what started the addiction for you

[motorhedd]

Theres room for all God's creatures...... right next to the mashed potato's.
PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals
This sig gets my vote!

 

[teeotee]

The wife came home one day after trip to the stores and had bought an ECB on ened of season clearance for $20. The first thing i smoked on it was a small pork loin.
That was 5 years ago, been hooked ever since.

 

[smoking gun]

Came home from work on a friday after a LOOONG week and a lot of OT. I had been wanting a gas grill with a lid for some time because my flattop is useless if it's raining so with the wife's blessing I set off to buy a new gas grill. Hit the ususal places, Lowes, Home Depot, Meijers, and finally Wal-Mart. Saw some nice grills and had narrowed it down to three and was checking prices against the Walmart price. Walmart had a Chargriller set up with no side fb and behind it in boxes were a few Brinkman SNPs. none were set up but the pic on the box looked good and it had the adjustable charcoal pan for grilling. Only 138.00 so I told em "load it up!". Didn't even think about smoking at first and grilled some steaks and chops. Started looking for a grill cover and stumbled onto this place. Got to reading about mods and smoking, saw some great Qview and decided to try it. First smoke was ribs. Dry rub, sauce on the side and they were just great. That was probably about 2-3 months ago and I've been hooked ever since. I haven't used my snp to grill since then except to char steaks in the firebox.

 

[smokedcaveman]

well, I started with 'campfire cooking' on campouts with my friends nearly 15 years ago...since at 15, I was the best versed guy at cooking anything besides weenies on a stick or char-burned burgers, it's how I got my alcohol (I'm not commenting about the legality of that action, I was young and fairly dumb..of course I also drank like a fish and swore like a sailor who finds himself in high seas, out of tobacco, and 6 weeks to port) I started with primitive dutch oven cooking, some grilling, then eventually started doing 'firepit smoking' where I'd drop a couple logs into the pit on top of the lowest coals, half cover them with some soil, lay out some meat on grill racks over it, and then lay sod in a dome over it. turned out some pretty decent grub, as me and my friends were fairly primitive in our camping, and eventually, as groups of friends do...people moved on, got married, had kids, and nobody ever had time anymore. Pretty soon, I was the only bachelor out of our group of friends, and moved about a bit. well about 6 years ago, I had some roommates, and we'd spend time to going events of a medevial recreation group, and they sampled my cooking, done same kind of primitive way, and they decided to get me a smoker. So I wound up with a cheap brinkmann vertical charcoal as a birthday present, (I picked it) since the place we were at wouldn't let me build a smokehouse or build an earth smoker. I've used that poor abused brinkmann ever since.

The first thing I ever remember smoking was some catfish and trout that me and my buddies fished up out of the lake. Turned out pretty nice, as I recall. Smoked over a mix of white oak and pecan, stuffed with some dill and crushed mustard seed that we'd found growing nearby.

Since then, I've smoked in everything from the brinkmann box to an old gas hot water heater I converted to a vertical cold smoker (hot-plate) for cheese, bacon and hams, to a big old veggie oil drum, to a big terracotta planter turned over, over the coals of a campfire, to pretty much whatever or however i could find.

What I've smoked? turkeys, fish, pork, beef, chicken, nuts, cheese...pfft...pretty much anything that way.

anyway, I'm rambling, so...next person up?

 

[travcoman45]

Geez, grandpa always smoked meats, so I sorta just grew up with it. I thin the first item I smoked was more in likely fish. Now, I hardly do fish cause I ain't had the time ta go! Hopefully that will change next year!

 

[boston]

Growing up my dad would take me to this awesome BBQ place, seemed wherever he was he'd seek out the best.
I've wanted a smoker for some time, that combined with I just cant seem to find a BBQ place I really like anymore, I just decided I'll make my own. Don't get me wrong, there are some decent-good places around, just nothing that noteworthy. Surprisingly my wife is VERY supportive, something about the more I smoke, the less she cooks. She even made sure I have a decent wood supply for winter.

 

[lamajo25]

Well my dad used to smoke the turkey for Thanksgiving every year out camping. I decided last year that I'd buy the Wal-Mart smoker and give some things a try.

I did pulled pork with a Picnic ham from there and it was amazing. I've done some BBQ parties (one where we actually had about 40 people involved in a water balloon fight, yes adults and children alike). I've done briskets at which I had to borrow my LT's small smoker to fight the 5 I had.

Now I'm working on my big grill and hopefully it will be up and running before too long.

 

[richoso1]

First time I tried smokin' some spares on a Brinkman all in one. Spares gave me a hint of what it could be like, after that I was smokin' away to get that perfect one. I'm still working on it...

 

[venture]

In the 80's. The old orange ECB. First was a butt, and I've been hooked ever since!

 

[werdwolf]

I actually have a couple of medical problems and am supposed to stay away from most sugar and simple carbohydrates. I started with making my own sausage, but then decided I wanted to try them smoked. Then the addiction began...

 

[scrapiron]

Grew up with grandpa making Cherizo in a smoke house. LOVE q, wife bought me a smoker and I love her more each day.

 

[wutang]

Is the "her" your wife or your smoker???

 

[tn_bbq]

I became addicted when I was invited to join a Memphis in May competition BBQ team some 10 years ago.

 

[big game cook]

well. lets see. the first taste pretty well wrapped it up for me.

 

[sea_munky]

The first thing I tried to smoke was a brisket! Didn't know what the heck I was doing. Just thought...Hey, I want to smoke something. I know...a brisket! I never even HAD proper BBQ brisket at that point, just saw it on TV. Gave it a shot. As I remember, it wasn't nearly tender enough cuz I took it off at 160*. Wish I had known about this forum!

 

[smokin365]

Did she split it too? That would be the berries.

 

[mossymo]

I like to save money (I am a tight arse). About 22 years ago or so I started making my own venison sausage because of the processing fee's. Then I would bring the sausage to the meat locker for them to smoke it for me. About 9 or 10 years ago I had enough of paying for someone to smoke it for me and built a fridge smoker. Did quite a bit of research and my 1st smoke was successfull, as it did not take much for me to learn to cut back of the smoke and realize that smoke was just another ingredient to a recipe.....

 

[oldschoolbbq]

I just thought it was a natural thing to go out back and smoke something. When one grows up in Cen-Tex you come by it naturally.LOL

 

[shawnr5]

I've always loved eating BBQ but never had a smoker to cook it in. Two years ago I was leaving the neighborhood and saw an ECB among the items in a neighbor's garage sale. I locked my brakes, slid to a stop and pile out of the car to ask what they wanted for it. They replied that they were looking for nine bucks. I gave them my $10 bill and told them to keep the change. A week or so later I got some spares and tried them. They came out as good as any I'd had at any of the local BBQ restaurants. That pretty much set the hook in me. After that initial success, I started acquiring more smokers and smoking more meats. I'm up to 6 smokers now and sent off an e-mail about another this morning. Now I'm looking forward to making one of my own design from 86 gallon water well pressure tanks.

 

[shooterrick]

Hoppy, a man who was retired and sold smoked ribs curb side in our small Missouri town was the intrument of my addiction. Twice a month we would put in our order for several slabs and more during camping season.

Hoppy had a large chain driven smoker that moved baskets of ribs around the smoke chamber, the way Ferris wheels move kids. Being from KC area to say Hoppys ribs were the best I have tasted was a tall compliment but true.

Soon I began asking this man how hard it was to make those slabs and he said anyone with a little knowledge and basic equipment could do it. I was hooked! I have been smoking and learning since then.