New to the forum.

[Chasdev]

Hey guys, what's up?
Found this site doing a search for "Hot n Fast" brisket, and after reading a few dozen and articles from around the web, I landed here and found an informative thread that answered all my questions, with pictures to boot, so I had to join!
I'm from Illinois but have lived in central Texas since 1958 so I MAY be part Texan.
To be precise I'm in Austin, a retired Master Auto Tech, small repair shop owner and race engine builder, with some motorcycle racing on the side.
I currently own a CampChef pellet burner, a PittBoss 24 inch Kamado, several Weber rigs, both large and small and a brand new Masterbuilt gravity smoker, which is the new love of my life.
I used to spend all my smoking time tending an Old Country Pecos offset rig but after a few years, could no longer hack the long hours tending fire in the Texas heat and ended up selling it to a friend to help finance the pellet burner.
Pellet burning has been my go-to for briskets since the offset moved away, until my wife took a few subtle hints and gifted me a Masterbuilt gravity smoker for Christmas.
It's a charcoal cooker but it burns chunks of wood in the feed chute (and the ash bin) and produces almost stickburner level smoke flavor in the meat, which is what I missed about cooking in a stickburner, so I guess I'm a gravity cooker pilot now.
Anyway, here I am!

 

[smokerjim]

welcome from pa, great site here, lot's of great people full of knowledge.

 

[Johnny Ray]

Welcome from the Bluegrass state. I'm headed down to Austin at the end of March to do a BBQ crawl. I know of all the "icons" as it relates to BBQ but would be interested to hear about any "hole in the wall" or 'mom and pops" places you would recommend.

Johnny Ray

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Welcome to SMF from Arizona!

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the forums. Glad to have you join the fun.

Chris

 

[georgia smoker]

Welcome from Georgia!

 

[Chasdev]

Welcome from the Bluegrass state. I'm headed down to Austin at the end of March to do a BBQ crawl. I know of all the "icons" as it relates to BBQ but would be interested to hear about any "hole in the wall" or 'mom and pops" places you would recommend.

Johnny Ray

I rarely buy bbq anymore as most places have lines around the block, and would never stand in a two hour line just to eat some brisket or ribs.
Lots of the famous places are over-rated these days as the increased demand is taking a toll on the quality of the fare..
I still visit a chain joint that has very respectable Q, PokeyJoes.
Never a long line and while not the very best I've had, it's very good and the prices are not stratospheric.
IF you want to wait in line you can hit Valentina's, they have a real up and coming chef/pitmaster and his Q is top notch.
Mostly I search for choice packers on sale and look for the best "flop" then of course fire up the cooker.

 

[Johnny Ray]

I rarely buy bbq anymore as most places have lines around the block, and would never stand in a two hour line just to eat some brisket or ribs.
Lots of the famous places are over-rated these days as the increased demand is taking a toll on the quality of the fare..
I still visit a chain joint that has very respectable Q, PokeyJoes.
Never a long line and while not the very best I've had, it's very good and the prices are not stratospheric.
IF you want to wait in line you can hit Valentina's, they have a real up and coming chef/pitmaster and his Q is top notch.
Mostly I search for choice packers on sale and look for the best "flop" then of course fire up the cooker.

Thanks for the reply Chasdev. I hear ya about the long lines and decrease quality due to demand. TV shows have certainly had a major impact on the BBQ world.
I’ve cooked a bunch of briskets over the years and I find mine holds it’s on against most.

Take care and once again welcome to the forum.
JR

 

[pushok2018]

Welcome to the forum! Expecting many good smokes from you!

 

[JC in GB]

Welcome from Wisconsin.