Hey, all! Like many of you, I stumbled upon this site during equipment research, and I decided to pull up a chair and stay for a while. Most people call me "Mush" (last name is Mushrush, and I think every person with that last name uses that nickname).
We're hailing from Downs, IL...just southeast of Bloomington/Normal. Nice, small town within spitting distance of the city (aka "supplies").
As for equipment, I've got a standard Weber 22" Charcoal in great shape and a 10-year-old Fiesta Blue Ember gas that is slowly giving up the ghost. The newest piece of equipment just arrived a couple of weeks ago...a GMG Daniel Boone. It was the researching of pellet grills that got me to this site, and the information on this site helped me a ton with the decision-making!
The DB has been broken in well, with kabobs, an awesome pork loin, and my first ever spatchcocked chicken that almost brought tears to our eyes as we ate it. I also did salmon a couple of days ago with really good success. I'm still trying to dial in the reverse searing method for burgers/steaks, but I'm not giving up! The first burgers were smoked to around 135 and then seared on cast iron inside...tasted great but was too done. For the second try, I brought the burgers up to about 125-130 and then took the temp to 500 on the grill to try a sear; it wasn't done enough for most of my family (argh). I'm going to try cooking to 125-130 and then cast iron on the stove to finish them off next try.
Planning on spare ribs over the 4th - I had good success on the Blue Ember in the past...I cannot wait to see how they turn out with a more controlled grill and an accurate thermometer. I've also got a butt in the freezer to attempt pulled pork soon, and, though I am trembling as I type this out, I think I might try my first brisket in the coming weeks. I'll be buying a Maverick before I attempt the brisket, though.
I'm looking forward to learning a lot and meeting/interacting with you on here!
Mush (Chris)
We're hailing from Downs, IL...just southeast of Bloomington/Normal. Nice, small town within spitting distance of the city (aka "supplies").
As for equipment, I've got a standard Weber 22" Charcoal in great shape and a 10-year-old Fiesta Blue Ember gas that is slowly giving up the ghost. The newest piece of equipment just arrived a couple of weeks ago...a GMG Daniel Boone. It was the researching of pellet grills that got me to this site, and the information on this site helped me a ton with the decision-making!
The DB has been broken in well, with kabobs, an awesome pork loin, and my first ever spatchcocked chicken that almost brought tears to our eyes as we ate it. I also did salmon a couple of days ago with really good success. I'm still trying to dial in the reverse searing method for burgers/steaks, but I'm not giving up! The first burgers were smoked to around 135 and then seared on cast iron inside...tasted great but was too done. For the second try, I brought the burgers up to about 125-130 and then took the temp to 500 on the grill to try a sear; it wasn't done enough for most of my family (argh). I'm going to try cooking to 125-130 and then cast iron on the stove to finish them off next try.
Planning on spare ribs over the 4th - I had good success on the Blue Ember in the past...I cannot wait to see how they turn out with a more controlled grill and an accurate thermometer. I've also got a butt in the freezer to attempt pulled pork soon, and, though I am trembling as I type this out, I think I might try my first brisket in the coming weeks. I'll be buying a Maverick before I attempt the brisket, though.
I'm looking forward to learning a lot and meeting/interacting with you on here!
Mush (Chris)
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