Greetings from sunny California

[asandman]

Hello folks! New member here from the greater San Francisco area. I've been reading the site for a couple of months and turned out a few good cooks thanks to the guidance here, so I thought it was about time I joined.

A bit of background: I've been cooking for ~15 years, and I know what I'm about in the kitchen, but I'm just starting to get my hands dirty with barbecuing. Since I started reading AmazingRibs, I've done a tri-tip, some St. Louis-cut pork ribs, and a Simon-and-Garfunkel-rubbed spatchcocked chicken. The results have been great, and I'm eager to try more. My ultimate goal: master brisket. The three years I spent in Texas gave me lofty barbecue dreams.

My equipment: a 22" Weber Master-Touch grill and a Maverick ET-700-series thermometer. I've used the Weber off and on for basic grilling (kebabs and such) and am just starting to use it for slow cooking. The recent purchase of the dual-probe wireless thermometer has helped enormously. The weather around here is mild, but since it's relatively dry, the ambient temperature can swing a bit depending on whether something is in shade or sun. My grill gets both depending on the time of day, so I'm learning to accommodate the swings with the amount/type of fuel and how I position the vents and lid.

Thanks for putting together this fantastic resource. Looking forward to learning more from the AmazingRibs articles and community!

[DWCowles]

Welcome to the Pit

[Breadhead]

@asandman

Welcome to the Pit. There are many members here that use the same equipment as you so you will find lots of help refining your BBQ game.

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome!

[Jon Solberg]

Greeting! Love the dog in the avatar. Dogs are the best right?

[asandman]

Without a doubt! And I'm biased, of course, but I think my dog's the best of the best.

[kenrobin]

Greetings, I'm also new to the forum & I'm in the Bay Area (east bay). I have a Maverick & I just ordered an iGrill2. I've been thinking about picking up a Master Touch kettle grill. Have you bought any of the Weber Gourmet accessories? How do you like your Master Touch?

[asandman]

I don't have any of the Weber Gourmet accessories, but I must say I wouldn't mind having a round iron griddle like the one they make. My current cast iron griddle is a rectangular one that's meant to span two burners on the stove and probably won't fit on the Weber. If you get any of the accessories, I'd be interested in hearing how you like them.

As for the Master Touch, I've been pretty happy with it, but I'm no expert.

Pro: It seems like it has a lot of solid basic features: top and bottom vents easy to position, ash receptacle easy to remove and empty, top grate hinged in two places on opposite ends, and so on. The hinged top grate came in handy yesterday, when my fuse ran out about seven hours into a 10-hour cook and I had to add more coals.

Con: I wish the cooking surface were just a bit larger, maybe another 2-3" diameter. I did one rack of ribs a few weeks ago and don't think I'd be able to fit another one on there without an accessory to hold the racks upright. Cooking kebabs for more than, say, four people is tough to do if I want to be able to move some of them off direct heat in case of flare-ups.

Hope that helps a bit. BTW, nice avatar!

[Yno]

Wow, three Bay Area people in the same thread! Down in the South Bay here. It seem most of the activity is from east of the Rocky Mountains. Welcome aboard. About your avatar - is your dog singing?

[asandman]

Cheers! Not singing, just enjoying the ocean breeze in her face at the top of Windy Hill. She's a quarter husky, though, so occasionally she does "sing" when she gets worked up.

Glad to have some fellow Bay Area people about!

[kenrobin]

asandman thanks for the feedback on the Master Touch & the shoutout on the avatar... all good, LOL. I just may pull the trigger on the MT.

[The Burn]

Welcome asandman. The kettle is a great piece of equipment and there are plenty of non-Weber accessories that can up your game also. As for size, there's always the 26" or a Hovergrill to give you a second layer of cooking surface.

[David Parrish]

Welcome asandman! We're glad you're here.

[Huskee]

​Welcome to The Pit asandman! Thanks for the support! Sure sounds like you have two great tools (22" Weber and Maverick) for BBQ.

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.

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!