When/Where did you get your FIRST taste of REAL BBQ?

[dono]

I can honestly say that my first true BBQ was probly last summer, ya see I've been burning meat and chicken and bathing it in BBQ sauce for years. my wife and kids would find reasons to not be home if I was BBQing lol

so I started searching for recipes online, and I came across this site. it just so happened on that week there was a small charcoal smoker on sale at the local "canadian tire" store for 99$. I decided to give it a try. my first attempt was a brisket, we still use it as a door stop for the back door. but over time I got a little better IMHO, It no longer looks like I'm sending smoke signals to the natives anymore.

I've done some real good turkeys and a couple of pork butts that were eaten so fast they musta been good. but I'd say my first true BBQ was a combination smoke I did last summer of 2 beer can chickens, a turkey and a pork shoulder it thurned out great and made me a true fan.

thanks folks you dun tought and old dog a new trick

 

[richtee]

Din't grow up with Q at all. Grilling yes, but no Q. My mom STILL boils her ribs. Jeez. Anyway, being food inclined, I soon enough figgered out ribs should not be boiled, but foiled. Got good on the grill... used to add small oak and apple branches on the side.

Then I got a smoker for a gift. A Brinkmann. Since gave it away and got a WSM. I call 'em all ECB's just for ease of reference...they are very similar. Been runnin' that for over a year now.

But smoking is alot different than grilling obvoiusly, and I was struggling a bit getting the flavor I wanted in the home made sausage I had been working on, not to mention ribs.

This place straightend that out along with ALOT of reading and reasearch into the physics and mechanics of smokers, fires, and spicing.

And I continue to learn :{)

 

[glued2it]

I'm not sure about this one.......
I've eaten a lot of BBQ ever since I can remember. Some places come to mind but none of them that really stood out.

Truth be known, I though it was last week and next week I'll say the same thing.
The arts are becoming quite honed and things are getting better and better.
not matter how perfected the were to begin with.

It's too early in the week to get me thinkin so hard.
The sparks are setting off the smoke alarm's.

 

[fireguy]

Not really sure.... As a very young boy, I traveled with the fam a lot and we would occasionally visit some joints in the south... thats probably when and where the first taste was. As for really gettin head over heals for smoking.... Bout ten years ago, when I met up with the inlaws... father in law had a 10x10 smoke house... we Smoked 100s of #s of sausage each year... it would take several days of beer drinking and babysitting, not to mention making great memories...Then we would hold a large sausage/ game feed for all the friends, family, and neighbors... other than sausage we would do the same with turkeys for the neighbors for their holiday feasts.. But sadly this all ended a few years back when a tornadoe devistated S.E. Neb and took our smoke house to who know where.. along with most of their property. So I have started on a much smaller scale on my own a few years ago...

 

[k5yac]

I'd have to say it was the mid 80s, I was 14 or 15 years old living in central Missouri and we were down on the Osage River (Bonnetts Mill). A friend of mine invited me down for the 4th of July... his Dad owned a restaruant in Jefferson City (Veit's)... and he made some of the best ribs I've ever had. I remember him and some of the other cooks out back around a huge brick pit, slathering the racks with sauce. Wasn't real thick... more like a thin brine with lots of lemons floating around the pot. Wish I knew exactly what he used... it kind of glazed them a bit, and they were great.

 

[low&slow]

Being born & raised in Texas, my dad would stuff it in my baby bottle.

 

[crockadale]

When I was young, I mean real young...like 7 or 8. My dad would meet his friend at this bar for beers and whatever. In order to keep my mouth shut they would feed me from the adjoinig BBQ Joint. Oh, by the way that joint's name is Johnny Harris in Savannah, Ga.

http://www.johnnyharris.com/

 

[lcruzen]

I guess I jumped in big in the late 70's. Me and my roommate lived in the country and decided one day to have a pig roast. Borrowed a rotisserie grill from someone and bought a small pig from someone else. Much to my surprise when I went to pick up the pig it was still grunting. Didn't know it was going to be that fresh. Farmer slaughtered it on the spot. Threw it in the back of the truck and threw on the spit Saturday morning. Invited some folks over to partake. Turned out burnt on the outside and raw in the center. Had a big bonfire going so folks were using hot dog roasting stick with half cooked pork on it sticking it into the fire to finish cooking. We tweak out processes and had several great pig roast after that but that one is still talked about.

