying to smite me. I always need to shower before eating or she'll hurl. Hooray for pregnancy!

nolaegghead · January 24

Eggcelsior said:

I need my wife to videotape me doing the egg dance while I wait for something, trying to avoid the smoke from hitting me. Amazingly, it just follows me around; the smoke gods are trying to smite me. I always need to shower before eating or she'll hurl. Hooray for pregnancy!

Please - we need that video. ;)

I have installed the VNSES (Vegetarian Neighbor Smoke Exhaust System) the blows the egg smoke away from the bidness side of the egg towards our vegetarian neighbors next door.... Works like a champ.

5000th post. Yikes.

Duganboy · January 25

@nolaegghead you ain't right boy!!!

nolaegghead · January 25

Duganboy said:

@nolaegghead you ain't right boy!!!

An proud of it! Hey, got the blue cap - awesome - I wore it all day yesterday! Great story - you da man!

Tjcoley · January 25

NibbleMeThis said:

I often can't eat after doing a long cook. The rest of the family will be devouring it and saying how good it is, but I just don't have the appetite for it. The next day? I eat it and love it.

Like Griff says, sometimes a good shower helps.

+1. Some days the cook itself ends up more satisfying than the end result. I think after smelling a low and slow for 24 hours you become desensitized to the flavor. Much more enjoyable later in the day or the next day.

SPRIGS · January 25

I always notice the smoke flavor is more pronounced the nest day. Can't count the number of times I didn't think there was much smoke flavor the day of the cook but then can really pick it up the second day.

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Does a day of cooking reduce your taste ability?

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