Blank Slate in SE(ish) Texas

batmitzvahspread · Mar 1, 2010

Just to make it perfectly clear, I. know. nothing. about. smoking.
Zip, zilch, nada.

I'm originally from SoCal, and my husband and I moved to rural Texas a little over two years ago.
There we had every possible fast-food option within a five mile radius, so actual cooking was fairly rare.
Here we're fifteen miles from anything, so I've been dusting off my 7th grade Home Ec skills - with fair success.

But what brought me to this forum was a charming local man nicknamed Peanut. A couple of months ago, he had "meat" duties for the district planning meeting that was held at our local VFD.

He spent a good six hours out in the cook shack tending some pork picnic roasts and his result was absolutely fan-tas-tic. It was tender, it was juicy, it was delicious...it was like eating potato chips - you couldn't have just one! He would not give up his secret (beyond "secret herbs and spices") and ever since I've been hell-bent on recreating the goodness he prepared.

So here I am. I'm looking forward to it.

rbranstner · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome to the forum. What kind of smoker do you have? If you do some reading here and ask some questions you will be smoking up some great stuff in no time. There are lots of helpful people here.

mballi3011 · Mar 1, 2010

First off welcome to SMF. It sounds like you are well on your way to be an outstanding new member of this fine site. You'll like it here cause there are abunch of good folks here that would just love to help you out with just about anything to do with smoking. We really like to have newbies here because they can bring in a new propective to how things are done. There's nothing like a new set of eyes to give and new way to make things that little differant to make things alittle better. So I hope you know about the Qview here.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=58920
Here's a link to photobucket it's free and easy to download pictures. Then if your really new to smoking Look up the E-course.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...play.php?f=127
It's also free and it will give you the basics of smoking. So after all of that you just need to go grab something to smoke and if you have any question just post them here and we will answer it quickly so you don't have any mishaps with your smoke.
Welcome To Your New Addiction

mama's smoke · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome to SMF. You will love this site, but be warned -- Smoking is an addiction. The ideas and recipes you receive here will have your head spinning. You will lose sleep at night thinking up ideas for your next smoke. You will spend more time in the meat section. The smell of hickory will bring you running. Sorry, lost myself for a moment there. Welcome, welcome, welcome

chef jeff tx · Mar 1, 2010

Howdy neighbor, welcome to the SMF!!

meateater · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks here and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

You will be a pro in no time here.

denver dave · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome aboard. You are going to love it out here. This is a great forum to learn. Ask lots of questions and send us lots of qview. You will be surprised how fast you pick it up.

etcher1 · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome

to the SMF forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.

bigolboysbbq · Mar 1, 2010

Welcome to the site man

beer-b-q · Mar 2, 2010

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[font=&quot]Welcome to SMF, Glad to have you with us. This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.[/font]

[font=&quot]For Those of you New to Smoking, be sure to check out Jeff's 5 Day Smoking Basics eCourse.[/font]
[font=&quot]Click Here it's "FREE" ... 5 Day eCourse[/font]

[font=&quot]I Would Highly Suggest Reading these posts on Food Safety by bbally. [/font]

[font=&quot]This thread will tell you basically everything you need to know and the man explaining it is[/font]
[font=&quot]both a ServSafe Instructor and a HACCP Instructor.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...t=72852&page=2[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86620[/font]

[font=&quot]Here you can get the 2009 USDA Food Safety Guide from his site.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://prochefblog.com/public_pics/f...09foodcode.pdf[/font]

[font=&quot]How to post Qview to Forum:[/font]

[font=&quot]When you uploading to Photobucket I always use the Large IMG setting, 640 x 480 it is a nice size...[/font]

[font=&quot]Everyone here enjoys seeing the Qview so be sure to post plenty of pics...[/font]

[font=&quot]Large ones that us old people with bad eyes can see.[/font]

[font=&quot][/font]

[font=&quot]For Step By Step Instructions On Posting Qview Check Out This Tutorial[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=82034[/font]

rdknb · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome aboard and here you will get lots of help and advice.

jjwdiver · Mar 2, 2010

Glad you found this site and welcome to SMF. We accept all kinds and are looking forward to getting you to that goal of yours. Ask questions, search around the site, post lots of qview and most of all... have fun!

Plenty of folks here with bags full of info, others with little nuggets of better ways to do it.

treegje · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome to the SMF, We are glad to have you onboard

bassman · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome aboard! There are really no secrets to smoking a good pork butt. Just start reading here, ask questions and begin smoking.

richoso1 · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome to the SMF, you've found the right place for information on smoking/grilling/cooking outdoors. It's all good my friend.

caveman · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome to the forum. There is a Plethora of knowledge here. Dig in & enjoy.

ecodork · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome! This place will get you started on the right foot!

That's funny, we did the opposite as you guys...we were in that area of TX then moved to SoCal for 2 years. Talk about a big culture shock for ya (and us)! We lived in College Station and it a was culture shock even for a kid FROM south texas!

I'll tell you what though, once you get over the moving-blues, that area will grow on you. Low crime, affordable, low density, friendly folks....Enjoy the beautiful spring weather and the blue bonnets.

Explore the country, the people, and the food. There's LOTS of good food and BBQ to be had around there. The German-influence on the food in that area makes for some tasty grub. You'll be able to get some top quality meat in that area, for sure--it'll make learning to smoke and BBQ that much better. Get out to Elgin, Lockhart, and Bryan for some the the state's best que. Bastrop's beautiful. Austin's great, the Hill Country is heaven. If you miss SoCal traffic and smog, take a trip to Houston

. The Blue Bell Ice Creamery is right in your back yard and offers tours. You're not far (by TX standards) from the Shiner Bock Brewery if you enjoy beer. Strangely, the state has it's share of winery's. They're different from Cali-style and they're good in their own way. The gulf coast is not far either. It's not the pacific, but it's got charm and tasty seafood. And further east you get the Louisiana-Cajun influence with is interesting (and tasty).

Take a trip down Hwy 77 to Goliad for some great civil war history and to see some beautiful oak/scrub forest. And the mexican influence down there changes the food and bbq in very tasty ways.

If you have time for longer trips, San Antonio is a great city. The food, the missions, the riverwalk. I'm from Laredo which is across the border from Mexico. My gold standard for mexican food is based on SoTex-fare. It ain't the Tex-Mex you see in most restaurants. If you like camping Big Bend is a spiritual place (just don't go in the heat of the summer). Hill Country is tops for camping too.

FYI-Whataburger is a TX institution...and is the closest thing to an In&Out Burger that you'll find in TX.

I enjoy were we live now (NC) but clearly I miss TX...

batmitzvahspread · Mar 2, 2010

Thank you for the warm welcome!

I did sign up for the 5-day eCourse and the newsletter when I registered, so I got that going for me.

I haven't bought a smoker yet, I've got some digging still to do in that area. Thankfully, my husband is exceptionally handy with all manner of materials so if mods are necessary, they can be done.

This is going to be fun.

acemakr · Mar 2, 2010

Welcome to the SMF. The depth of knowledge here is fantastic and everyone is more than willing to share that knowledge. It will significantly shorten your learning process.

batmitzvahspread · Mar 2, 2010

Good!
'Cuz I'll tell you what, our learning curve with cattle was a straight line - vertical.

@ECOdork
No moving blues, 0 regrets.
We fall in love with it out here again at least once a week. Well, except last week, when it snowed!

Blank Slate in SE(ish) Texas

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