 

[smokin-jim]

When I was growing up in the 60's my parents always had a BBQ (as they called it) every Saturday. It was always grilled meat of some sort. I grew up in California so most days had pretty nice weather. I started flipping burgers about the age of 8.

In the early 80's I was in the military and stationed in central Lousiana. This is when I first tasted real BBQ. We would get together as a squadron and do whole hogs (usually wild). They would cook for hours in a home made pit.

I started doing roasts and turkeys and such on my trusty Weber Kettle about 15 years ago and I finally got an upright smoker several years back.

I truly enjoy cooking for others and I always look forward to large family gatherings. My Daughter always requests ribs for her birthday and so we will be doing that for her in early May. Last year I did 8 racks of Kansas City style for her and our inlaws. She has already made the request again for this year.

 

[dingle]

The Great New York State Fair has a little shack on the food court that smokes whole hogs every year. Now thas some good pork. However there is a little joint in downtown Syracuse called the Dinosaur Bar-b-que. My first and probably the closest thing there is to down south bbq up here in central NY.

 

[bwsmith_2000]

Can't name the exact time but when I was a youngster (about four or five) in the late 1940s. I can recall my first impressions of BBQ. My Dad did BBQ for churches, schools, political gatherings etc. This was in eastern North Carolina (Sanford). My job was to gather wood and help with the fire. My recollection is that we did whole hogs and/or hams and shoulders. I don't think I had BBQ Beef until I was almost grown. However, the BBQ that we did was always pulled or chopped. It had a slight vinegar taste and the sauce was also a vinegar base. It was served on a bun or "light bread" with pickles as a sandwich or on a plate with beans and/or brunswick stew and slaw as a full meal. The beverage was always sweet iced tea. I will never forget the first time I ate BBQ in Atlanta a lot of years ago when I was grown. It had a tomato based sauce and it was all over the meat. I couldn't get over it. Anyhow, I make my own now and I have learned to very much enjoy a lot of different types of Q. Like brisket, ribs, clod, chicken, turkey, ABTs and the list goes on. I've learned a lot from the SMF over the last eight years or so and I salute us all (especially Jeff) for the sharing of so much information.

 

[lisacsco]

Skyline BBQ in WV where I grew up. They had BBQ samdwiches that were to die for. Same place they found Hank Williams Sr. dead out in the parking lot....so the story goes anyway.

 

[rivet]

Wow...that was a long time ago, when I was a little kid. We went out into the country where there was a farm that my dad knew the owner and he was having a bbq. There was hog in a pit, beef on the grill and goats on the spit. I remember those half-goats on the spits arranged teepee-style over mesquite, just roasting and smelling so good. I recall just standing there in awe looking and smelling the goat meat and drooling as the fire ant hill I was standing on boiled over onto my feet. I got over the fire ant bites, but have never gotten over my love for mesquite grilled goat, hot tortillas and cold beer!

 

[flyin'illini]

WD - Great thread.

I was born in KY and cannot recall exactly when I got my first taste. I know it was very early on and it was from Lee's in Kevil, KY as that is what we always had when visiting relatives. (After age 3, my family left KY and I grew up an hour north in southern IL on a hog farm) If Lee's was sold out, we would get it from Starnes in Paducah, KY.

From then on, I always compared what I ate to Lee's.

My family only grilled and never smoked anything so I certainly did not grow up knowing how to create it.

Fast forward to last fall... I am not much of a griller or a cook but I finally got tired of not having any Que except for a couple of chain locations and that got me motivated enough to look on the net and find the SMF. The education is just beginning and I thank you all!

