BBQ - A Tasty Topic

Mr. Rockenstien,
At last a subject that we are both in complete agreement about. I'm not a BBQ'er but a lover of BBQ.

Where did you find that little marvel that you are cooking on? Just might be time to try my hand learning to use one. Funny how if your willing to do the cooking everyone is willing to do the eating.

When I lived in upstate N.Y. I worked for an auctioneer who had owned a bar in Pearland, Texas for 20 years and BBQ was a must have on the weekend so he hired a fella who came in and did the cooking.
Jack watched and was taught by the BBQ cook how and what to do and he did the cooking after a year or so. As you know from doing it yourself it leads you deeper into the how's and why's of the process.

The BBQ guy shows up at the bar one day and says why don't you enter a contest so Jack takes his BBQ rig to the cook off and wins and the hook is set. After a few more wins he's looking for a better BBQ rig and the old cook hears about it and shows up at the bar again and says I'm going to give you my old rig. It's outside so out they go and in the parking lot is a 40" mobile home frame with three house sized propane tanks mounted on it for cookers and another one cut in half around the middle and sitting on end for beans and chilli.
There was a wood rack on the front end. He was the all state champion one year with the award to prove it.

His absolute favorite wood was cherry and he said more than once that only the best BBQ cookers use it.

I had to smile when I saw you used it as well. The mark of a craftsman.
The food looks wonderful and I bet your guests left every plate clean.

Steve.

Here's mine.

Works great. All ceramic, holds heat like nothing else.

You can low and slow or open it up to a thousand degrees and do some steaks in 4 minutes.

I had one of those exact barbeques, Rockenstein. I got it for free, barely used. All I had to do was replace the wooden handle parts and wooden end table that had been weather worn.
I gave that rig away, I have no idea how to barbecue.

Not sure when bow season is in Ontario anymore but you would love hunting in Tenessee
where my friends live. Last years bag limit was only 129. As they said all you have to do is shoot them.
The deer saw things in a different light of course.

I did weld a smoker up when I was in Minnesota visiting Silverbear last year. Stiil in the trailer were I put it when I brought it home but now you have my foot tapping and visions of BBQ dancing across my plate so if we don't get any rain tomorrow I'll dig it out and look at it again.

I took a large household water system tank and pulled the air/water bladder out and welded a propane tank that Silverbear gave me under it with the top cut out of it and mounted it on angle iron legs so it's about eye level. Looks some what like yours but on end. I had planned to lay it on it's side so it was like the one you have but then I got thinking that since heat rises I'd put the fire underneath it.

The whole thing was built out of parts that we got at his town dumps metal pile.
If it doesn't work I'll cut the legs off and turn it sideways like yours.

I worked for Dominion stores as a butcher in the mid 60's after I finished my chef training apprenticeship. Did you ever hear of the Granite Club in Toronto? Very exclusive private club. That's where I did my apprenticeship.
You should have seen the meat that went through there. Seven rib, prime rib roasts that were hung for 21 days in our own meat locker. Yipes, it was so tender that you could cut it with a fork and not have to push down on it hard.

Anyone selling 1/4 or 1/2 beef and pork near you? Sometimes the small local custom meat cutters bring animals in to butcher as well as what comes in from the local farmers. Brisket, food of the Gods.

If my smoker doesn't work I think that they may have one like yours where Silverbear is. They have a really great chain of stores called L&M Fleet Supppy and I'm certain they had one there.

Jack and I did three antique shows in Florida over the winter and what was left over after the first two shows he stored and then after the third show what was left we loaded up and took to Texas and sold at an auction and then visited some of his family.
His youngest brother is a BBQ champ as well having been taken under the wing of an old BBQ cooker like Jack was.

We went to a big BBQ cook off that his brother was in and you would have gone as nuts there as I did. They had smokers there that looked like train engines. There were tractor trailers with special low bed trailers with 3 and 4 custom made stainless steel BBQ's on them and dually pick ups with matching trailers that were BBQ's.
The whole thing was like the Gray Cup and the prize money was Texas sized.

We have a regular charcoal grill here and my brother and I were saying the same thing you did. How long before the government know it all's try stopping anyone from having a BBQ in thier back yard. I'm sure David Suzuki will be leading the charge.

We'll have to scream loud and clear that it won't be happening. Hey, that will be something that you and I can stand shoulder to shoulder and fight. Just as soon as we wipe the BBQ sauce off our faces.

Steve.

Rockenstein, yes it makes sense. The direct heat/ indirect heat/ time thing is the key.
Perhaps I should go to the book store and get a how to BBQ book. I still have a baby Weber grill collecting rust out on the patio.

The last time I tried to BBQ chicken I ended up with fresh charcoal shaped like chicken pieces. I am guessing too much heat and too long on the grill?

Mr Rockenstein,

Squirt??? I'll bring the 5 gallon pail of honey if you don't mind bringing the pail of ants.

He'll be busy enough then so he can't do any more damage. Wait a minute!!! That's two things we agree on. Is this getting to be a trend?

Steve.

Here's my cooker I got rid of propane and use charcoal. I've smoked turkeys, pork loin, and brisket. I've cooked millions of burgers, steaks, Cornish game hens, brats, fajita meat. I have a big stainless skillet I use to sautee' veggies. I like to use hickory and mesquite for smoke. Wow, now I'm hungry...

One word marinade !
Gots ta put in the juices, and cook it slow, fire on one side meat on the other.

Well it's going to be as easy as I'd hoped but it never is. Was up till 3am this morning looking at how people made smokers. Yipes, some of them could process a whole cow.

Just a Mr. Rockenstein said the main problem seems to be getting heat across the smoker evenly. There were a dozen different solutions to doing that properly.
Mostly baffles on the fire box end to direct the heat and plates with various sized holes in them across the bottom of the smoker. Up to the steel supply on Wed. to get metal to put around the door to seal it and maybe by saturday I'll be able to season it.

Any ideas on the best way to do that?

Steve.