Hello From Fort Wayne

[DennyD]

I just discovered this site a couple of days ago. Been grilling for years, but(after the great Easter Debacle of 2009) just last year got serious about grilling and BBQ. I've been "winging it" in the kitchen for years, and seldom use recipes or cookbooks except as idea books, just letting my nose and my taste buds guide me, and almost always get rave reviews about my cooking. But I finally came to the realization that there are many more variables when cooking outdoors, and lots more possible ways to screw things up. Now I pay attention to all kinds of stuff I never considered before: cooking temps and times, how to set the draft holes, wind, ambient temperature, which fuel burns the best, which woods compliment what I'm cooking, etc.

I cook for my family and friends and my own taste, and am having a blast.

[BruceB]

Welcome aboard Denny!!

[Rich Parker]

Welcome Denny!

Cooking for friends and family is the most fun.

[spydermike72]

Welcome aboard!!

[Derek]

Welcome to the mad house Denny,

You will love it here, lot of tips, friendly people...

[Timbo52]

Welcome, Denny! Sounds like you can be giving us all kinds of tips.....

[sfisch]

Denny,
Glad you found us!

Scott

[Bill Gailey]

Welcome Denny....yep, your hooked!

[jerry516planes]

Welcome Denny!

:D

[DennyD]

Welcome Denny....yep, your hooked!

Yeah but now I'm hooked on doing it right!! Like I said, I've been grilling quite a lot for years, but it's never been something I thought out like I do when I'm cooking in the kitchen. Although I commonly used smoke when grilling, I never paid much attention to temperature control and certainly never used the dampers to control temperature. As long as the fire kept burning I was happy. I had a Brinkman charcoal smoker for years.... most of those years it was converted to a gas smoker so I didn't have to mess with dampers and adding charcoal. Mostly what I smoked was chichken which turned out pretty good, so chicken comes easy for me.

Now that I'm (semi)retired, I'm really starting to enjoy keeping tabs on grill and meat temps, getting more charcoal started, and all the other things one needs to think about to really do it right. For me, that's the difference between grilling like I used to and what I call BBQ. It's more than using smoke or indirect heat.... I did that before, but I never really paid attention to what I needed to in order to get consistent results.

Low and slow is how I've always cooked meat in an oven, except for smaller cuts that can be broiled, but now I'm learning to do the same thing with a smoker and get predictable (and great tasting) results! My wife loves it too!

[michiana mark]

Welcome Denny, enjoy the company.

[DennyD]

These are my charcoal and wood burning rigs.
http://dulcimerden.net/BBQ/Readyforaction.JPG
I use a ring(the sides of a fruitcake tin with bottom removed) that holds my coals, near the intake end of the chargrillerfor smoking. I drop the coal grate to the lowest level and don't put any meat directly above the coals.

The firepit has a lid(leaning up against it) that I can put on top for smoking meats. Not real slow... I wouldn't want to do pork butts on it, but have done chickens. Even though the sides are open, the lid still holds plenty of smoke.

[Rockpyle]

Welcome aboard! Looks like you are well equipped!

Rock

[DennyD]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. I have modified the Chargriller, because I like it for when I'm doing ribs, chicken, or small cuts where determining "doneness" is done by visual examination of some sort. It seemed like temps were all over the map inside the smoker, so I extended the chimney right down to the warming rack inside, and also added a baffle above my "fire ring". I'll find out how it works later today. Hopefully it will hold even temps better. I think that I will gain the space right above the fire for cooking, too.