My name is Dan and I have a problem....


 
Dan CANADA

Dan CANADA

TVWBB Fan
Hi there, my name is Dan and I have a problem...

It all started a couple of years ago when I had to part ways with my parents 25 year-old, hand-me-down, no-name barbecue. The last straw for my peer was when I accidentally preheated the plastic scraper brush while talking to the paper boy at the front door. I was barbecueless for the first time in my life and I was looking for a fix. I quickly found a dealer in my area who had premium grade products and I went out and got the best he had:

Weber

I soon realized that i wasn't the lousy chef that I thought I was, it was my old barbecue. I could now cook chicken without burning it and produce steaks with amazing sear. With my new found skills, love for eating meat and countless 24s of cold beer, I soon developed an insatiable addiction to Q.

Fast forward to July 2013. My addiction had grown significantly and regular barbecue wasn't doing it for me anymore. I began to crave something stronger, something smokier, something out of this world. That's when my local dealer brought me off to the side and changed my life forever. He showed me the WSM.

This leads me to the present day. Ever since I got my first sight of the WSM, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I no longer have the dreams I used to, instead all I see when I close my eyes are various cuts of meat smoking slowly in a bullet silhouette. Soon I was unable to sleep and spent many nights online watching WSM videos on YouTube. That's when things got a whole lot worse. I found a group of who people who had the same infliction that I did.

I found the tvwbb.com forums.

Now I'm spending multiple hours per day looking at exotic Q from around the world being prepared on Weber barbecues of all different colors, shapes, and sizes. I'm no longer relaxing on my commute home from work. Instead I am frantically lurking the picture forum consuming all I can manage and reading articles about smoking 20 pound birds. I haven't logged into Facebook in weeks.

I don't think I can take it anymore. I think I'm going to crack; in fact, I know it. As soon as the weather gets nicer, I won't be able to hold back. I'm going to cave to my addiction and ill be hooked on the WSM for the rest of my life.

Hopefully one of you other addicts can help me deal with this problem so I can try to live some semblance of a normal life....


TMDR:
Hey, my name is Dan and I'm from the Toronto area in Ontario, Canada.

I purchased a Weber Genesis a couple of years ago and I have loved every minute of it. Late this summer I wanted to learn more about smoking meat and discovered the WSM. I'm going to buy one this spring and begin my adventure into the world of low and slow.

Happy to be a member of tvwbb.com and look forward to sharing my experiences (with photos of course).

Cheers!:cool:
 
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Wow Dan;

This has a echo of me in there I bought the cheapos as I was always moving from one place to another, then a friend introduced me to a Weber Gas in the mid 80's and I loved that thing never got to cook on it as much as I would like as always working weird hours and Holidays when others were off BBQing. Anyway during my move from out west to here my Weber got trashed in the moving truck well I had only gotten the minuim insurance so they paid me my minuim amount, I went a few yers without a grill then started back into the Webers and moved up as time went on, But life really changed when I got my S310 and my company grew up enough that I could somewhat normal hours, Cooking on that gasser was great and and the food was good too. Then one day I found this site by accident and started lurking and reading and it made me want to learn and try more things.
About this time I found out about CL and all the pretty Webers for sale, I picked up a performer,and life was good and tried all kinds of different cooks and dipped into smoking and then this last summer I bit the bullet and got a good deal on a 18.5 smoker off CL and now I have lots of fun cooking and eating what I smoke on that thing, everybody likes what comes out of it the taste the smell, I should be a Weber salesman as I have helped a couple of people to buy there first Weber,I see a trend forming here.
Well all said welcome to the madness Dan.

Kevin
 
What's this crap about waiting for the weather to get better? Your going to give us Canadians a bad reputation. Welcome to the forum.
 
I never said anything about not barbecuing in the cold, I'm all for that (except for this weekend because we are iced in).

I spoke to the dealer and he said he won't get the bulk of his 2014 WSMs in until spring and at that point I'll be first in line.

My bigger concern is where to pick up the larger cuts of meat that I want to cook like brisket, pork butt, and pork belly. I'll have to check my local Costco and see if they carry any of those guys.
 
You won't find much brisket at Costco here in Ontario. Better to locate a butcher shop and deal there. I have gotten to know the IGA (Foodland) butcher in my area and deal with him. You've also got some smaller meat packers in the Kitchener, Grey Bruce area where you can get fresh meat. Sometimes I drive a bit but bring my cooler and stock up. In Harriston they have Angus hung three weeks. Great meat.
 
Welcome Dan. I'm from just north of Toronto myself. Been falling further and further down the BBQ rabbit hole for years now and it's been great!

My first Weber was a Genesis 320 and I'm sorry to say that she doesn't get much of a work out anymore. My wife calls it the $1200 Hot Dog Cooker :( Since picking up a Performer Charcoal a couple years ago my grilling days have never been the same. If you think your gasser can sear a steak you ain't seen nothing yet! Charcoal has elevated my grilling skills to a level I never imagined.

I got in to the BBQ (smoking) side of things even before my Performer acquisition. This was in the form of a Traeger Texas pellet grill. Simple and great butts, brisket and ribs... and out of this world ABTs (look 'em up if you don't know. They'll change your life!). My only complaints with the Traeger were some intermittent technical issues (which always at happen at THE worst possible moment) and the constant nagging feeling that I just wasn't getting the depth of flavor and smoke that I get at proper BBQ establishments.

I now have, in addition to my other 3 BBQs/Grills, a brand new 22 1/2" WSM. Wow. What a machine. I'm only a single cook in but when my very first, single cook can elevate what most of my neighbours, friends and relatives have all declared perfect ribs in the past to a whole new level, you know you've got something special. Anybody wanna buy a Traeger ;)

As for Costco. Unfortunately, Costco in Canada does not cater to us BBQers in Canada they way they do in the US :( I don't recall ever seeing Pork Belly and after inquiries previously they do not offer whole Pork Shoulder or Beef Briskets. I agree with Gary S, make friends with your local supermarket butcher. Foodland and Sobeys have both been good to me. Less luck with Zehrs. I use Foodland for bringing me in large cuts at reasonable prices. Sobeys always hooks me up with killer custom cut beef steaks and roasts. Their AAA Sterling Silver beef is offered for great sale prices on a regular basis and they're happy to cut them to your specifications. I regularly get great 1 1/2" - 2" Rib Steaks and New Yorks for the grill and prime ribs for the smoker. Your local independent butcher can also get you some nice meat but you will pay a dear premium for the quality and service. Depending on what you're serving that may or may not be a consideration.

All the best and welcome!
Jason.
 
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Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and special thanks to my fellow Ontarians for the tips on acquiring meat. I'm actually out east of Toronto in Durham Region but I put Toronto in my profile because no one outside of Ontario would know where Durham is.

I guess I'll be spending my new year befriending my local grocery store butchers in order to cut future deals for meat. I had also found some local farms up highway 12 which I'll check out, but these cuts do look to come with premium prices.
 
Awesome story Dan! Makes me want a WSM even more. We need the proper tools to develop our full potential. I hope to only fuel your addiction. :p
 
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