Greetings all, my name is Joe with the nickname of "The Griz" - some mixture of having to do with having a full thick beard by sophomore year of high school and being a competitive shot putter in high school in my native state of Maine.
About me, I'm an RN (it's on the acronym list already, I checked, go figure! Huskee you should add your title of RRT but perhaps also explain that it stands for Rapid Response Team, too. At least, in my area). I've been a nurse nearly 8 years now. For hobbies I enjoy the outdoors: birding, canoeing, hiking, camping, wildlife photography. I also enjoy playing with our toddler of 3.5 years, and our 3 dogs. I dabble with the piano, and admittedly enjoy playing me some video games (all time favorite being the original Starcraft for the PC, still playing it a couple of times a month with friends on battlenet)... and of course, BBQ (otherwise I wouldn't be here).
My interest in BBQ has been increasing slowly over the past 5 years. I've always loved eating pulled pork, brisket, and chicken. I never actually made the plunge in smoking meats until this summer. I'm pretty capable already in the kitchen, and for fathers day 2015 family got me the Weber kettle. I did a few burgers on it here and there on it but was out of my comfort zone having been used to and growing up with propane grills (presently a Kenmore Elite 550 series). Finally, over the winter, I did some reading up on BBQ, and talking to friends who have BBQ'd and fathers day of 2016 I made my first plunge of smoking meats by making pulled pork with a picnic shoulder (please appreciate my novice here, utilizing picnic shoulder versus Boston butt) - anyway, the meat turned out great - family and neighbors enjoyed it immensely. Even though it took me 13 hours to cook, I caught the itch. August 7th marked a day of days for me. Borrowed two additional Weber kettles from a friend and a family member and smoked 2 pork butts, brisket, and 4 chickens and had a bunch of people over to enjoy it. Went to bed 11p the night before, up at 3a that morning, pork on the first kettle by 420am with baked beans right below it to catch the drippings (thanks to having purchased a SnS), then set one of the chickens (later 2nd set) and then the brisket. I have some pictures from the day here on flickr if you're interested in viewing some of the photos (easier to link up rather than download from flickr and reupload here). Interestingly enough I didn't take any photos of the initial brisket, I think by that time I was pretty busy manning the pork and the chicken to stop and take photos along the way. Since then, I've smoked 4 more chickens in one day. I'd say pulled pork right now is my love but also my fickle mistress, always taking me longer to cook than I initially intend (much to the chagrin of my wife).
Goals for me right now include: learning and mastering the burger with charcoal (first attempt following the steakburger recipe was an epic fail); hone my smoking skills with the pulled pork, brisket, and chicken. Down the road I'll start learning how to cook ribs but I'm in no rush. I'm loving the brisket, chicken and pork pulled right now.
On the near horizon I plan on purchasing a dedicated smoker to add to my outdoor cooking vessel arsenal that I have already (Kenmore Elite 550, Weber kettle 22"). I'm thinking either Pit Barrel Cooker or Red Box Smoker (awaiting review on that product), but I'm more than happy to hear any other recommendations/suggestions for a smoker that you may endorse. I am, of course, on a budget.
Thanks, and I look forward to getting to know many of you and learning a lot about BBQ.
About me, I'm an RN (it's on the acronym list already, I checked, go figure! Huskee you should add your title of RRT but perhaps also explain that it stands for Rapid Response Team, too. At least, in my area). I've been a nurse nearly 8 years now. For hobbies I enjoy the outdoors: birding, canoeing, hiking, camping, wildlife photography. I also enjoy playing with our toddler of 3.5 years, and our 3 dogs. I dabble with the piano, and admittedly enjoy playing me some video games (all time favorite being the original Starcraft for the PC, still playing it a couple of times a month with friends on battlenet)... and of course, BBQ (otherwise I wouldn't be here).
My interest in BBQ has been increasing slowly over the past 5 years. I've always loved eating pulled pork, brisket, and chicken. I never actually made the plunge in smoking meats until this summer. I'm pretty capable already in the kitchen, and for fathers day 2015 family got me the Weber kettle. I did a few burgers on it here and there on it but was out of my comfort zone having been used to and growing up with propane grills (presently a Kenmore Elite 550 series). Finally, over the winter, I did some reading up on BBQ, and talking to friends who have BBQ'd and fathers day of 2016 I made my first plunge of smoking meats by making pulled pork with a picnic shoulder (please appreciate my novice here, utilizing picnic shoulder versus Boston butt) - anyway, the meat turned out great - family and neighbors enjoyed it immensely. Even though it took me 13 hours to cook, I caught the itch. August 7th marked a day of days for me. Borrowed two additional Weber kettles from a friend and a family member and smoked 2 pork butts, brisket, and 4 chickens and had a bunch of people over to enjoy it. Went to bed 11p the night before, up at 3a that morning, pork on the first kettle by 420am with baked beans right below it to catch the drippings (thanks to having purchased a SnS), then set one of the chickens (later 2nd set) and then the brisket. I have some pictures from the day here on flickr if you're interested in viewing some of the photos (easier to link up rather than download from flickr and reupload here). Interestingly enough I didn't take any photos of the initial brisket, I think by that time I was pretty busy manning the pork and the chicken to stop and take photos along the way. Since then, I've smoked 4 more chickens in one day. I'd say pulled pork right now is my love but also my fickle mistress, always taking me longer to cook than I initially intend (much to the chagrin of my wife).
Goals for me right now include: learning and mastering the burger with charcoal (first attempt following the steakburger recipe was an epic fail); hone my smoking skills with the pulled pork, brisket, and chicken. Down the road I'll start learning how to cook ribs but I'm in no rush. I'm loving the brisket, chicken and pork pulled right now.
On the near horizon I plan on purchasing a dedicated smoker to add to my outdoor cooking vessel arsenal that I have already (Kenmore Elite 550, Weber kettle 22"). I'm thinking either Pit Barrel Cooker or Red Box Smoker (awaiting review on that product), but I'm more than happy to hear any other recommendations/suggestions for a smoker that you may endorse. I am, of course, on a budget.
Thanks, and I look forward to getting to know many of you and learning a lot about BBQ.
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