I came across a Meathead video speech on taking a scientific approach to BBQ and dispelled a couple of my BBQ myths in the speech. I looked for some other content, read the book, then joined The Pit. This has been a great forum for getting and exchanging ideas and help and support when the outcome is less than desirable. I like the humor, support, and honest respectful feedback on the site. How did you get here? What keeps you here?
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I had never cooked pork ribs and was searching the web for some instructions on what to do with the rack sitting in my refrigerator. While hunting around, I came across amazingribs[dot]com and liked what I read. I bookmarked the site and kept coming back to the free side. After a few years, I did the free trial membership in 2019. After it ran out, I continued to use the free side until in 2021 I decided I should help pay for the place I was getting so much advice from. I’ve been enjoying the conviviality and friendly support of the Pit since. -
I believe it was from looking for science backed answers to different BBQ debates. Binder vs no binder, fat up vs down, etc.Comment
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I was home alone over the holidays and ran across the free side. I went down the rabbit hole over the long weekend reading as much as I could and then I joined The Pit as a trial member. I decided I didn't need a 30 day trial, this was my place for BBQ and cooking so I converted my trial membership to a full membership.Comment
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Took a 2 day BBQ camp here at NC State and they handed out copies of Meathead's book, which had a 30-day trial for the website inside of it. The rest is history...Comment
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I'm not sure how I came across this site, however, I imagine I was looking for recipe for pulled pork or ribs. When I found the page and perused it I found great advice and recipes and, while I don't remember specifics, it seemed that joining The Pit seemed like the next thing to do. It has been a great decision and has helped me get better at cooking, helped me meet some great people, and nerd out about something I really enjoy doing with like-minded people.Comment
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I was talkin to this fella bout grillin and he ended up tellin me bout Q. So's I got over to this internet
thing I'm becoming familiar with and try to find som books on the subject. This here fella Meathead pops up and has a top 10 list. After perusing a bit I went to find him agin and this confounded Amazin Wibs pops up. Well, I rilly wanted to make some Wibs and some good ones at that. Joinin seemed cheap enough so I went and dun it. Then I discovered a wacky cast of characters was in the crowd and I started havin to much fun on top of learnin how to Q and grill and do all sorts of stuff. Whut a ride it has been, yessir!Comment
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I think I was looking for something bbq related and started using the free side, and as Draznnl said, I thought I should help support the site, so I joined The Pit. As soon as I learn my way around, I'll start posting more.
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About 15 years or so ago, I went a-googling to find a method for smoking a brisket on a gas grill, mostly just for grins and giggles, because I had a Weber Summit 6-burner with a smokerbox and had failed at "smoking" ribs because the smoke quickly exited the cooking chamber in a matter of minutes no matter what I did with that smokerbox.
Well, darned if I didn't land on an article from Meathead on the amazingribs.com site that described how to turn a gas grill into a smoker for brisket. He had an ingenious method for keeping smoke in the chamber without using the smoker box. He said to line up 3 loaf-pan sized disposable aluminum pans with wood chips, the first pan with wood chips only, the second pan with wood chips and about 1/3 full of water, and the third pan with wood chips and just over half filled with water. These were placed over the leftmost burner set high enough for the water in the 2nd and 3rd pans to start to simmer and pan no. 1 to begin to smoke. The next two burners were used to adjust the cook chamber's temp to about 225-240°, and the brisket was placed on the cool side, over the 3 unlit burners.
The plan was that by the time the chips in the first pan burned up and gave up their smoke, the water in the second pan would have evaporated enough so that its wood chips would begin to smoke, and when the second pan was nearly spent, the water in the 3rd pan would have evaporated off so that it would take off with smoke. It was such a wonderful plan--I got about 2 1/2 to 3 hours hours of smoke, IIRC, with this method. I didn't have to lift the lid once during this smoking phase. Essentially Meathead's method used the pellet smoker trick of loading smoke at the beginning and then letting the meat finish up, however long it took, without smoke.
