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BBQ Smoker design goes to Harvard-what next?

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lousubcap
lousubcap Posts: 32,393
in EggHead Forum
Heard about this on the morning drive and then found the linked article.  Engineering class at Harvard takes on the challenge of creating the "perfect" smoker.  For your reading enjoyment.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/05/harvard-class-cooks-ultimate-bbq-smoker/0O4fLQ0rbt9qMGsllPoTjK/story.html
Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Sardonicus
    Sardonicus Posts: 1,700
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    Interesting piece.


    It's about time someone invented the wheel again.

    "Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and barbecuing."      - George Burns

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  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
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    Haha that's a crazy amount of dedication, I wonder what the end result would cost to produce? 
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
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    Interesting.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • FanOfFanboys
    FanOfFanboys Posts: 2,615
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    So...it is like a slightly modified shape of a BGE, is that right?
    Boom
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  • TheShaytoon
    TheShaytoon Posts: 420
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    I think one of the more interesting findings is that they wanted to keep the meat at under 120 as long as possible, to make sure the meat is tender...hmmm maybe start the brisket at 200, and then bring it up to normal cooking temp, 250-275....


    I have a very hard time engaging in passive relaxation. Twitter.Instagram.
    Dallas, TX

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  • XC242
    XC242 Posts: 1,208
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    I feel sorry for the guy who found out he's allergic to smoke. Can you imagine how tough that would be if you love to BBQ. 
    LBGE (still waitin' for my free T-Shirt), DIgiQ DX2 (In Blue, cause it's the fastest), Heavy Duty Kick Ash Basket, Mc Farland, WI. :glasses:  B)
    If it wasn't for my BGE I'd have no use for my backyard...
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,188
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    Interesting but it had your typical Haaarvard arrogance associated with it.
     
    "Many products have been refined by cycles of science and engineering. Barbecue, however, has been a veritable Wild West in which pit masters build mishmash setups that incorporate garbage cans, cinder blocks, a giant rotisserie. There seemed to be little in the way of deep understanding of how — or why — one smoker was better than another, Parker said." 

    “They are the biggest contraptions and pieces of junk you’ve ever seen,” he said. “Everyone had their own little mojo they brought to the problem.”


    Cooking can be a science but it'll never beat the art of cooking. I'll put my money on Aaron Franklin over some college kid any day. 


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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    Interesting read. I'm sure Poindexters with pocket protectors passed there coarse but, Centuries of Kamado style cooking successes don't lie. And the curious question would be what kind of versatility does their design have. Granted it sounds like the study was solely fixed on brisket.  Kinda cool either way. 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
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    NPHuskerFL said:
    Interesting read. I'm sure Poindexters with pocket protectors passed there coarse but, Centuries of Kamado style cooking successes don't lie. And the curious question would be what kind of versatility does their design have. Granted it sounds like the study was solely fixed on brisket.  Kinda cool either way. 
    The irony of your post is quite funny.
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    @EggcelsiorI'm not an Ivy Leaguer but ironic how?  Mind melted from the rooftop heat so don't bust on me to hard. :wink: 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
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    NPHuskerFL said:
    @EggcelsiorI'm not an Ivy Leaguer but ironic how?  Mind melted from the rooftop heat so don't bust on me to hard. :wink: 
    You were busting on "poindexter" and then had a typo. Thereby reinforcing the nerd vs jock stereotype, albeit not purposely.
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  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
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    @DoubleEgger ... ouch ... come on ... the professor said he grew up in the South and had a deep appreciation for BBQ. 

    Most of the books on old time BBQ joints talk about the homemade pits that were built based on the pit master's own ideas of the ideal pit ... and many of them easily fit into the realm of junk yard contraptions.    Ignoring what's out there today - and the UDS is not a thing of beauty - it's not hard to relate to what he's saying about BBQing being more of an art than a science. Hell, even @SGH has been building BBQ units based on his idea of what's ideal.

    What Parker did is not unusual in a university setting.  Most technical oriented universities have a junior/senior class that brings together small teams with various skills sets to tackle a number of unique problems. He came up with a project/problem, organized financing, assembled a "team of novices", and gave them free reign to find a solution ... hopefully a unique solution.  That's the typical "Senior Project" mode of teaching.  Via the company I worked for, we sponsored a number of projects like this only oriented towards solving problems in our product line.

    Without saying it, it looks like they started with a BGE.  They identified turbulent airflow (and we have a number of threads on this forum discussing that very concern) as one of the problems with the egg.  They investigated and came up with a solution to address that problem.  Ran computer simulations to refine their solution, built a prototype and tested it out in a real world situation.  Oh yes, their final grade was based on their results ... not unlike the commercial world where the company sinks or swims based on developing good products.

    Yes, Parker probably did beat his chest a little too much for some folks.  But man, I've seen the results from some of our projects out of the university settings ... makes me glad I'm retired and not competing with them.

    Just like the chess matches between Big Blue and Gary Kasparov, don't count the technical types out.  Aaron might seem unbeatable, but ...


    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    Eggcelsior said:
    NPHuskerFL said:
    @EggcelsiorI'm not an Ivy Leaguer but ironic how?  Mind melted from the rooftop heat so don't bust on me to hard. :wink: 
    You were busting on "poindexter" and then had a typo. Thereby reinforcing the nerd vs jock stereotype, albeit not purposely.
    I see what you did their. 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,188
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    @Jeepster47 - I know there's a lot of good stuff that comes out of university research. GT research institute is big money/big time here in Atlanta. Anytime there's something that comes from Massachusetts, there's a fair amount of chest thumping and peacocking along with it. 
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    edited May 2015
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    Interesting article for sure. I really enjoy such stuff as this. I have always been facinated with different styles of smokers and tinkering with their design myself. With that said, and not going to in depth with detail, the naturally aspirated, wood fired, natural draft style offset has never been bested. Even with all the advances in fan assisted convection, reverse flow, down draft and state of the art building materials such as ceramics and ss, the old stand by still stands right at the top of the food chain. Sure, these advancements certainly make some things easier or more convienant. But they do little or nothing to improve overall quality of the finished product. I'm going to offer a opinion here, and please remember that it is just that. My opinion only. With that said, here goes. There is no perfect design. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. There are things that my egg does better than unit #6 and vice versa. There are things I liked cooked better in a direct fired unit as opposed to reverse flow unit and vice versa. This is why I own and use several different styles of cookers. I fit each one to a particular need. Sorry for rambling on and on my friend. Thanks for sharing the link above. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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