Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?

Mark Thorson wrote:
Bob Muncie wrote:
Mark Thorson wrote:
Dave Bugg wrote:
Mark Thorson wrote:

Ah, okay. That's how you refute the silly
notion that a fuel and an oxidizer mixed
in gaseous form in the presence of a source
of ignition can burn. Brilliant. Maybe
you should be teaching chemistry, instead of
the fools that taught me.
No, that's how I refute silly know-it-alls who equate classroom chemistry
and refined chemicals with woodburning and bbq.
Yes, when challenged, you respond with bluff and
bluster rather than facts. You seem to think
you can shout down facts with ridicule.

As I said before, there are many books dealing with smoking and curing that
will help you complete your knowledge.
I already have plenty of books which cover the
curing and smoking of meat from the scientific
point-of-view. If there was a significant
contribution of nitrates or nitrates from smoke,
they would mention it. They do not. Here's a
small sample from my library (more could be
provided, but that's clearly not necessary):


Quoting from _The_Meat_We_Eat_ by Romans and Ziegler,
11th edition, page 587:

"Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation
it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous
distillate and a quantity of tar. The residue is
wood charcoal. The aqueous distillate contains methyl
(wood) alcohol mixed with acetic acid and acetone and
a little methyl acetate and is known as pyroligneous
acid (liquid smoke)."


Quoting from _The_Science_of_Meat_and_Meat_Products_
by Gillespie, page 314:

"Among the chemicals which have been identified in
smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through
caproic; primary and secondary alcohols; ketones;
formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and other aldehydes;
phenols; creosols; and a mixture of waxes and resins."


Quoting from _Processed_Meats_ by Kramlich, Pearson,
and Tauber, page 68-69:

"Wood consists of 40 to 60% cellulose, 20 to 30%
hemicellulose, and 20 to 30% lignan. During thermal
decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature
gradient temporarily exists between the outer surface
and the inner core. The outer surface is being
oxidized and the inner surface is being dehydrated
before it can be oxidized. The temperature of the
outer surface is slightly above 212F during the
dehydration process. Carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, and some volatile organic short-chain
organic acids, such as acetic, are being released
during the dehydration or distillation process.
When the internal moisture level in the center of
the sawdust approaches zero, the temperature rapidly
rises to 570 to 750F. Once the temperature falls
within this range, thermal decomposition occurs and
smoke is given off. Actually, most of the changes
in wood of any consequence to smoke generation
occur between 390 and 750F. In the temperature
range 390 to 500F, the release of gases and a sharp
increase in the amount of volatile acids is evident.
Between 500 mand 590F, pyroligneous liquor and some
tars are produced. As the temperature reaches 590F
or above, lignan is decomposed, yielding phenol and
its derivatives."

From page 70:

"As soon as the smoke is generated, numerous
reactions and condensations occur. Aldehydes and
phenols condense to form resins, which represent
about 50% of the smoke components and are believed
to provide most of the color of smoked meats."
Thanks for the science lesson Mark. Are you bucking for a spot on Alton
Brown's show :-)

I've never seen his show. Anybody could do what I do,
if they had a library like mine. For an amateur, it's
a pretty good collection.

He has a 30 minute show on FoodTV called "Good Eats". He goes into the origins and/or science as to "why" he cooks what he is cooking. As I recall, he had a pretty good episode on brining (relevant to a recent thread).

Bob
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?
    ... "Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation ... it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous ... smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through ... decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?
    ... "Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation ... it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous ... smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through ... decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?
    ... "Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation ... it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous ... smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through ... decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?
    ... "Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation ... it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous ... smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through ... decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Microwave BBQ recipe?
    ... "Where wood is subjected to destructive distillation ... it yields inflammable gases, a strongly acid aqueous ... smoke are aliphatic acids ranging from formic through ... decomposition of wood or wood sawdust, a temperature ...
    (rec.food.cooking)