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Is MCS Partly Fueled by Boredom with Success?

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    Is MCS Partly Fueled by Boredom with Success?

    I've got the bug! Who else has ever dealt with thinking change without a reason?

    I have a hacked DYI two-zone smoker box - gaskets, grates, case thermometers and probe grommets - the works. It will do two briskets on the main grate and I can add a full spare rack, beef rack or veggies on what 'used to be' the warmer rack. Big turkey? I don't need to spatchcock to fit it in (but usually do for great results).

    I have two kettles - a performer with a slow and sear and a redhead vintage homage with the racetrack gourmet system and black dragon shelves.

    I have a Blackstone. I have a hacked Chargriller firebox that will 2-zone a butt as well as anything out there.

    All my cooks go on auto now - I only need to set them up once. I've got wireless probes and don't even get surprised anymore. I know when anything but legs of lamb will be done - why they can turn out hours apart is still a mystery to me.

    I wish I was satisfied - I'm feeling like there has to be more adventure to grilling, smoking, and producing Q, and am thinking that at least one kettle will go on Craig's List and that I need 'something else'. (how can I really possibly part with Louie or Lucille?)

    But what exactly is my point or question? It's this - has anyone else, like me, really gotten it 'all down' for the normal routine cooks, but still wanted to move on? If so - what would you add or change? Does Santa Maria style do anything that a tripod grate above a firering doesn't - am I missing something?

    Writing and iterating this has produced a serendipitous epiphany. So maybe now I'm suggesting something for everyone to think about rather than asking for help. My stuff doesn't do well 0F - 30F throughout the winter. Maybe what I need to add is the slow and sear kamado? If it's -10F or colder, I might not try to grill...

    We live in a bass ackward approach to comfort - the hotter it is the more often we tend to go outside and start a fire. I also want consistent results during NFL playoffs season - the time of year that my beers are on the deck instead of in a fridge...

    I've also written this up to simply say 'Hi' - everyone 'emerge' to a safe and happy summer! Anyone else feel like a 7 year Cicada? Tip o' the Prongs for everyone staying safe - I'll see you out on the deck!

    Everyone here is watching to see what all y'all think...
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    Last edited by JGo37; June 8, 2021, 10:08 PM.

    #2
    I feel where you are coming from, and think part of it is indeed boredom setting in. It’s why us boys like new toys from time to time. It’s less need than want.

    I don’t see a difference between the fire ring with an adjustable level swing out grate and a Santa Maria grill as far as results, but the Santa Maria will have a nice hand crank to move it up and down during a cook. Changing levels of a hot grate on a post in the ground using a set screw may be hard while it’s hot on the other hand.

    I am really enjoying my SNS Deluxe Kamado, and find myself grilling often on it in ‘kamado mode’ with the fire in the bottom, because I find having 3 levels for cooking to be awesome - to me it’s a little like the Santa Maria experience in that regard. I’ve used it more in kamado mode for smoking too, rather than SNS mode to be honest, and it’s entirely because I’ve got a Performer with a SNS, but kamado cooking is new to me. One of them should do well in cold weather, but it will take a while to come to temp, but what smoker doesn’t really.

    Good luck with the MCS! I’ll help in any way I can other than financially, haha.
    Last edited by jfmorris; June 8, 2021, 10:27 PM.

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks nice to hear from you Bub...

    #3
    Let me just throw this out there: before I discovered AR I didn't know what I didn't know about BBQ and cooking in general. I'm always up for a challenge and learning new things, and here I have been inspired to check a lot of those things out. I would say that my MCS is fueled largely by my curiosity and desire to take on a new challenge. Trying several new (or new to me) cookers is just part of the journey.

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      what we didn't know before we got here was how undersized our budgets were, AND how huge the rewards actually are...

    #4
    Lets face it we can cook steaks over a chimney. We tend to like the new and always work to make it better. That is the fun part of this hobby and all a part of MCS. Good post. Great to hear from you.

