How did you get into bbqing/smoking food?


 

Andy Harrington

TVWBB Member
I purchased my first smoker as an impulse buy, it was a fundraiser to help my uncle with a kidney transplant probably 10 years ago. Got a wsm 18.5 for a 100 bucks. Found this website and started Using the snot out of it for special occasions and family gatherings until upgrading to a 22.5 wsm.
 
I had always had an interest, bought a Brinkman water smoker in the 80's but never figured it out.

Then I found this site in 2002.
 
The woman in my life loved smoked meats and I damn sure wanted to be the one to make her favorites. So I learned.
 
I always have enjoyed smoked food, never really had it growing up, though. 30+ years ago, I had some of the best pulled pork in a tiny little roadside shack in Tennessee, and 25 years ago, I got sent to Houston for several 2 week long business trips, where I found Texas brisket. Hooked.... I figured out how to use a smoker box in a gas grill for chicken and steaks. 10 years ago, I started trying brisket in a charcoal grill (ATK method.) A year ago, I went all in. The smoker I'm finishing up will do 10 full packer briskets at once.

My g/f and a few other friends are now getting a bit of a chuckle, as it's getting harder for me to walk into a smokehouse restaurant, and downright difficult to order brisket.

Found this site 2 years ago when I built my HeaterMeter for a leaky horizontal offset smoker.

Life is too short to eat bad barbecue. Or drink cheap beer. Or drink bad booze.
 
I retired and my wife and I loved BBQ so I bought a cheap Brinkmann modified it into an El Cheapo Brinkmann (ECB). My wife and family loved the stuff coming off it but it worked me to death managing the temp. I got an 18.5 WSM and never looked back.
 
Started out on a big chief smoking fish and drying jerky. Interest just grew from there. Weber kettle had a hand in it too.
 
Met my wife in 1980, I'm from Levittown, Pa. she's from Evansville, In. she took me to a place called MARXS BBQ for a sandwich they called a soak (pulled Pork) Later that year we get married and living in Levittown where we couldn't even spell BBQ. My sister and BIL gave us an ECB as a wedding present, 6 smokers later + 1 18.5 WSM for younger son and 1 18.5 WSM for older son. Last year the younger son bought a large BGE. He liked it so much he bought one for me.
 
A buddy of mine brought a smoker to fish camp one year. We smoked a ton of Lake Trout, ate and drank all week long. When my head finally cleared, I went out and bought a Brinkman. What a lesson in humility. Even with all the mods I read about and applied, it was the Devil! I must have ruined about $600 worth of meat trying to produce something edible. I started looking at the Big Green Egg but didn't want to sell a kidney for it. I took a shot at the Weber. The first one I bought was the 22.5". It just came out that year. Been a fan ever since. Won my first comp with it too.
 
My son started smoking meat for parties a couple years ago on a pellet smoker. As I love ribs and pulled pork I wanted to get one and give it a shot. The smoker I liked was close to $1000 so I figured I'd go cheap and get a charcoal smoker to try before dropping the big bucks. Went with the 14.5 as there are only 2 of us, it is working out very well although I can see me getting the 18 in the not too distant future, I'm undecided on the pellet job, the charcoal is working out fine, especially being retired.
 
I had some friends and relatives serve me really good pulled pork during summer picnics, etc. Always enjoyed great BBQ. Thought i'd love to try doing that myself someday. Started researching right here on these forums and other sites.

After watching several YouTube videos i decided i wanted a Weber Smokey Mountain, so i kept close eye on local Craigslist, MarketPlace, etc watching and waiting. Saw a really nice 18.5 inch but it was gone before the person responded back to me. A few others got away as well.

Took a while but eventually saw a nice used but pretty well taken care of 22.5 for a great deal. Was fortunate to respond when i did. It's one of the debut 22.5's that released in 2009. It has some dings on the lid but seller also drilled his own small meat probe hole on side, as well as added handles and a 2nd charcoal grate. The gentleman who sold it to me was very kind, very knowledgeable, and was downsizing number of cookers. He had several kettles, an offset, etc.

Have only done a few cooks on it so far. It's been a learning experience...but an enjoyable one.

The biggest thing i didn't realize is that i enjoy the process as much as i enjoy the finished product.
 
I retired and my wife and I loved BBQ so I bought a cheap Brinkmann modified it into an El Cheapo Brinkmann (ECB). My wife and family loved the stuff coming off it but it worked me to death managing the temp. I got an 18.5 WSM and never looked back.
My story is basically the same, although I started years before I retired. I bought a Brinkmann Gourmet smoker and even with extensive modification, as Lew said it worked me to death with the temp, plus it wouldn't go over 5-6 hours without a refill. And once I got my WSM I never looked back, either.
 
College in rural Illinois, cooked and waited in restaurants. While on a retreat with co-workers, I had the good fortune to spend time with a Native American family who did whole-hog bbq. I was an east coast kid who thought bbq was hotdogs and burgers. They blew my mind and I’ve been chasing the addiction ever since.
 
I live in Southern California. Great place for tacos but BBQ places are a little lacking so I started making my own.
 
I always loved to eat barbecue, but making it was a mystery to me. I became fascinated with the barbecue competition shows on TV and for Father's Day about 15 years ago, my wife got me a WSM. After a couple of failed attempts, I finally achieved lift-off and have been hooked ever since.

Jeff
 
Back in 2013 I was looking for some grilling recipes and stumbled onto this site. The current rage was making a "mlnl" smoker out of a Smoky Joe and a stock pot. Looked like a fun expensive way to build a little smoker. So I built one. Not having any experience or I should say the only experience I had with smoking was bad, think Brinkmann.
Well that little mini got me started and later lead me to purchase a 18.5 WSM. I still have the little mini and still use it frequently, perfect for two people.
Mostly smoke my homemade bacon, pulled pork, ribs and brisket.
 

 

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