I've been visiting AmazingRibs.com for a couple of years and realized today I really should support it -- so I joined. I spent some time reading tons of posts before following my "homework" assignments, including writing this introduction. This really is a fine community of friendly, kindhearted folks. I wish I'd have joined sooner.
I acquired my love of cooking from my mom and grandmother, two amazing Cajun cooks who are long gone. As much as I enjoyed knocking around the kitchen over a stove, I never got the hang of cooking on hot coals outside. How hard could it be? We've only been doing this since being chased around the backyard by dinosaurs, yet at best I got inconsistent results. After burning enough money on ruined meat, I decided just to stick with propane -- something with a knob I could control. And so it went for nearly twenty-five years.
About eight years ago, I read an article on SeriousEats.com about sous vide cooking. It made perfect sense to me and led to an insatiable appetite for the science behind cooking. And that immediately led to more and different cooking. And that led, inevitably, back to cooking over hot coals. Thank goodness for high speed Internet, I was able to start to put the pieces together and give it a fair shot. I remain a "work in progress" but I have turned out some things I was proud to serve to others.
I still have a gas grill (a small portable Weber) but I admit to having developed over the last few years a serious case of GAS -- Grill Acquisition Syndrome. It started with a little Weber Smokey Joe. I still have that grill, along with a Weber Jumbo Joe (both modified into mini Smokey Mountains,) a Pit Barrel Cooker (to my mind the closest thing to bullet-proof success,) a Pit Boss Kamado ceramic grill, and the latest was thanks to an end of season sale at Walmart: an Oklahoma Joe Bandera smoker.
My grandkids are learning how to use these things, and I love that they're having fun cooking for the adults. It's a fun time to be alive.
John
I acquired my love of cooking from my mom and grandmother, two amazing Cajun cooks who are long gone. As much as I enjoyed knocking around the kitchen over a stove, I never got the hang of cooking on hot coals outside. How hard could it be? We've only been doing this since being chased around the backyard by dinosaurs, yet at best I got inconsistent results. After burning enough money on ruined meat, I decided just to stick with propane -- something with a knob I could control. And so it went for nearly twenty-five years.
About eight years ago, I read an article on SeriousEats.com about sous vide cooking. It made perfect sense to me and led to an insatiable appetite for the science behind cooking. And that immediately led to more and different cooking. And that led, inevitably, back to cooking over hot coals. Thank goodness for high speed Internet, I was able to start to put the pieces together and give it a fair shot. I remain a "work in progress" but I have turned out some things I was proud to serve to others.
I still have a gas grill (a small portable Weber) but I admit to having developed over the last few years a serious case of GAS -- Grill Acquisition Syndrome. It started with a little Weber Smokey Joe. I still have that grill, along with a Weber Jumbo Joe (both modified into mini Smokey Mountains,) a Pit Barrel Cooker (to my mind the closest thing to bullet-proof success,) a Pit Boss Kamado ceramic grill, and the latest was thanks to an end of season sale at Walmart: an Oklahoma Joe Bandera smoker.
My grandkids are learning how to use these things, and I love that they're having fun cooking for the adults. It's a fun time to be alive.
John
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