Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What an amazing time to learn to BBQ!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    What an amazing time to learn to BBQ!

    So I’ve been cooking and grilling for 30 years or so since I was a kid, but I’ve never tried serious bbq/smoking until recently. Boy did I pick an amazing time to decide to start. Think of the combination of tools and information available to us today.

    Thousands of hours of youtube reviews, recipes, and howtos from folks all over the world; forums like the pitmaster club with decades of experience happy to share at the drop of a hat; countless inexpensive tools based on generations of distilled wisdom made by BBQ entrepreneurs like the slow’n’sear, bbqguru fans, and grillgrates; reasonably priced wireless smart thermometers with cloud capabilities for the data nerds like me.

    I can’t imagine the trial and error I would have gone through if I’d tried to pick this up 20 years ago. These days, someone like me can jump in with a minimal investment of time and money and reasonably expect to make outstanding BBQ right off the bat.

    #2
    So true.

    Comment


      #3
      When I started they were few if any books an no internet! We have come a long and with TV BBQ shows regional styles have cross pollinated across the US and even countries.

      Comment


        #4
        Over 15 years ago I was bitten by the BBQ/Cooking bug. The information just keeps coming. So much to study and learn. Wow!

        Comment


          #5
          The first time I tried smokin'many years ago, I gave up - didn't have the time or interest to try to figure it all out. But I eventually tried again, and the internet was, at times, a great help. Sometimes it was not... Then I retired five years ago and got serious. Then I found The Pit and things took off.

          Comment


            #6
            I’ve been doing this since early ‘97.

            My skills have have improved exponentially since joining The Pit.

            I totally agree with the premise of this thread. It seems like we are in a BBQ golden age.

            Charcoal now seems omnipresent. Charcoal cookers seem to be an expanding market, especially Kamados.

            Good times indeed.

            Comment


              #7
              I've only been at this since December, but I absolute echo that. I learn best by watching and all the HD YouTube videos are fantastic.

              Comment


              • JeffJ
                JeffJ commented
                Editing a comment
                The Pit is a wealth of information. The collective Q knowledge of this community is both amazing and humbling.

              #8
              Very accurate. Ten plus years ago there wasn't much information about smoking & BBQ, and half the information out there was incorrect. And I don't think we realize the educational impact YouTube is having.

              Comment


                #9
                Yep. I have had to learn entirely from this forum, a few others, and YouTube. It’s been great!

                Comment


                  #10
                  The only problem I have is that the "minimal investment" you refer to in the first post seems to keep growing. Sure is fun though.

                  Comment


                  • stratfordwill
                    stratfordwill commented
                    Editing a comment
                    No kidding. Minimal investment is definitely possible, but perhaps unlikely. I was planning to buy an $800 pellet grill when I started my research this year. Finding this place convinced me to use the Weber 22 I already had, saving a ton of money. $600 worth of mods and accessories later, I've got something better than a pellet grill for me, but not much cheaper.
                    And now I'm starting to see the symptoms of MCS. I've been looking at outdoor griddles late at night and dreaming up patio shelters.

                  #11
                  Well said. It’s really gone mainstream. Raising a whole new generation of backyard pitmasters is nothing short of a cooking revolution 👍👍👍

                  Comment


                    #12
                    I start out in that late 80's, doing everything wrong. Soaking my wood, no temperature monitoring except the gauge on the lid of a cheap bullit type, ... But the output was still pretty good. Smokers have come a long way since then. And so has knowledge of BBQ.

                    Some of the things I have learned is that you can get some the best BBQ smoking in a cardboard box or by digging a hole in the ground, if you know what you are doing. And regulate cooking temperatures by the amount of fuel used, not by regulating air flow. Although some control of air flow is necessary.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      Started out in the 70's with a little hibachi. Over the years my interests have grown and waned. Learning from Dad and friends was all there I had. Lots of the blind leading the blind. Anyways have enjoyed BBQ and cooking indoors though. Started getting serious about cooking around 2000 and got quite good on a stove and oven. BBQ moved from the bottom of the list to the top a couple of years ago. The internet, this site in particular, opens up a big can of worms for me.
                      Love it but I suffer from "more is better" and I'm afraid it's chronic.

                      Comment


                        #14
                        Excellent post. Been grillin' and chillin' my whole 58 years, but nothing like what I've done since joining this site.

                        Comment

                        Announcement

                        Collapse
                        No announcement yet.
                        Working...
                        X
                        false
                        0
                        Guest
                        Guest
                        500
                        ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                        false
                        false
                        {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                        Yes
                        ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                        /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here