Just signed up and thought I'd say hi....

[mikeworthington]

Hi guys,

My name is Michael Worthington and I live in South Miss., not far from the coast. I grew up and lived in Tennessee, about 60 miles north of Chattanooga for 31 years before I moved down here in '85.

I've been BBQing somewhere around 45 years - doing it old school - just meat and fire. Most of the time I used an old oven rack and 6 concrete blocks.

I don't have a fancy Jambo or Lang smoker, just an old Char-Griller brand grill/smoker that a friend gave me, but I can still cook. I just can't feed a block pit anymore since I had my stroke 2 years ago. I DO want a Maverick dual probe thermometer as soon as I can get one though.

I've got a Coleman Tailgater gas grill I fire up if I want to char a couple of burgers or some hot dogs plus I have an old 'Weber Kettle I cook on if we're doing several burgers, dogs, sausage, etc. I can set it up for indirect and smoke a chicken or a small pork roast if I choose.

That's pretty much it for me. I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys and swapping recipes, stories and what not.I know I'll learn a lot from here and if I can be of service to anybody, it would be my honor to try to help.

Have a great day, ya'll.

 

[noboundaries]

Well Howdy Michael!  Welcome and glad you're here.  There are lots of folks with your equipment should you ever have any questions but it sounds like you've pretty much got it dialed in.  45 years of "old school" experience obviously serves you well.  Lots of young'uns on here who are just starting to smoke/grill/cook so don't be shy; offer your experience when you can. I'm a self taught cooker/griller/smoker myself with 40 years experience turning protein, carbs, and fat into human fuel and belt-busting energy storage.  Only added smoking to my abilities about a year ago but I do love it.  

I'm looking forward to seeing you around the Forum and any recipes you can offer.  I'll be putting up a smoked Cuban Ropa Vieja recipe later today or tomorrow.  I just did a Google Translate for Ropa Vieja and it came out "old clothes." 

   I'll be using boneless beef chuck not this week's laundry. 

  First attempt at it but in my mind I can tell it is going to taste delicious. 

Thanks for joining the family.

Ray 

Edit: okay, just couldn't leave the name alone.  Thanks to Wikipedia I found this:  There are many theories as to how the dish was named. One of the more popular ones is a story about a man whose family was coming to his home for dinner. Being very poor, the man could not buy them enough food when they came. To remedy his situation, he went to his closet, gathered some old clothes (ropa vieja) and imbued them with his love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned the clothes into a wonderful beef stew.

I'm still using the chuck.

 

[mikeworthington]

One of the more popular ones is a story about a man whose family was coming to his home for dinner. Being very poor, the man could not buy them enough food when they came. To remedy his situation, he went to his closet, gathered some old clothes (ropa vieja) and imbued them with his love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned the clothes into a wonderful beef stew. 

Hey Ray. WOW, that's a great story on the ropa vieja. Makes one hope that it's true. And yes, use the chuck just in case!    :-)

I got 2 chickens on the smoke right now that I've injected with a mixture of olive oil and McCormick Montreal Chicken rub, then dusted them down with more dry rub inside and out. I'll let you know how it works. I just hope I got enough seasoning in the oil.

As soon as I figure out where everything goes here, I have a lot of recipes to share. And thanks for the welcome. I really appreciate it.

Michael

 

[biguglysmoker]

Welcome to the group glad to have you join in. Always good to have new things to try. Like they say there's more then one way to skin a cat. Not that I would cook one, but wee all have those little things we do to our cooks that maybe someone else would like if they tried it. Once again welcome to the group and will be looks for your recipes.

 

[gary s]

Hey Mike, welcome to the forum, glad you joined up

Gary S