Hello from NorCal!

[inevitablegod]

I'm running the 90 trial period that was offered with my Pit Barrel Cooker I was "allowed" to gift myself for my birthday / Father's Day present. I have been to this site often and have absorbed tons of good info and recipes, so I figure I will let this 90 day run it's course and then take the plunge into "real" membership.

My name is Damon, and I am, unsurprisingly, an avid fan of outdoor cooking, grilling, and smoking. I also run the indoor kitchen almost exclusively. Three places I am the boss. My garage, my kitchen, and my backyard. With the addition of the PBC I can finally get rid of the crappy smoker I have been using for the last several years. It will round out the dual fuel side by side grill I use constantly.

In addition to those habits I am a chilihead, and grow my own peppers from mild to superhots. I have about 50 plants this year from the unimposing Anaheim to Habaneros, Ghosts, Scotch Bonnets, and Carolina Reapers. I use them in cooking, salsas, sauces, and pastes. This year I will smoke some for powders as well.

I cook just about anything, but my baby backs are my most requested item from guests. I've always been a low and slow guy, I guess other people just don't have the patience. But a get together at my place usually means a full day of prep and a full day of cooking. I don't think most people understand what it takes to do a large gathering the right way. No store bought side dishes in my house. And sure, we all know it's work, but it's work I love to put in to see the end result and the smiling faces.

We have an annual BBQ and hot rod show coming up on Saturday in Chino Valley, AZ. I am driving out tomorrow and taking my PBC with me for the initial break in. I also man (with my old man) a 27sqft grill that churns out 260 lbs of grilled chicken for the 150 or so guests. I will be adding 8 racks of ribs this year to test out the PBC. Then when I get home, I will be using it for anything and everything to learn how to run it proper.

In my spare time I tinker around on my 29 Chevy rat rod and teach my 10 year old daughter how to own the kitchen like a boss.

Glad to be here. Looking forward to the forums for more info, more tips, more everything. And I will toss up a few of my favorite things now and then as well.

Cheers.

[MBMorgan]

Greetings, Damon ... and welcome to the Pit! I spent more than a few years in Sacramento ... initially when based at McClellan AFB, then a few years after discharge. I have to admit that I kinda miss the place.

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to more fun in the Pit!

[DWCowles]

Welcome inevitablegod

[inevitablegod]

Greetings, Damon ... and welcome to the Pit! I spent more than a few years in Sacramento ... initially when based at McClellan AFB, then a few years after discharge. I have to admit that I kinda miss the place.

Ah, McClellan. I ran a few events out there when I launched Scion years back. Not much left these days. I spent my Naval enlistment in Bangor, Wa attached to a couple submarines and ended up in Sacramento 12 years or so ago with my current wife. It's not a bad place at all. Minus the drought, of course. Better than Riverside down south where I grew up, that's for sure.

[HouseHomey]

inevitablegod Welcome sir. I'm kinda new too. Like you I intend to stick around. People here are awesome, knowledgeable and unpretentious. I was going to say humble but I think we all like to brag...haha. I can't wait for pointers on making chili powders and growing chills. I'm in Huntington Beach, it's not exactly riverside, thankfully. It's baking out there this week in the 909. Thank you for your service. When will you be making some powder. I would love to see pics if I may. I've been hooked on good chili powder since 2005. I had an assistant who was from NM and her dad made his own chili powders.... Amazing!!!

Anyhoooo welcome aboard!

[inevitablegod]

inevitablegod Welcome sir. I'm kinda new too. Like you I intend to stick around. People here are awesome, knowledgeable and unpretentious. I was going to say humble but I think we all like to brag...haha. I can't wait for pointers on making chili powders and growing chills. I'm in Huntington Beach, it's not exactly riverside, thankfully. It's baking out there this week in the 909. Thank you for your service. When will you be making some powder. I would love to see pics if I may. I've been hooked on good chili powder since 2005. I had an assistant who was from NM and her dad made his own chili powders.... Amazing!!!

Anyhoooo welcome aboard!

Thanks for the welcome. I am always available for questions on growing, especially peppers and tomatoes. Huntington Beach is pretty damn alright in my book. You've got the right heat for growing, that's for certain. My harvests will likely be in late july through September, as I am just starting to get fruit on a few, mostly the milder variants. The superhots I started indoors back in January. They are time consuming, but if you like heat and good full flavor, they are worth the effort. Jump into my messages so I don't forget to update you with harvests and my products.

Cheers!

[Spinaker]

inevitablegod Welcome to the Pit! We are happy to have you here. This is a great place. I am guessing that you will go way beyond the 90-day trial. Much like I did. Anyway, Welcome and I hope you find this place as amazing and helpful as I have.

[ecowper]

Welcome inevitablegod .... I am a Sacramento native that ended up migrating to the Seattle area. I was born at Sutter Memorial way back when, grew up in Rocklin before HP went in there. My mom's family is from Lodi/Galt, Dad's family from Placer County. Did a couple tours at Fort Lewis during my Army career and liked the area a lot. One of the few drawbacks to it is that I can't grow decent tomatoes or peppers

I bet you stay longer than 90 days! Anyhow, welcome aboard. Share a couple pics of your rigs and your food!

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome aboard inevitablegod. On being a low-and-slow guy, when I smoke butts I love spending time with my smoker even though it doesn't need me for most of the 14 hours. I like the aroma so I have a chair nearby to sit, relax, and eat/drink, maybe dozing off a time or two.

[inevitablegod]

Welcome inevitablegod .... I am a Sacramento native that ended up migrating to the Seattle area. I was born at Sutter Memorial way back when, grew up in Rocklin before HP went in there. My mom's family is from Lodi/Galt, Dad's family from Placer County. Did a couple tours at Fort Lewis during my Army career and liked the area a lot. One of the few drawbacks to it is that I can't grow decent tomatoes or peppers

I bet you stay longer than 90 days! Anyhow, welcome aboard. Share a couple pics of your rigs and your food!

I will get some pics up of the annual event I am cooking for this weekend when I get back, in a separate thread, along my my gear.

I have bad native soil, so my raised beds are filled with a turkey compost mix. $60 a cubic yard, but it's the good stuff. Seems to be working well for my peppers and tomatoes this year without me having to dig, mix, amend, mix, dig, etc. Quite pleased, but with bed the size I am running not the least expensive route. Still, I tore my rotator cuff and my labrum, so digging is out of the question for a while.

I miss my years in Seattle.

[David Parrish]

Welcome to The Pit inevitablegod! We're glad you're here.

[jharner]

Welcome to the pit Damon, enjoy the Wikipedia of BBQ.

[CeramicChef]

Welcome to The Pit and welcome to The Obsession

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit inevitablegod / Damon! It's nice to have you here. That was an excellent intro too. Nice to meet you.

Since this is one of your first posts, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Also, it's very important that you add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list in case you are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner!

Hope to hear & see more from you!