Hey everyone,
I'm new to the forum.. My name is Steve, I live in Bangor, Maine, and yes, we are indeed a part of the United States! I work in the mental health field, I'm into the outdoors and I love to fish. I've also traveled a lot, lived in a lot of difference places, and eaten 'cue anywhere I've had the chance (from Maine to Florida, as far west as Iowa and as far east as Germany, and pretty much everywhere within the diameter of the circle on a map that I just detailed).
I'm a BBQ enthusiast, but I'm only a beginner to intermediate skill level in smoking. So far I haven't been in a position to have one of my own (moving, college, etc.) so I've used other peoples' rigs whenever I could, but I'll be purchasing my first smoker within the next couple of weeks. I have little experience with beef but I love smoking pork, chicken, and fish, and spent a lot of time researching and getting my baby back technique just perfect (wrote one of my college theses on a proper rib smoke as a matter of fact!).
Yeah, I get hungry and look up tasty food. Yes, that does inevitably lead to BBQ a lot of the time, and I find myself hyperfocused on articles, recipes, and techniques for hours at a time. What started out as an interest became a hobby and quickly grew into an obsession. I'm really looking forward to finally having my own setup so I can try what I've learned, practice what I know, and branch out into whole new experiences as well.
My main love is ribs, good ol' dry rubbed and then sauce slathered tender ribs with a bit of pull and a nice pink ring. I do also have a particular interest in taking standard things outside of their comfort zone by using non traditional ingredients, mixing cooking styles or techniques, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love me some smoked bacon wrapped pork loin, but I also get curious about more obscure (and sometimes impossible) things like maybe a lobster and beurre blanc sausage that smokes at a temperature that won't break the emulsion. At least this is how my mind works in regular cooking... I guess from moving around a lot I just grew up with such a variety of influences that I end up being inspired to use x technique with y ingredients, often with mixed results.
Guess I could have summed that up saying I'm both a traditionalist and an adventurer. As you can see, I tend to be long winded. I apologize in advance! That being said, I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing my experiences going forward!
~S.
I'm new to the forum.. My name is Steve, I live in Bangor, Maine, and yes, we are indeed a part of the United States! I work in the mental health field, I'm into the outdoors and I love to fish. I've also traveled a lot, lived in a lot of difference places, and eaten 'cue anywhere I've had the chance (from Maine to Florida, as far west as Iowa and as far east as Germany, and pretty much everywhere within the diameter of the circle on a map that I just detailed).
I'm a BBQ enthusiast, but I'm only a beginner to intermediate skill level in smoking. So far I haven't been in a position to have one of my own (moving, college, etc.) so I've used other peoples' rigs whenever I could, but I'll be purchasing my first smoker within the next couple of weeks. I have little experience with beef but I love smoking pork, chicken, and fish, and spent a lot of time researching and getting my baby back technique just perfect (wrote one of my college theses on a proper rib smoke as a matter of fact!).
Yeah, I get hungry and look up tasty food. Yes, that does inevitably lead to BBQ a lot of the time, and I find myself hyperfocused on articles, recipes, and techniques for hours at a time. What started out as an interest became a hobby and quickly grew into an obsession. I'm really looking forward to finally having my own setup so I can try what I've learned, practice what I know, and branch out into whole new experiences as well.
My main love is ribs, good ol' dry rubbed and then sauce slathered tender ribs with a bit of pull and a nice pink ring. I do also have a particular interest in taking standard things outside of their comfort zone by using non traditional ingredients, mixing cooking styles or techniques, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love me some smoked bacon wrapped pork loin, but I also get curious about more obscure (and sometimes impossible) things like maybe a lobster and beurre blanc sausage that smokes at a temperature that won't break the emulsion. At least this is how my mind works in regular cooking... I guess from moving around a lot I just grew up with such a variety of influences that I end up being inspired to use x technique with y ingredients, often with mixed results.
Guess I could have summed that up saying I'm both a traditionalist and an adventurer. As you can see, I tend to be long winded. I apologize in advance! That being said, I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing my experiences going forward!
~S.