Most of all I thank Jeff for being clever enough to link an on-line forum to common search words many of us typed in so that we can all find each other. (the other forums and info I found were after being here for the most part)

 

[smok'n steve]

I can relate to what ya mean by"Mom boils her ribs". All I grew up with is cold hotdogs, "solid" baked(not done) tators, and plastic broiled steak-once a year. Most days Mac & Cheese or spaghetti!

So my best "Q" was like Rich--------I read books! tried it and loved it, then I found this placed and realized, I can really learn something and maybe please people!!! You know--make them happy--- Family first boys:-)

 

[flatbroke]

"Famous Daves BBQ" about 6 months ago

No real BBQ joints around that I know of.

 

[cman95]

Cannot really remember my first but grew up eating deer, rabbits, squirrels, and hogs cooked over a pit in the ground. Ate from lots of little mom and pop bbq joints around the south later while working. Now I may not be a pittmaster but love my own Q very much. Thanks to you people here.

 

[teeotee]

Have to say mine was on my first visit to my now wife. She took me to Hickory Park in Ames IA. Boy that was a taste i'd been longing to try. Not even sure just what i ordered. Thinking it was a hickory smoked burger. The smell in that place was the best, and the food was so good.

Had always liked grilled food, just never had much real bbq. It just wasn't that popular over there. We'd grill ....... rarely. Mostly was bangers, burgers, lamb chops, etc......

When i moved here i'd grilled maybe twice. The wife had a weber kettle (still have it), she is a charcoal only gal, i didn't know any different. I really loved the charcoal taste, so me and the weber got to know each other better. More than a few burnt, blackened ashened, overcooked dinners went by. Just started really figuring out the basics of charcoal grilling when she brought home an ECB on clearance for $20.00, been hooked ever since.

 

[mulepackin]

Man how'd I miss this thread. My first REAL BBQ was about ten years ago. A "good old boy" opened a joint here in town called BBQ Heaven. I still remember getting out of the car and smelling smoke, I thought then "this is gonna be different". Up until then, all th Q we had around here was parboiled, pressure cooked, oven glazed and again, sauced. While I enjoyed some of it, I always thought "how can this really be BBQ?". This new place was the real deal. I still remember the "John Wayne Platter" ribs, brisket, pulled pork, sausage, and chicken. I knocked several of them done. I've been questing to improve my own ever since. I had done my game meat into sausage and cured products for many years prior to this on my elec. fridge, but while it is the ticket for that type of work, I agree with WD, Rich and others, Real BBQ comes from charcoal, coal, and wood. So if I don't do it in the electric, the ECB gets it done in the meantime. Thanks for the great thread WD.

 

[jbchoice1]

I, like a lot on here, have grown up with the old "traditions". family reunions, holidays, and just about anytime that we would visit. most of my family is from the Caddo region in Arkansas. for those of you that don't have a clue where that is, it's about 35mi S/W of Hot Springs. a little town called Amity. I think today it has a population of about 800 give or take. we used to go and see my great-grandparents at least once a month. Papa smoke the turkey for thanksgiving. we grilled burgers, and fish that we caught. their youngest daughter, my aunt phyllis, has gone on to work for the game and fish with her cooking show on AETN. if you get a chance, check out her show. open fire cooking, mostly in dutch ovens. so when we go to her house, sam and phyll always fix up something great. my grandpa used to take me to what was called "good neighbor day" in Norman, AR. lots of BBQ there as well. it was where the old timers would gather and swap lies once a year. always a good time, always good food. since I have been old enough to cook, I have been. phyllis got me my first cookbook when I was 5. I've always camped and cooked out, had gatherings and parties. and it never fails, that people flocked to the flame. my little brother wants me to cook for him when he is home on leave, I guess he can't get that stuff in the marines??? I wouldn't trade it for anything. talk to ya'll soon. and thanks for all the advice. it only gets better from here.