Men who can't grill?


 
love this photo of Genevieve Taylor with some of her friends gathered around the grill
...while "the men" stand back wondering what in the tarnation is going on!

BBQ1_3330046b.jpg
 
Don't stop by much anymore, but it was great to see this thread resurrected. I had forgotten about it.
 
A lot of my friends think my grilled food is the best but they want the easiness of gas, turn a knob and push a button.
 
I have a friend that buys me steak every time he wants steak. That's my payment for him getting to eat steak. I cook he buys, now I just need him to start buying rib-eyes. I remember watching my dad cook on the grill and fondly remember BBQ as my favorite. He could cook a mean spaghetti sauce from scratch as well. I do not know where my love of the smoker came from but I have loads more to learn.

My father in-law only goes in to the kitchen to eat, I don't know that I have ever seen or heard of him cooking. I had to teach my mother in-law what seasonings were, her being from North Dakota and me from Louisiana. She now asks me to cook or I offer to cook something for them when the grill/smoker gets fired up.

Thanks everyone for all the advice and skill you share. I will be sharing this info with my two boys so they can continue my new family tradition.
 
Teaching is a great way to really what is sometimes taken for granted. We do it so much, sometimes we do not really think about what we do. When you have to slow down and explain something you've done for thirty years, you are forced to examine what and why you do something the way you do.
It can be fun or frustrating. I taught a class and had to slow down what I would ordinarily do by so much so people could ask questions and take notes i was exhausted from keeping speed down.
 
Enjoyable thread. Growing up in a small house with no real backyard I had no experience with a grill. It was just something my mom would have never attempted.
Now with a great back yard and 2 boys of my own I grill and smoke as often as possible. I plan to teach the boys as much as I can about everything Weber.

I work in construction so I will certainly teach them how to work with their hands!

I had to hang a TV on a wall for a friend and I was embarrassed for him.
 
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Jim Lampe said:
love this photo of Genevieve Taylor with some of her friends gathered around the grill
...while "the men" stand back wondering what in the tarnation is going on!

BBQ1_3330046b.jpg
Click to expand...

Jim.

The guys at the back are wondering what the girls have done with the lid. The guy in the red t-shirt looks equally un-impressed.
 
Jim Lampe said:
love this photo of Genevieve Taylor with some of her friends gathered around the grill
...while "the men" stand back wondering what in the tarnation is going on!

BBQ1_3330046b.jpg
Click to expand...
I see a charred piece of something in those tongs.
Looks like the rest of them are going to pour the contents of their bottles onto the fire to put it out ?

;)
 
Lew said:
We play tennis and cook out on Friday nights in the neighborhood. I usually play first, then do the cooking.

Last night, my match went long, so one of the guys said he would start the grill. I had brought one of my kettles, my chimney, charcoal, newspaper, a long lighter, gloves, and all the tools. I looked over and a couple of guys were looking at the chimney like it was a new species. They dismissed it and someone got some lighter fluid.

The next thing I know the flames were roaring 15 feet in the air! When I got off the court, the burgers were burning over an open flame. I checked the grill and the charcoal was stacked like a volcano, with the center almost touching the cooking grate. The burgers that had already been taken off were like charred hockey pucks.

Maybe I just take these things for granted, but I thought cooking hamburgers over a charcoal fire was a rite of manhood, passed on from father to son. What has the gas grill done to our men? And don't even get me started about electric smokers.
Click to expand...
Stunted the proper and on schedule development of their mental furniture.

I must admit, when I was a boy I did the Starter Fluid Volcano as well.
Ignorance is bliss.
 
Haha! Seems that a lot of us have had a similar experience, with our dads not knowing or showing much about the manly art of fire and meat. My dad had a couple of things that he did well (whole beef tenderloin, once a year), but mostly he just immolated whatever mom gave him to cook. He always had cheesy grills, too.

I have three sons. All are good grillers and the youngest (28) is quite an experienced smoker. When we moved from the Northeast to Texas, I left each one of them with a piece of equipment. One got the kettle, one the old Genesis and one the original WSM.
The youngest got the WSM and tortures his neighbors in South Philly with the sweet perfume of an overnight pork butt or brisket. When you fire up down there, about 100 people know that you're cooking. Fortunately, it's still legal to cook with wood and charcoal in the city. It's satisfying to know that they enjoy open flame cooking and hope they pass the skill along to their sons.

Jeff
 
Whenever we have people over, many are slightly shocked when I am using my Kettle vs the Weber gas grill sitting next to it (usually using both when people are over). They ask why would I use charcoal when I could use the gas grill? It seems like a lost art for many folks. But when they try a steak grilled over lump or some of my ribs, they realize how good it can be.

I am already teaching my boys about grilling and smoking. My dad had no idea.
 
I'm sort of a newbie and this thread is an oldie, but it was fun to read through so I thought I'd add in.

I also have many fond memories of watching my pops grill on his red Weber Kettle. Growing up we had no clue what a gas grill was, so when I went to buy my own, the decision was simple. Buy what dad had and you won't have to learn how to use it. Now that turned out to not be entirely true since Dad never really "taught" me how to grill, and the saying "He made it look easy" definitely rings true. However in the day of forums such as this one, I'm teaching HIM things that he never knew about grilling, as he was entirely self taught, and doesn't care to change his ways now. Now we have matching Performers, and matching WSMs, although mine is about 25 years newer than his.
 
MRinken,
True statements about fathers not always teaching everything (or not sharing) when it comes to grilling but, the basics I learned from him, he always liked me to take over kitchen duties when he saw I was capable. We had a lot of great times working on feasts! Later in his life, I found myself letting him make the cocktails while I got dinner squared away, I miss my Dad every time I light the grill, fire the oven, or just grab a pan. We not only cook to nourish the body but, we also feed our souls. Make as many memories with your father as you can!
 
Thanks, guys, for resurrecting this thread; I forgot all about it. It was great re-reading all of your stories. Guess I'll go cover the Performer; it has probably cooled down enough.
 
I have to confess: I'm in my early 50's and up until fewer than 2 years ago if I were put on the spot without Internet access I would have been clueless about charcoal grilling. A few weeks after my first charcoal purchase in 2015 I was surfing and pondered "I wonder if those really work," thinking of the Weber chimney, lol. Heck; it wasn't until this same recent timeframe that I learned about zones. Zones--for me--has been my best resource over the past 1.5 years.
 
I was raised cooking on a Weber kettle, but in hindsight I realize my parents had no clue what they were doing (but I must say we were happy in our cluelessness!!!). Have always grilled, and definitely consider it a right of passage to manhood (although seeing some of the masterpieces by the ladies here not sure thats the right term for it) but any grown up who can't grill gets a huge question mark from me.....
 
My dad bought the Weber but, never really figured out the "science", he left that for me to learn! Then he was busy with his chosen profession which didn't allow him much time at home for grilling. He lit the fire under me though!
 
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