How did you start Smokin' Meat?

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How did you start Smokin' Meat?

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rp ribking

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Oct 29, 2009
990
26
Northern, Indiana
I remember a thread ahwile back about how we got into this great hobby, thought I would do a poll on this subject.

Tell us your story....

Here is mine.   

I was a die hard gas grill guy (steaks, dogs, sausage, burgers) I wanted them done quickly. A Friend of mine taught me how to use charcoal instead of gas (I was a total newb with charcoal), didn't even know how to light it, please do not laugh. The year was 2007. Still only doin' steaks and such, not smokin' yet. 

Then came 2008 a guy at work informed me if you want fall off the bone ribs then just wrap them in foil the whole time. That is what I did every time, still no smoke yet. I did buy a Silver Smoker w/SFB and had them wrapped in foil the whole time with no wood, just charcoal. They did fall off the bone too much.

Then came November of 2009. That month changed my life for ever (I really mean it), I found this Great Forum and bought a 22.5" WSM. I smoke with wood and lump now. I have came a long way with your help.

My Thanks goes out to the SMF Members

John
 
I started back when the guy in the neighboring cave discovered fire and we needed to find a use for it...  I had a couple of brontosaurus ribs laying around and...

Oh wait, I dreamed that...  I started back in 1984 when I went to a new restaurant and thought I can do that...  I got me a small ecb ant the rest is history.
 
I live in a bbq mecca and decided maybe I could do my own at home. I was addicted to lexington style bbq and figured I could save some money and have a fun hobby to entertain and feed guests with. Bought an ECB and although I'm no master, I prefer my cue to going out now. Hopefully will graduate to a WSM to go with my Genesis soon. Great thread by the way.

Steve
 
I started cleaning a BBQ joint at 13 (33 years ago) on Saturdays and six months later he expanded with a dining room about 20 tables and I went full time after school. The owner and myself were the only ones that prepped and smoked all the meats. I couldn't find good BBQ here in the desert so here I am back making my own. 
 
Never smoked a thing in my life, and one day walked into Sam's and saw the 40 MES & bought it, along with about 25 lbs. of meat. Came home & googled smoked ribs & this site came up. Been smoking ever since.
 
My custom grill (my father built it about 20 years ago and we've been rebuilding it via new burners, etc...) got thrown 27.5 feet (measured it off), off a deck, during a horrible storm. Somehow it went up a level (deck is 3 levels), over a 5' rail (old picket-fence gate from a family farm), and landed 27.5 feet from its storage spot. Needless to say the grill was totaled. I had a BBQ planned two days later so I had to buy a "cheap" replacement for the short-term. I bought a RED grill and actually read the instructions. During that reading I saw that it could be used for smoking so I bought some chips and smoked myself some ribs. They turned out OK (much better than ribs in the oven) but I wasn't happy with the experience.

It was then that I began to contemplate a purchase of a dedicated smoker. While doing the research, I found this website and read it for many months before signing-up. During that research I decided that my first smoker would be the GOSM BB. Why? At that point I never grilled on coals so I wasn't ready, or so I felt, for a charcoal or wood burning smoker. That left electric and gas. I went with the GOSM, over an MES, because of the price. Eventually I did buy the MES but I'm glad I learned on a GOSM. Now I'm learning the art of charcoal/wood on my WSM.
 
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I was a griller for a very longtime. I just thought I could start smoking some good Q and went and bought me a smoker. Just want to take it up a knotch.
 
Some of my first memories as a child is cooking food with fire in various ways. My dad and his best friend were big hunters, fishermen, campers, grillers and smokers so I grew up around a lot of outdoor cooking of sorts. 1st thing I learned to cook (around 3 years old) was fish we caught while camping, put in a basket and cooked over a camp fire (dad said if I want dinner I better go catch it and learn how to cook it). I also always remember always having a giant horizontal offset smoker around. I would study everything they did from keeping the fire, to how to prep the meat, to what it looks like when its done and all of the in-betweens. By the time I was 9 or 10 I was running the pit like a champ. Eventually I moved to Miami and rarely smoked but grilled all of the time (I didn't know many people that had smokers and couldn't buy one due to apartment living). I moved back up to the DC area and bought a WSM (thanks to the SMF family's advise) not to long ago and I am happily smoking again.
 