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      A Montana Firepit - you dig a 2'x2'x2' hole in the ground, burrowing with a stick run a 45 degree air channel to the bottom of it, throw in the fuel and toss down a grate. An old steel fridge shelf works awesome..

    #5
    For me it's not boredom. Once I learn how to use a cooker I also learn its positives and the shortcomings. MCS kicks in when I read about a new grill on AR and start thinking that grill will fix whatever is missing on my current grill.Then I learn the new grill has a few weaknesses so the cycle repeats itself. Also wanting to try new fuel types and methods Santa Maria and Stick burner here I come!

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      The PK portable video had me drooling for a year, until I kind of forgot about it.

    #6
    I think that the challenges most Pit Members seem to have are trying to constantly improve not only our cooks but the way we do them. Hence MCS comes into play as we try to cook something better on each and every cooker or device we can get our hands on. Each cooker has it's own quirks and benefits and trying to figure them out is part of the fun. As stated many times before...there is no cure for MCS!

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      My 'make it better' has been focused on wood chunks - apple, pecan, hickory, mesquite. I was able to take cherry out of my rotation. When I think of and use oak, it's Royal - not chunks.

    #7
    My MCS is purely driven by Patriotism!! Make the economy strong! Support local businesses!! Eat More Chikin!! Confirm I should NEVER open a restaurant regardless of cooking method!!

    Comment


    • SmokingPat
      SmokingPat commented
      Editing a comment
      I have had a couple of friends say that my food is really good, and I should open a restaurant. Smiling, I say 'Thank you.' Internally, I scream 'Oh, my god -- a restaurant, no way!'
      I have much respect for people that can run a successful restaurant. Even if it is not the most famous, running a restaurant is hard.

    #8
    My theory is we want to try a different cooker to see what it is like to cook on it. If we could borrow one for a month and give it back, we would be just as happy as if we owned it and would’t have to worry about where to keep it or how keep it clean.

    Comment


    • JGo37
      JGo37 commented
      Editing a comment
      so - this needs to be kept a secret, but I'm ready to throw in with you for the Rent'a Grill startup - did you think of this, or did I?

    • LA Pork Butt
      LA Pork Butt commented
      Editing a comment
      JGo37 I have given it some thought in the past. I think it could work especially with merchants selling grills unavailable at big box stores. Try the grill you might like it.

    #9
    My MCS is fueled by this site....and I keep coming back for more

    Comment


      #10
      This actually is a timely post, one that's been on my mind for a while now. Like a lot of us the MCS bug has struck me several times and as such I've amassed seven cookers and a whole shelf and one large drawer full of paraphernalia and gadgets. About a year or so ago I just stopped, didn't see the point any longer. The truth is, the cooker doesn't make food necessarily any better, it's the cookee (to paraphrase Harry Soo). Some of the world's finest cuisine was perfected using live fire and burying food in earthen ovens.

      Yea it's fun to get a new toy, I have an addiction to wrist watches (got about 35 last count). But they don't make me a better keeper of time, I just like them for their intrinsic beauty and mechanical genius. Same with cookers, I just like them for their innovative ways of doing what man has done for centuries. But again, they are tools in the tool belt.

      That said, I'm about to embark on a little experiment that brings me back to my roots in bbq several decades ago. I'm going to go for an entire year just cooking everything I grill or smoke on one cooker. I've pretty much thinking that cooker will be my Weber 26" kettle. I can grill, smoke, bake and do just about everything on the sucker. With the addition of fan control and my SNS, the sky is the limit.

      So for those of you that like new toys, knock yourselves out. But don't do it thinking you're going to be transformed into the new Aaron Franklin. Learn instead to concentrate on the food and the recipes while improving your cooking techniques. That will bring much better benefit overall then buying that new expensive toy you've been drooling over.

