Picking up on a conversation from around 3-27....


The 1st time I ever grilled something I was about 6 years old. (I get
to que later)

It was a wonderful summer Saturday. Mom and Dad took my younger sister
Rosie and me to Holiday Park. Holiday Park was located in northern
IL.. It was a man made lake. They had slides that went into the water,
life guards not only on their towering chairs, but also in the water.
A sandy beach. A BIG slide you could go down on a wooden slide with
metal rails and then into the water! You sat on a wooden board of
sorts that had wheels. OK, hard to explain.

They had an open club house with games, sodas, etc. They also had a
small "fun park" with Tilt-a-whirrel (sp), a big (for me anyway)
Farris Wheel, and other rides. They had a mini golf course (put-put).

All was included for a per CAR LOAD PRICE. I think it was $2 or so
(1965-66).

Uncle Bob and aunt Dolly always came along with their babies (just 2
back then but it would grow to six).

Dad would grill on a grill he had. No cover. El cheapo. So would uncle
Bob.

In retrospect, neither of these guys could grill. Bob under cooked,
Dad burnt the outside of everything, under cooked the inside (raw).

The procedure was always the same. Mom yelling at us to stay away from
the fire. What fire? I don't see any......WOOSH!!!

The gallon of starter poured over the perfectly shaped, black,
Kingsford went up like an atom bomb!

OK Mom, THAT fire.

And as the charcoal popped and cracked, the smell of burning fluid
waifed across the air, I grilled for the very 1st time...

I stepped on a burning coal!

Burnt my damn, tender, young, FOOT!

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The next time I grilled something was at about 14 years of age.

A buddy came over for a sleep over. It was summer. We decided to sleep
in the garage. We got hungry. Saw dad's Webber kettle and kingsford.
Oh yea, and the fluid!

Poured all of the kingsford into the kettle. Found a potato, splashed
half a container of starter fluid on the kingsford, and lit a match.

The woosh was bigger than the day I burnt my foot. But we beamed from
ear to ear, placed the potato on the grill, and waited.

Had to open the garage doors. That stuff was toxic! Never knew to put
a cover on the grill either. The flames died out, ash never did
develop well, the tater was raw. BUT WE ATE IT!

That night, I got the bug. Man, fire, smoke, food stuff to be flamed!

It would be some time before I got the que curse...

As time went by I became a good kitchen cook. Both Mom and Dad could
COOK! In the kitchen that is.

Others here have said that it helps to be a good kitchen cook. It is
true IMHO, it does help.

1978-Germany- Went to a luau sponsored by the post (Army Base) Hawaii
club. Had pork cooked in the ground over night. The single best thing
I ever put into my mouth till that point (boobies were a close
second)!

I was told that is how they did que!

Jump to about a year later. Dad's buddy Wally belonged to a hunting
club and every year they cooked a pig on a spit over wood.

WOW! Something even better in my mouth!!!!


Thus began the quest.

I grilled for now. Made my own rubs. IMHO I grilled the best steak on
this planet. Grilled lamb, chicken, pork, veggies, fruit, what ever!
Grill Master Gene!!!!

Then one day.....

I went to a Big Green Egg demo at a BGE store outside of Atlanta (I
had moved there from Chicago). I was driving buy, smelled the smoke,
and had to check it out.

The guy was doing all sorts of stuff. But what hooked me were the baby
back ribs!

OMG!

Never had a mortal tasted anything like this I said. Could I do this
if I purchased an EGG?

Sure said the salesman.

Then I saw the price of an Egg and about shit.

I had 3 kids! I needed something bigger than a small but could not
afford it!

The sales guy gave me a video all about the BGE and asked me to return
when I realized that I just "Couldn't live with out it"!

As I walked out an older man also left. He turned to see the glum face
I had and said to me, "Bull shit"! "Eggs are great, I own 2". "But you
can make great que in a file cabinet!"!

This old guy went on to explain how to build a smoker out of an old
file cabinet!

He saw the tape in my hand, The BGE tape. He asked if I had ever tried
to que. I explained I had been trying to do Baby Backs on a drum with
hick. wood, but it was always awful.

He looked at the tape, told me to fast forward to the "rib part" with
a big black man using a rub and mustard, winked, and off he went.

I went home and watched the tape. NOW I NEEDED AN EGG!

Still couldn't afford it.

Also watched the part of the tape the guy told me to. MUSTARD! A DRY
RUB! Not one mention of a sauce? Isn't proper que loaded with sauce?

I got on the Internet that night and searched on everything QUE! Went
to bed as the sun came up, still reading.

The next day, I purchased a vertical water smoker for about $70. Got
some hick. and mesq. wood, and went to the butcher for some baby
backs.

I removed the back skin from the ribs, rubbed with a commercial rub,
mustarded the ribs, more rub, wrapped in plastic rap, and into the
fridge over night.

Next morning, more rub. Got the smoker going with some kingsford
brickets and wood, and slow smoked these baby's for about 6-8 hours.

OMG!

JACKPOT!!!! The best ribs my wife and I had ever had ))

I didn't even need to convert a file cabinet! Didn't need a BGE!

It took me 3 years to duplicate that.

I can not even begin to describe the amount of luck that entered into
that 1st great que.

Every repeat was met with a major problem. Food stuck to the grates
(bring the meat to room temp. prior to placing onto the grill or into
the smoker)

Don't let luck regulate your smoker's tempature.

Never trust a COOL/MED/HOT indicator.

Learn to make your own rubs. Not only cheaper, but you will have much
better control over what you taste on that bark.

You do not need an expensive set up. You need knowledge, a willingness
to screw up, and the persistence to get to where you want to go.

KNOW MEAT. Yes, you can make lesser meat good. But good meat becomes
GREAT if you know what you are doing. Old puter saying, "GIGO"!

$$ does not always = quality.

Nevr again use bricketts or fluid!

Decide before hand what you want the end result to be. Then make it
happen by controlling every step in the process. Sounds simple. Do it.

These are some of the things I learned that enabled me to make the
ribs as good again as luck had provided 3 years earlier. And now, even
better.

Folks here have said to document everything you do. Keep a log.

DO IT! Trust me, you will be glad you did.

I can not begin to describe what I have learned here in this group
over the years. To thank each person would impossible. So, I thank you
all.

Thanks for reading about my 1st time. This trip down memory lane was
heart warming for me. Thanks for indulging me.

Gene