After reading some of the introductions, I find that I am in need to do the same.
After graduating from pharmacy school in 1968, I had my first real job, a home, and enough money to buy a charcoal grill. In those days, we called them barbeques. I bought a Weber 22.5" Weber kettle that very summer. In those days, Webers were like Model Ts: you could have any color you wanted as long as it was black. I used it to learn and eventually got so that I could cook roasts, turkeys, and other stuff. That grill stood out in the weather, winter and summer, until 2005, when I sacked it.
Along in the 1980s, someone marketed Almond hull briquettes for use in charcoal grills. They gave a pleasant, mild smoky flavor and made me wish that I had better smoking capability. However, I did not know about smoke-cooking, yet, anyway. At the end of the 80's I moved to Oklahoma and what I found here changed my viewpoint, considerably.
I finally bought Cookin' Cajun in the early 1990s and learned to water smoke all sorts of stuff. The Cookin' Cajun did not have any air vents on the bottom, nor did it have a side door, and it did not have any temperature indicator. I learned to regulate a fire by the amount and timing of charcoal added and the sole air vent on top. I had a V-O-M with a high temperature probe that I adapted for temperature reading. The machine had a design flaw that was a fire hazard, but I did nothing about it because I cooked on a concrete pad all of the time. That cooker made me very popular at gatherings.
In 2001, I moved to a new home and it only had a wood deck on which to cook and so forth, so I trashed the Cookin' Cajun and did not smoke any meat until about a week ago, relying on local sellers. What a misteak.
in 2010, I purchased an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain water cooker. However, I got sick and it sat in its original box until a short while ago, when I decided enough was enough. I cooked my first batch of Q just last Saturday, using the WSM and an old Guru that I have. Well, it was instant success with my old recipe for brisket.
I really do not consider myself an expert, especially when I consider the guys that are commercial cookers, but I have a lot of fun. Maybe I can contribute something useful here, but it looks like many others are quite a ways ahead of me.
BTW, the quality of the WSM is miles ahead of the Cookin' Cajun.
After graduating from pharmacy school in 1968, I had my first real job, a home, and enough money to buy a charcoal grill. In those days, we called them barbeques. I bought a Weber 22.5" Weber kettle that very summer. In those days, Webers were like Model Ts: you could have any color you wanted as long as it was black. I used it to learn and eventually got so that I could cook roasts, turkeys, and other stuff. That grill stood out in the weather, winter and summer, until 2005, when I sacked it.
Along in the 1980s, someone marketed Almond hull briquettes for use in charcoal grills. They gave a pleasant, mild smoky flavor and made me wish that I had better smoking capability. However, I did not know about smoke-cooking, yet, anyway. At the end of the 80's I moved to Oklahoma and what I found here changed my viewpoint, considerably.
I finally bought Cookin' Cajun in the early 1990s and learned to water smoke all sorts of stuff. The Cookin' Cajun did not have any air vents on the bottom, nor did it have a side door, and it did not have any temperature indicator. I learned to regulate a fire by the amount and timing of charcoal added and the sole air vent on top. I had a V-O-M with a high temperature probe that I adapted for temperature reading. The machine had a design flaw that was a fire hazard, but I did nothing about it because I cooked on a concrete pad all of the time. That cooker made me very popular at gatherings.
In 2001, I moved to a new home and it only had a wood deck on which to cook and so forth, so I trashed the Cookin' Cajun and did not smoke any meat until about a week ago, relying on local sellers. What a misteak.
in 2010, I purchased an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain water cooker. However, I got sick and it sat in its original box until a short while ago, when I decided enough was enough. I cooked my first batch of Q just last Saturday, using the WSM and an old Guru that I have. Well, it was instant success with my old recipe for brisket.
I really do not consider myself an expert, especially when I consider the guys that are commercial cookers, but I have a lot of fun. Maybe I can contribute something useful here, but it looks like many others are quite a ways ahead of me.
BTW, the quality of the WSM is miles ahead of the Cookin' Cajun.
