Hello from Southern Maine

[swartzster]

Welcome from the Pacific Northwest

[captainlee]

Welcome from Colorado.

[jecucolo]

Welcome from Schertz, Texas!

[Sweaty Paul]

Salutations from Hays, Kansas! What a way to start you BBQ career with that big Brisket cook. Well done!

[DaveD]

Welcome from the northern Virginia burbs of the nation's capital! Sounds like you are going to fit right in around here. Looking forward to your progress!

[Smoke n Beers]

Welcome to the Pit from upstate New York. Enjoy the ride.

[mcook2201]

Greetings from North Carolina.

[Mosca]

Welcome Janet!

There are many paths to great outdoor cooking. All you really need for smoking is a Weber Kettle, actually; short of a wood-burner, you will get pretty much the same results as you would with anything else, plus you’ll have one of the best charcoal grills available. Among the Weber Kettles, they all work exactly the same, so each step up in price adds convenience, not functionality. So you can get a new Weber Original Kettle for $139, and your bbq will taste the same as if you’d spent $7000 on a Komodo Kamado. Think about it: these are all just things to hold heat and smoke. The food doesn’t know how you did it, all it knows is that it tastes good.

My “maybe someday” yearning for a wood-burner is long over; I don’t need that capacity, I’m not willing to sit all day and night tending it, and anyhow I could never justify the expense.

[Finster]

My “maybe someday” yearning for a wood-burner is long over; I don’t need that capacity, I’m not willing to sit all day and night tending it, and anyhow I could never justify the expense.


I pretty much agree...but, I sure wish there were a rental option just so I could do it just once or twice for the experience of it.

[klflowers]

Finster there are rental options around. We rented an offset in Dayton, OH for a recent family reunion. Look around, you may be able to find one.

[Finster]

Welcome from the First State.
Based on the cook you describe in your OP, you obviously are well on your way to becoming a master.
You have come to the right place to learn everything there is to be learned about making great food.
Looking forward to seeing your progress

[JLR]

Welcome from Dallas. A kettle is a great place to start.

[SmokingSteve]

Welcome from the PNW Janet P!

[Maineac]

Hey, Janet. Also from Maine, central. Lots of great advice above. A lot of Qers have never cooked a full packer and you took on a hundred person cook. That takes real nerve; I don't think you will have any problems learning a kettle as you are certainly willing to try things. I will second all the advice on a Slow 'N Sear. I bought one when they first came out and it never left my kettle. I just kept adding fuel, even lit the charcoal in the SNS. I ended up giving that kettle to my kid and I missed it pretty quickly. So I just got done cleaning up a used one I got off Facebook Marketplace in Topsham and a new SNS arrived for it yesterday! Happy days are here again.
As they say, "Just do it." And welcome.

[Janet P]

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome and all the good advice!

[Thunder77]

Welcome to the Pit from down the coast in Baltimore! Glad you joined us. 😎

[Allon]

Welcome to
THE PIT
from Central Massachusetts

🥩🥩🥩
🔥🔥🔥

Janet P , if you click on the small light bulb in the upper right hand corner of this response, you'll find i couldn't afford a smoker either. But thanks to my friends and members of the The Pit, I now have a Brand New Oklahoma Joe's Bronco!
You'll find all that noted by clicking the light bulb.

Good luck,

Allon