Learning Curve.......................................

[oldschoolbbq]

I enjoy reading how the folks on here learn to smoke. I remember when I started; young,dumb and thought I could do it anyway anyone else could!
Yeah! You never stop learning. Some things are hard and some not so... the learning curve has some short cuts though, and the best hint I can give a newbie wanting to smoke and wanting to produce consistent taste should try this method.
Now if you are just a backyard jockey, go on schortching that good meat. But if you desire is "Chefdom", keep records. Here is a good one from Weber in PDF. You may copy it and in hand can change the parameters as you wish, or use it to develope one o your liking.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/docs/cooklog.pdf

You'll see where your lacking in the production of that elusive 'perfect Que'.
Hope this helps,and
SMOKE HAPPY
Stan aka Old School

 

[rhankinsjr]

It won't let you access it directly, gives you a 404 error.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cookinglog.html

That'll get you there for anyone else who is interested, pdf file link at the bottom.

 

[the dude abides]

True dat! Keeping notes is the best way to go back to recreate those special success you have.

 

[gnubee]

The golden rule for experimenting is Just change one thing at a time.

If you change several things all at once you will not know which one was the improvement and which ones weren't.

Great Chef's don't need recipes.... but great recipes need to be carefully measured and then written down.

I have made some memorable dishes then later when I tried to reproduce them I've been unable to do them just right because I failed to record them.

 

[treegje]

I always take notes,that is the best way to :

1: not to forget
2: no 2 times to do the same (mistake)
3: mistake are the best learning school

if you do this way further ,you have the bests for family and friends

family and friends are nevertheless most important

 

[meat hunter]

I could not agree more with everything said so far. Might I add that as a new member to the site and smoking meats, another thing you should do is read the posts. It's like a college, only no tuition to pay. And ask questions. The old saying sure applies here, "No such thing as a stupid question". Even with that said, I know there are still people that are just getting their feet wet in this hobby that are shy about asking questions. We ALL started as a newbie. Take advantage of the skills and the tricks the seasoned smokers here have obtained over the years, as they are here to make sure YOU succeed.

 

[centexcarnivore]

I have been keeping notes but they are all over the place. This is an awesome template! Thanks for sharing your best practices. -B