Followed in my father's footsteps -- a bit.  He was always a charcoal griller (mostly Weber kettle) and had a small hibachi (which I have now confiscated
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) that turns out fantastic meals.  So I learned the awesomeness of charcoal grilling from him. 

In the early 90's, I read a Sunset Mag article about how to smoke a Thanksgiving turkey in the Weber using wine-infused oak wood chips.  It was a smash hit (I don't think we've done a turkey any other way since).  Picked up an ECB for $10 at a garage sale and started experimenting with pork & fish (still have that in my collection, too).

Then I built "Grillestate" -- a combo SFB with a New Braunfels upright bolted to the end of the SFB rig for 1500 square inches of grate surface and all kinds of options for wood, coal, propane and hot or cold smokes.

c657e42a_TheFinishedProduct.jpg
 
It says "How Did You Start Smokin' Meat?"

I had to check "Yourself", because it didn't say, "How Did You Start Smokin' Meat Properly?"---Or I would have said, "The Smoking Meat Forums".

Bear
 
Back in 1977 with a Lurh Jenson smoker.

Will post a pic later of it.
 
Grew up in a family that BBQ'd every weekend.  Then joined the army and got to visit such BBQ hot spots as Virginia, North Carolina, Tennesee, and Korea (yes no typo).  When I got married and had a family I started cooking on the weekends as well.  I have gone from Oil Field pipe pits to a MES now on UDS smokers.  My whole family loves smoked foods I just always wanted to be the expert at it in the family.  Started with chicken and beef now will smoke anything that had a pulse at one point in time.
 
It was in the early 70's and I got into a group of guys that deer hunted together. One rule was ,"every deer that anyone in the group shot, all the ribs were saved until the end of the season and there was a rib feed for the group". A concrete block fire pit was built and a screen was placed on top and the ribs were cooked on it.

 Those were the days. 
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I started in the early 80`s smoking Rainbow Trout in a Galvinized trash can that I made into a smoker. A couple years later I moved to N. California and started catching Salmon so bought me a Big Chief Smoker. Then I retired 20 yrs ago and moved to Louisiana where I was raised and started smoking on my little round grill that I bought from Walmart using indirect heat. Never knew anything about IT till I came here last year and bought a elec. smoker from Walmart for 10.00. It had been carried over through the winter sitting outside and had 2 broken legs and was very rusty. Just bought a used upright with a off set fire box off of Craigs List but have not used it yet. Its pretty big and I usually just smoke for myself  90% of the time since I live along and don`t have many friends.lol

I have really enjoyed this site an the members on here. GREAT group of people. Thanks to all of you for your help.
 
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I bought an electric brinkman about 20 yrs ago to smoke ribs... gave it away and bought a charcoal brinkman smoker to get some smoke ring and better flavors........I was heavy into sausage processing and building pig cookers to smoke the sausages and pigs for pig pickin's..... I didnt have much knowledge in smoking different kinds of meat. All I was good at was BBR.........I currently am in my infant stage smoking meats but with the help of SMF I should be an old man in no time....................  Thanks to SMF and all its members

Joe
 
My first smoker back in 1977 that i still have and it still works.

56ee9352_DSC01156.jpg
 
Well, I’m new to the forum and just discovered this site today…  Glad to be here.

Here’s my story.  I started doing my own grilling after getting married in 2000.  Was exclusively a propane guy for ease of use, quicker grilling time, etc.  I built my first house in 2004 and my Dad bought me a mean stainless steel propane grill, so the streak continued…

Fast forward to 2007… now recently divorced and looking for new ways to rebuild my life as a single man on a new path.  I definitely turned to grilling.  I spent a lot of time in my back yard grilling, listening to music, drinking some good booze, and just learning how to enjoy spending time alone for the first time in my adult life.  But, at this point it was still just throwing burgers/steaks/chicken breasts on the propane grill.

Then 2009 got here and things changed for me… I met Nicole… She’s the quintessential Okie like me.  She loves OU football and her favorite food on the entire planet is smoked brisket.  She’s also 12 years younger than me and beautiful, so the time we spent dating was most definitely the proverbial “feather in my cap.”  :)

We dated only briefly, but have remained what can only be described as best friends.  We spend more time together now than we did when we were in dating mode.  While the situation isn’t typical, she has definitely been a God-send for me as she has been invaluable in helping me recover my life following my divorce (as the divorced peeps on here can attest isn’t a joy ride).