      (He now steps down off his soap box)

      Comment


      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        I totally get where you are coming from though. I had window shopped for years - stuff like a pellet cooker - honing in on the Grilla OG - or a gas smoker like the Smoke Vault 24. I ended up not getting either, and instead was blessed to have flat tops and kamados fall into my lap in the last year. I had purged cookers down to 3 in the backyard, from 7, and now am back up to 5, haha. And I could get buy with just 2 I think.

      • Steve R.
        Steve R. commented
        Editing a comment
        I'm near that point now. I have three Webers: Smoky Joe, 26" kettle and 22" WSM. I also have a Blackstone 36" griddle and a cheap 2 burner gasser from Home Depot I picked up for grilling duties during the week.

        When golf was my passion, I used to say that it's the magician, not the wand, once I figured out that I couldn't buy a better golf game. I just needed to work on my craft using the equipment I already had that was plenty good enough. I think the same applies here.

      • JGo37
        JGo37 commented
        Editing a comment
        .... and now I need a 26". I've been watching CL for a used one for years -

      #11
      JGo37 Nice looking family!!

      Comment


      • JGo37
        JGo37 commented
        Editing a comment
        I was wondering when that pic would snag a comment... LoL ;o)

      #12
      There is a collecting bug that, in my experience, is seen more in men than women and it kicks in around the topic of the collectible, in this case, cookers.

      What I mean is that while I know lots of women who collect wine and have palates just as good or better than the guys, the collectors skew male and especially the forum posters do. This same thing happened when I was into Japanese knives. Same here. In all cases, the forum posters are almost all guys. Like here, there are some women who post but they post more about the results than the gear. Their results are as good as any but most aren't into More X Syndrome. The whole thing is interesting to me - I can only assume that guys get socialized to collect gear at some point and that same thing isn't done for women.

      Face it, no one needs 5+ cookers. But some of us catch the bug to try out new things and then, instead of selling the ones we rarely use, we let the sit. But how many of you use more than 2 or 3 of our cookers with any regularity (and no, once a season doesn't count)?

      Comment


      • rickgregory
        rickgregory commented
        Editing a comment
        Addict.

      • SC Grillmore
        SC Grillmore commented
        Editing a comment
        A really interesting point rickgregory — I just joined ‘the pit’ though I’ve been a big fan for years. And I couldn’t possibly claim to speak for more women than myself, but there seems to be a socialization around ‘boys and their toys / boys will be boys’ / it’ll keep them happy - that has never really felt liked it applied to me and my girlfriends. We all have our things, but I do feel pressure to be ‘practical’ when it comes to any big purchase- especially when family needs still exist.

      • rickgregory
        rickgregory commented
        Editing a comment
        SC Grillmore - welcome! This is an incredibly helpful place with good folks. And yeah, what I said above not universally true of course, just my observations.

      #13
      I'm not going to lie: I thought the title said 'Is MCS Partly Fueled by Bourbon with Success?'
      I almost replied 'Heck, yes!' 😜

      Comment


      • JGo37
        JGo37 commented
        Editing a comment
        and you'd have been absolutely right!

      #14
      This thread is great. Too many cookers? Never. I have nine. I use them all but surely some far more than others. Could I do with less? Absolutely. But I’m having fun with a hobby I love and I am looking daily for cooker #10. 🤷‍♂️

      Comment


        #15
        Forget the cookers. That has got to be the greatest/funniest picture ever posted here. 😂 I mean, who gets 2 chickens, a dog and cat in a pose like that! Especially….2 chickens? WTF? They’re interested in a dishwasher? 😂 And that cat….standing up? OMG. 😂
        Last edited by Panhead John; June 9, 2021, 08:53 PM.

        Comment


        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Agree that is a cool pic for sure !!

        • JGo37
          JGo37 commented
          Editing a comment
          Panhead John Troutman it's actually starting to rain, and they all want in the mudroom or in the house..

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