Greetings from Bellingham WA.

[jbeck1986]

So I guess great BBQ has become my new hobby/obsession. So hello fellow BBQ enthusiasts.

I have only been serious about this for just over a month. Took about two weeks to read this website and research before I pulled the trigger on a Webber 22" master touch, SNS, and thermapen to get my feet wet. Since then this has been a blast. Never in my life have I been able to cook so much good food and have it be so consistent.

I picked up a copy of Meatheads "The science of great BBQ and Grilling. I initially picked it up because I wanted to support the Meathead and all the folks responsible for this website. I found it has been a great resource having so much stuff in paper form at my finger tips. Great job guys!

Im about to pick a Pit Barrel Smoker to give me a chance to feed large groups and not have to baby sit as much. I have already been following the PBC portion of this forum and I look forward to having a great resource like all of you folks to help me get the hang of things.

Im very excited to find this website and all you kind helpful folks. Thanks to Meathead and all his moderators for making something like this possible. I look forward to being part of this community

Thanks!

[DWCowles]

Welcome jbeck1986

[ecowper]

Welcome jbeck1986 .... I'm down in Maple Valley, so we are practically neighbors .... Looking forward to hearing how things go with your BBQ and seeing more cooks.

By the way, Meathead is going to be in Seattle (Fremont) in September ... Chance to get your book signed and meet up with him and few other BBQ fanatics in the Northwest.

[jbeck1986]

Hey ecowper what kind of prices are you paying for brisket and good ribeye steaks in that part of Washington? I'm just curious

[ecowper]

jbeck1986 Here's a link with info https://www.booklarder.com/events/in...e-and-grilling

[ecowper]

Guest I get a whole packer for $3.29/lb .... ribeye and New York strip are like $9-10 a pound .... Tri-tip and flank steak for $7.99/lb ..... All Costco prices.

[Breadhead]

Welcome to the Pit jbeck1986 ...

You're off to a great start with the gear you've bought and are going to buy. Joining the Pit is the best $24 you've invested in your BBQ & grilling journey so far. Having the expertise of fellow Pit members to guide you through the learning curve of those cookers is priceless.👌

Send some pictures of your gear and cooks... We like pictures.😎

[jbeck1986]

Thanks Breadhead. I haven't actually payed that $24 yet. I'm on the free trial from buying Meatheads cook book. But I am going to here soon for sure.

Yeah I do my research to make sure what I'm buying is what I want. Even if it's not cheap. Nothing makes you feel like kicking your self more than spending 75% of what the nicer item cost on something and not being happy with it. You get a very long time to feel that regret every time you use that item. I just took a break from racing RC cars competitly and I had spent upwards of $20,000.00 inside of 3 years doing it.

Do it right the first time and be done with it. No buying things over and over that didn't work well in the first place and cost you more in the long run .

Will be be sure to start posting pics

[Breadhead]

The free trial is just to entice you into taking a look see.😎 Meathead is confident you're not leaving in 90 days.

The cancellation rate or non renewal is rare.🤔 Once you're in you're never getting out.🙈

[ecowper]

We're like the Hotel California ....

[LA Pork Butt]

jbeck1986 Welcome to the Pit! We can't wait to hear how you spend $20,000 on BBQ gear lol.

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to The Pit jbeck1986. Thanks for your introduction!

[FireMan]

Well, well, well. So you think Meathead's book is fantastic do you? You think this site is great do you? Oh, all the help "from the guys & gals is marvelous is it? Well............... You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet. This is the most Amazing BBQ extravaganza on the planet earth! You will cook, you will eat, you will learn about, eat, smoke, tinker, rub, marinate, eat, experiment, accumulate gear, get afflicted with MCS & eat more BBQ, than you ever imagined! The kicker is all 1,412,907 of us are here to help/learn with you. Ok, maybe I stretched the number a bit. But, welcome aboard & enjoy the ride!

[Huskee]

They say 64.018% percent of all statistics are made up!

[FireMan]

Who is they?

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit jbeck1986! It's great to have you here with us. Great intro too! We're sure hoping you stick around for good.

Since this is your first post, 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!

[Danjohnston949]

jbeck1986, Welcome to The Pit! You are Now Enrolled in the BBQ Univ.! Attendance and Participation are Mandatory!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[Tim E]

Welcome @jbeck1986. I am about 20-30 min north of you in WA. I have the PBC as wells as the SNS, great times ahead friend.

[jbeck1986]

Well I actually live in birch bay which is technically Blaine. I just say Bellingham because nobody knows where Blaine is. I'm assuming you live in Blaine or north Lynden. So we are even closer I guess

[Tim E]

jbeck1986 FWIW I get most of my meats at the Bellingham Costco now. Best value for the quality. Sometimes I will hit up the Cash n Carry on Ohio street. C&C is quite a bit cheaper than Costco, the quality is not quite as high in my opinion. Still good though.
Also there is a great Craft butcher on N State Street called Carne, might want to check that out. They are selling some hatch chile and lime sausages right now that are bomb !

[Spinaker]

Welcome to the Pit. We are happy to have you. The PBC is great machine. You will not be disappointed in your purchase.

[PBCDad]

Welcome! I'm down in Bothell, and I also have the PBC / Kettle + Sns combo. It is great! For searing foods or even just shorter indirect cooks (I just did Italian sausage, 30 min indirect), the kettle is perfect at getting super high heat in the sear zone and saving a bunch of charcoal. For longer cooks or for more food, I use the PBC - I have never been able to max out the capacity even when cooking for a party, the cook time is shorter, and the flavor is awesome! Once I have more time I'll let something ride low and slow on the kettle, but I haven't had the chance yet. You know how summer in the PNW is, you have to book all your activities for the three months where the skies are clear!

[ecowper]

I bought a gazebo thing from Fred Meyer for $169 to cover my grills/smokers :-)

[jbeck1986]

Tim E I have been doing steaks up at Safeway since they have had either ribe steaks (bone in) at $6.97 a lb or t-bones 4 $5.97 per lb both choice. I have been eating a lot of steaks lately. Btw the butcher at Safeway will pre-salt your steaks before they wrap if you ask them. I guess I have become such a regular that they have pulled some kosher salt off the shelf for to salt my steaks so I don't have to pay for it anymore. Very friendly and helpful staff.

The only issue I have is that they are telling me they can't grind me anything higher than 20% fat burger. So I'm trying to find someone else willing to do so. Although I'm likely going to end up buying a grinder after learning how to safely cook medium rare steaks from watching Meatheads video on Steakhouse burgers

[ecowper]

Damn good prices for those steaks!

[jbeck1986]

Yeah no kidding. I would have my PBC right now if those steaks weren't so good. After learning the reverse sear and being able to ensure consistency every time I kinda got carried away buying steaks so much. Was worth it tho!