A little background: I'm 35 and have recently gotten into the BBQ/Smoke scene but have been gas-grilling for several years. I was raised with Mom cooking and Dad gas grilling only 3-5x per year. I was never taught to cook or how to grill. I remember one time my Dad asked me to "man the grill" at about 14; I was thrilled and wanted to do something. So I pushed down on the burgers to get grill marks (I didn't know any better), and then got yelled at for pushing all the juices out. :/ that was the extent of my BBQ teaching.
Fast Fwd a bit; my buddies got me a gasser that was dented and marked down for my wedding. My first cook, a party for 30 including my Dad, talk about pressure!! I didn't kill anyone so I considered it a huge success! But I enjoyed the process, the prep, the meat, and fellowship so I started gas grilling several times per month. Now, almost 10years (no 9...wait...8years...dammit, I'll ask the wife) later, we have two boys (6y & 4y) and I want to teach them right. They - and I - need to learn on charcoal and wood. We want to camp and play outside and be men together, and that's not activities that I did with my Dad. Thanks to the internet, YouTube and sites like this, I won't be learning alone! Last year I bought a Weber Genesis 3 burner and cook on it all the time. Burgers, dogs, steak, pork tenderloin, spare ribs, chicken, veggies, corn, even watermelon and pineapple. I've done a few low and slow cooks with wood chips in tin foil, but it's time to really learn how to BBQ! So...
Last week I was "gifted" a rusted out original kettle; with grates that cannot be saved, ash sweep rusted shut, an ash catch beat up and beyond repair (he said it was "buried in his yard for a few years"...), and small rust holes in the kettle. I even found a take-out soy sauce packet in the bottom..apparently it was used as a trash can. After a few more days I finally found a dark green 22" premium on my NextDoor app for $50 that's been used 5x and stored under a patio cover. I pick it up today and cannot be more excited to learn and teach my boys, and have a beer. We will have a blast and learn together but thanks to this forum, I'm sure the food will be a success as well
Fast Fwd a bit; my buddies got me a gasser that was dented and marked down for my wedding. My first cook, a party for 30 including my Dad, talk about pressure!! I didn't kill anyone so I considered it a huge success! But I enjoyed the process, the prep, the meat, and fellowship so I started gas grilling several times per month. Now, almost 10years (no 9...wait...8years...dammit, I'll ask the wife) later, we have two boys (6y & 4y) and I want to teach them right. They - and I - need to learn on charcoal and wood. We want to camp and play outside and be men together, and that's not activities that I did with my Dad. Thanks to the internet, YouTube and sites like this, I won't be learning alone! Last year I bought a Weber Genesis 3 burner and cook on it all the time. Burgers, dogs, steak, pork tenderloin, spare ribs, chicken, veggies, corn, even watermelon and pineapple. I've done a few low and slow cooks with wood chips in tin foil, but it's time to really learn how to BBQ! So...
Last week I was "gifted" a rusted out original kettle; with grates that cannot be saved, ash sweep rusted shut, an ash catch beat up and beyond repair (he said it was "buried in his yard for a few years"...), and small rust holes in the kettle. I even found a take-out soy sauce packet in the bottom..apparently it was used as a trash can. After a few more days I finally found a dark green 22" premium on my NextDoor app for $50 that's been used 5x and stored under a patio cover. I pick it up today and cannot be more excited to learn and teach my boys, and have a beer. We will have a blast and learn together but thanks to this forum, I'm sure the food will be a success as well
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