Brock Gingery
TVWBB Super Fan
Well, as the rest of the country (continent, world, ect) approaches what they consider as "Grilling season", some of the gremlins are beginning to come out of hibernation so to speak.
I recently conversed with another individual here who lamented how unfair it seemed that his particular choice of grill was targeted by comments whether negative or meant in jest. I won't name him right here out of respect since I don't have his permission at this moment, and I quite like conversing with him as he seems to be an honest and personable guy. If he reads this, I hope perhaps he might feel like it's always his that are getting picked on.
I just had a conversation with someone this week who I will describe as "kamado obsessed". That might even be toning it down quite a bit. Regardless, he overheard me talking to another individual about some of weber's offerings and my latest acquisition. What peaked his interest is I brought up weber's take on the kamado and kind of bridges the gap between a kettle and full ceramic cooker. He instantly wished to make known the "superiority" of the kamado over any and all other grills and seemed irritated that I stood there shaking my head.
I have witnessed similar behavior from Pellet aficionados(especially the Traeger folks. I personally nick name them "trail mix" due to how crazy they can get), users of gas grills who seem to represent the Hank Hill fan club, offsets (one gentleman told me "My bbq is a stick because all I drive are manual transmissions"), and some PK fans who for whatever reason get offended that a weber kettle might be compared or considered over a PK.
Ford vs Chevy, basketball vs baseball, we all have our own likes and dislikes, and we choose what we have for various reasons because we find value in them. Captain Kamado wanted me to be aware that my Ranch is too big, unwieldy, and will use far too much charcoal compared to his (I think he has a Kamado Joe now, but several years ago started with a BGE). Unfortunately my coworker also got to hear this and the comment "I don't know why anyone would waste their money on a grill other than a kamado."
After he walked away, I calmly pointed out to my coworker his grill weighs several hundred pounds while my ranch tips in at 135, and my 22 inch kettles hit about 50 to 60 depending on what I have in them. Much easier and safer to move around, and in the case of my 22 inch kettles, small enough to be portable without a trailer. There are more positives besides that, but I wasn't trying to give him a talking points list. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and told him to find what he was going to enjoy and want to cook on.
At the end of the day that is what most of us care about, what has value to us. Whether that is controlling a fire and amount of wood used, the ease of plugging in a temperature and walking away, or turning a dial and pressing a button so you can start grilling 10 minutes later. Each of us gets to deal with a less than savory encounter now and then from people who forget this, and chances are this will continue to be the case as long as the moon orbits the earth.
I would like to simply welcome those returning to the VWBbb, the diehards who continue year round, and the ones joining us for the first time, to enjoy the upcoming spring and summer. Make all the memories you can, learn something new or master something old, and maybe be thankful we have the variety of choice that we do.
Safe grilling everyone.
I recently conversed with another individual here who lamented how unfair it seemed that his particular choice of grill was targeted by comments whether negative or meant in jest. I won't name him right here out of respect since I don't have his permission at this moment, and I quite like conversing with him as he seems to be an honest and personable guy. If he reads this, I hope perhaps he might feel like it's always his that are getting picked on.
I just had a conversation with someone this week who I will describe as "kamado obsessed". That might even be toning it down quite a bit. Regardless, he overheard me talking to another individual about some of weber's offerings and my latest acquisition. What peaked his interest is I brought up weber's take on the kamado and kind of bridges the gap between a kettle and full ceramic cooker. He instantly wished to make known the "superiority" of the kamado over any and all other grills and seemed irritated that I stood there shaking my head.
I have witnessed similar behavior from Pellet aficionados(especially the Traeger folks. I personally nick name them "trail mix" due to how crazy they can get), users of gas grills who seem to represent the Hank Hill fan club, offsets (one gentleman told me "My bbq is a stick because all I drive are manual transmissions"), and some PK fans who for whatever reason get offended that a weber kettle might be compared or considered over a PK.
Ford vs Chevy, basketball vs baseball, we all have our own likes and dislikes, and we choose what we have for various reasons because we find value in them. Captain Kamado wanted me to be aware that my Ranch is too big, unwieldy, and will use far too much charcoal compared to his (I think he has a Kamado Joe now, but several years ago started with a BGE). Unfortunately my coworker also got to hear this and the comment "I don't know why anyone would waste their money on a grill other than a kamado."
After he walked away, I calmly pointed out to my coworker his grill weighs several hundred pounds while my ranch tips in at 135, and my 22 inch kettles hit about 50 to 60 depending on what I have in them. Much easier and safer to move around, and in the case of my 22 inch kettles, small enough to be portable without a trailer. There are more positives besides that, but I wasn't trying to give him a talking points list. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and told him to find what he was going to enjoy and want to cook on.
At the end of the day that is what most of us care about, what has value to us. Whether that is controlling a fire and amount of wood used, the ease of plugging in a temperature and walking away, or turning a dial and pressing a button so you can start grilling 10 minutes later. Each of us gets to deal with a less than savory encounter now and then from people who forget this, and chances are this will continue to be the case as long as the moon orbits the earth.
I would like to simply welcome those returning to the VWBbb, the diehards who continue year round, and the ones joining us for the first time, to enjoy the upcoming spring and summer. Make all the memories you can, learn something new or master something old, and maybe be thankful we have the variety of choice that we do.
Safe grilling everyone.