Hi from Sing Sing!

[MrDibS]

The town of Sing Sing NY, that is, which in 1901 changed its name to Ossining to reduce confusion from the prison.

My name is David and I'm a meat-a-holic. (Most folks call me Dibs). I've lurked here for years but only recently decided to get involved. Here's my story:

In a fortuitous turn of events ten years ago, my local Barbecues Galore store went out of business the same week my wife went out of town. She was therefore unable to stop me from buying an offset smoker at 60% off. Yay!

I subsequently came down with a bad case of the "itus". Living in the northeast, it's hard to get great barbecue. There are options but few that are both consistent and authentic. It brought me great satisfaction to take matters into my own hands.

The cooker i purchased that fateful day was both a blessing and a curse. It's a late model Bar-B-Chef so it has many of the popular mods already done. The grate level exhaust, the lowered thermometer, etc. She is a step up from a Home Depot special (thicker metal, etc) but she ain't no Lang. It performed okay in decent weather when I had it parked in a corner formed by a fence and my garage. Ribs became an obsession and if I do say so, I've got a pretty good handle on them.

A lot has changed since then, though. Three kids. A new house on a hill... a windy hill... Between having less time to manage a stick burner and the wind killing my cooks with flare ups and over smokiness, I was using my smoker less and less.

So, after modding and hacking this thing for ten years, it's time to either double down or double back.

Next week I will be taking delivery of a Humphrey's Battle Box. (I have my wife's blessing).

Oh, baby... I got it bad...

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy from Kansas Territory, an' Welcome!!!
Keep makin' with th' story, as it unfolds!

[FireMan]

MrDibS, you had me at Yay! Welcome aboard mate! Your years of lurking explains why you seem to fit right in, before you fit right in. Eat good & have fun!

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to the Pit!

[lschweig]

A hearty welcome from Illinois.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit Dibs.

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit MrDibS! Happy to have you here. Nice intro, and congrats on that new smoker!

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:

1. Give us an email address you actually use. You can set or change your email on file with us by clicking your name in the upper-right, then User Settings, then the Notifications tab.
2. Add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list. We NEVER spam! This is important to receive notices about your account, such as if you’re up for renewal or are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner, which is open to all USA members or those with a USA delivery address (we’d hate to have to pick another person because you don’t answer us)!

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[tbob4]

Welcome from Northern CA. I had a Bar-B-Chef offset. The firebox rusted out after years and years of use. I had a cover on it in bad weather but it didn't survive and there was no replacement. I subsequently bought a larger/cheaper COS offset from a box store. It didn't last long and I ended up spending real money on a couple of high quality upright cabinet style smokers. The others stuck around in the yard, unused.

Prior to getting permission from my wife to buy the second upright I had to promise to rid the yard of the old stuff : 1 old dented Weber (from college), 1 rusted barrel without the offset (pre-kids), the Bar-B-Chef (kids came along) the rusted out cheap COS (it only lasted a couple of years when the kids were older). I had really no problem with getting rid of the others but really had a hard time parting with the Bar-B-Chef for sentimental reasons. My kids and their friends all grew up eating the food from it. So when you get your new smoker keep the Bar-B-Chef until the kids move out "just because".

[MrDibS]

Agreed. It's so flawed but so primal and good. The wife asked what I'll do with the Bar-B when the new cooker comes. At first I said I'd put it on CL or pass it along to her cousin who also has the itch. But... it's not hurting anyone sitting here...

[MrDibS]

PS. I thing the cover causes more rust than anything else. Every time I cover it for an extended period of time it comes up with more rust. Like with firewood, airflow seems to trump rain cover in the long term.

[Thunder77]

Welcome to the Pit from Baltimore, MD! Glad you're here.

[Breadhead]

Oh, baby... I got it bad...

Yes you do! In the Pit we refer to it as MCS MrDibS ...🤙

I will suggest you revise your family budget and add a line item called MCS acquisition expenses. I would post in about $300 per month, to start.

Now that you're a legitimate Pit member you are going to see BBQ gear that you never even knew was available and that will rev up your "I must have that toy" for sure motor. There are thousands of dollars of $25 to $50 items you had no clue how much you needed them. Then there's a few $1000 items that you're just going to have to have.

Trust me... it's about $300 per month to be an active Pit member. The $24 per year membership fee is like your Costco membership fee. I can't get out of Costco for less than $450 per trip... and they have the balls to make me pay for it.🙀

For the amount of money I've spent buying BBQ equipment and accessories since I've joined the Pit... Meathead should send me $24 per year.😆👍

[FireMan]

I second that emotion!

[Steve B]

Welcome aboard MrDibS from just the other side of the river. I'm in the Suffern area of Rockland. Great to see someone else from this part of the country joining in.
What color are you getting? I see they have several to choose from.

There's one Q joint right near me that is pretty good. Finks. There are also a few up in the Newburgh area that are supposed to be good but I have not been to them so I can't say for sure. But anyway welcome and looking forward to seeing around here.

[MrDibS]

Thanks! I took the fam up to Woodstock and happened upon a stand by the side of the road called Kevs BBQ. Blew my mind. Totally nailed it. A rare gem. I didn't mean to say there was no good BBQ, just harder to find.

[MrDibS]

Yankee Blue with black doors. One probe port, two extra racks and 8" casters.

[Steve B]

Nice. No pin stripes though?? The bigger casters will make a huge difference if you plan to move it around.
Don't forget to show us some pics of your new cooker and your first cook.

[DWCowles]

Welcome MrDibS

[LarryO47]

Welcome from upstate New York, MrDibS

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome MrDibS!