But, the first thing she helped progress was that since meeting we have dedicated ourselves to tailgating at all the OU home football games.  In designing our tailgating experience, I made the very crucial decision to turn to charcoal grilling.  As y’all know, this is a huge step. Lol.  It takes merely one time using the charcoal to realize that I have wasted the better part of 10 years and innumerable cuts of meat previous to that moment.

The second thing Nicole did was light my fire for smoking.  Being that her favorite food is smoked brisket, it seemed not only appropriate, but mandatory that I learn how to smoke meats.

I started with a Brinkman smoke and grill last summer and have done about 10 briskets to date.  And while it was a good place to start, I felt very early on that it wasn’t quite what I was looking for when it came to the true bbq experience.  Just last night I bought my first Weber Kettle (22.5) and I also have a Smokenator on the way from Amazon.  I think eventually I will get an offset box smoker, but right now I’m still just trying to get my sea legs, as it were.

But, a day spent in the backyard smoking meats is quickly becoming one of my favorite things…  For me it’s time to relax, reflect, and accomplish.  BBQ has as much to do with my outlook on life and the blessings that I have in my life now as it ever has to do with dinner.

That is how I came to start smoking meats AND why it’s such an enjoyable and important thing to me.

I am glad to have found this site and I look forward to sharing my experiences with y’all.
 
Well, I’m new to the forum and just discovered this site today…  Glad to be here.

Here’s my story.  I started doing my own grilling after getting married in 2000.  Was exclusively a propane guy for ease of use, quicker grilling time, etc.  I built my first house in 2004 and my Dad bought me a mean stainless steel propane grill, so the streak continued…

Fast forward to 2007… now recently divorced and looking for new ways to rebuild my life as a single man on a new path.  I definitely turned to grilling.  I spent a lot of time in my back yard grilling, listening to music, drinking some good booze, and just learning how to enjoy spending time alone for the first time in my adult life.  But, at this point it was still just throwing burgers/steaks/chicken breasts on the propane grill.

Then 2009 got here and things changed for me… I met Nicole… She’s the quintessential Okie like me.  She loves OU football and her favorite food on the entire planet is smoked brisket.  She’s also 12 years younger than me and beautiful, so the time we spent dating was most definitely the proverbial “feather in my cap.”  :)

We dated only briefly, but have remained what can only be described as best friends.  We spend more time together now than we did when we were in dating mode.  While the situation isn’t typical, she has definitely been a God-send for me as she has been invaluable in helping me recover my life following my divorce (as the divorced peeps on here can attest isn’t a joy ride).

But, the first thing she helped progress was that since meeting we have dedicated ourselves to tailgating at all the OU home football games.  In designing our tailgating experience, I made the very crucial decision to turn to charcoal grilling.  As y’all know, this is a huge step. Lol.  It takes merely one time using the charcoal to realize that I have wasted the better part of 10 years and innumerable cuts of meat previous to that moment.

The second thing Nicole did was light my fire for smoking.  Being that her favorite food is smoked brisket, it seemed not only appropriate, but mandatory that I learn how to smoke meats.

I started with a Brinkman smoke and grill last summer and have done about 10 briskets to date.  And while it was a good place to start, I felt very early on that it wasn’t quite what I was looking for when it came to the true bbq experience.  Just last night I bought my first Weber Kettle (22.5) and I also have a Smokenator on the way from Amazon.  I think eventually I will get an offset box smoker, but right now I’m still just trying to get my sea legs, as it were.

But, a day spent in the backyard smoking meats is quickly becoming one of my favorite things…  For me it’s time to relax, reflect, and accomplish.  BBQ has as much to do with my outlook on life and the blessings that I have in my life now as it ever has to do with dinner.

That is how I came to start smoking meats AND why it’s such an enjoyable and important thing to me.

I am glad to have found this site and I look forward to sharing my experiences with y’all.
CzechM8,

That's a Great story!

It would be good if you went to our "Roll Call" forum section, and copy & paste that same story on there.

Then everyone can welcome you properly.

Then stick around---You'll love it here!

Bear
 
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