So in true Kathryn fashion ( with the (sometimes stoopid) go big or go home mentality), the first brisket I tried with this 3 stage smoke method was for a Superbowl party at our house, with about 30 guests. The Brisket was meant to be a side item in case the 3 pan smoke method on the gasser didn't work well. I had a ham and grilled chicken (on the kettle) for the main meat offerings. Well, that brisket literally disappeared long before the other meats were barely touched. Everyone raved about it.
With that success, I became the smoker queen of the 'hood, a legend in my own mind, at least.
It was so much fun that I tried a few other meats on the "smoker" gasser and began looking around for a real smoker with the husband's caveat "Kathryn, just don't burn the house down", since we lived in a heavily wooded area and my outdoor kitchen was in a screened in-portion of the deck on the house's second (main) level.
At that time Doc Blonder was a heavy contributor to the site, and I was fascinated by the science lessons that went along with the smoking and grilling advice. Meathead's recipes and advice were top notch, plus his was the only BBQ site that I could find that addressed food safety. I had hit the BBQ trifecta with AR! Only the free side was available back then, and I was impressed with the tone of mutual respect and encouragement that the site fostered with the people who posted.
A couple of years later The Pit opened up, and I, with my Pit Barrel Cooker, signed up to be a member. By that time the gasser had been relegated to giving salmon filets a light smoke for dinner along with its other duties of being a sear station, rotisserie, and all-around grill.
Since then, I've been proud to be a part of this informative, friendly and supportive group.
Kathryn
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Yup, CRO , it was a fun time. I was trying to get the PBC to run like an appliance with predictable ETAs for the smoked meats. That lead to us working on different ways to load the charcoal, different ways to fire up the PBC, different ways to control temps, etc. After several months we all settled down and enjoyed cooking good food with each of our cookers optimized for our needs with mods or methods, or a little bit of both.
K.
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I was searching the internet for a new to me rub for ribs. Memphis Dust came up, back then it contained salt and I still have that recipe as well as the new one. I was so impressed with the rub I started checking the free side and then eventually joint the pit and haven't looked back.Comment
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I was looking for help smoking a brisket. Everytime the site loaded the PBC was off to the right screaming my name.
I had already purchased an electric box smoker. The Authentic "Smoke Hollow" wood smoker.
That thing took 41 hours to smoke a briskie. Christmas was near so I treated myself to a PBC.
Best move I ever made.
I now own the electric "bacon machine", a Tribute Kettle to Bonesy, then outta nowhere some guy has a Ceramic Kamado his wife wants gone. Posts on AR.com. I could not believe he could not sell it on picture face or many other sights that he mentioned. I asked how much and he gave me a price half of a new SnSK , Kim said No!
A full week went by and he contacts me again. he had dropped the price another $150 bucks and I said I was on my way.
Since then I now own btw 8-10 cookers. Most recently a Scorpio Pizza Oven. I love this place and the kindness of the peeps here.
The ability to trouble shoot cooking issues and read reviews on the new hardware is invaluable. Thanks Meathead n AR .comComment
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I had done grilling in 2008, but wasn't very good at it. A decade later, in December of 2018, I decided I really wanted to get back into it so started googling things.
Meathead's book kept coming up and I bought a copy. It had a 90-day trial of The Pit on it.....but before I spent my money, I wanted to make sure the stuff Meathead espoused was legit, after all, he busts a lot of myths, including several things that I believed to be undeniably true.
So, I must sheepishly admit, to googling things like "Meathead criticism" or "Meathead fraud." Not a single relevant result came up. Not one.
So, I joined and it has been one of the best internet decisions I have ever made. Web forums started to become a thing roughly in the early 2000s and I've been a member of countless ones over the decades for a variety of hobbies. The Pitmaster Club is in the top two. (The second one is CloudyNights, an amateur astronomy forum, of which I've been a member since 2004.)Comment
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Looking for smoking sites and accidently ran into Amazing Ribs.
Joined the 30-day free trial, liked what I saw- friendly, helpful people that helped me cut my learning curve on my Pit Barrels by 85%.
The jokes were a bonus.
I also felt welcomed here, even after you read my jokes.
Always look forward to going the site and reading and discussing.Comment
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