So, how did you get your start?

[TMB]

BUMP!  C'mon guys and gals... I know there are a lot more stories that could be shared with the LTBBQ family.  Would love to hear some more...

I tried to get Kimmie to cook burgers one time (mistake)  I said all you need to do is open the lid turn on the gas and light the lower burner with this lighter.    Well she turned on the gas never opened the lid and lit the burner from the breather hole in the bottom of the grill 

Lets just say she will never cook outdoors again!!   She called me and said "I blew up your grill"   I asked her how? She told me what she did and the lid came flying up and a very loud BOOM!!!!

Swore I told her not to lift the lid, so I cook all food outside not her

[tlg4942]

I was lucky to have my dad and Uncles who all hunted, fished , made sausage and cooked outdoors. Uncle Bob owned a diner in Brookhaven Ms way back then as well. I was always really excited to go there and get chilli and a Pepsi when we went up there.
  So we had Fish frys with the Uncles at the camps over near Lake Mary, Ms .   I sure miss those days!
    My dad had a Smoker made out of blocks  For hams , turkeys and a hibachi he loved to cook Steak, burgers & hot dogs on. He always involved me in these things from a very early age.
  When I joined the BOY scouts I got lucky again. Our troop was run by all Military guys who had us cooking over fire...
 During this same time period my dad would take some of us friends down to Fort Morgan all night fishing. We would build a camp fire and the first shark or redfish that was caught went on the coals. 
  Later I moved out to my Grandmother's old house and we made a brickpit out under the Magnolia tree.  Roasted many oysters in the shell out there! Rabbits , fish, squirrels were often on the menu. Then a friend started butcher school and brought cheap beef in a couple times a week. Man we were living then!   
 When I got married we always had a fire pit that we cooked over for years to come. I remember my son got a compound bow from one of his uncles. I guess he was 11 or so then. He came out of the house with it  that afternoon headed out into the field behind the house. A friend and I just started a fire and opened a cold beer when he passed by us. We ask what are going for? He said with confidence "I'm going to kill a rabbit to cook on that fire". Sure enough a while later he shows up all excited with a rabbit!  We were a little shell shocked but hey,  We helped him do the cleaning. Salt and peppered it good and he cooked it. To this day that is one of the best things I have ever tasted...
 Years of grilling on that fire pit and a gas grill went by. Sundays at my parents with daddy cooking on the hibachi right up until the day he past in fact.  Col Moreland was the Father in Law back then and he cranked out some really fine Prime Ribs too.
 Then a major life change happened and I moved to the old farm house I'm still in today. Found a mini weber on the side of the road. Nursed a dozen or so broken bones back to life and started back to cooking on that little weber...  Burned ribs so bad once the dog looked at us like we were crazy when we tried to give them to her. 
 Then 2006 I got a Char Broil Commercial gasser and met Barry Martin online. Then on to the SOTG gatherings where I met some really great folks that are here on this site now.  It's just been smokin , grillin, boilin from there on...great fun! and still going...
 So I guess I went a little past "Starting out".
P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...
 

[rwalters]

I was lucky to have my dad and Uncles who all hunted, fished , made sausage and cooked outdoors. Uncle Bob owned a diner in Brookhaven Ms way back then as well. I was always really excited to go there and get chilli and a Pepsi when we went up there.
  So we had Fish frys with the Uncles at the camps over near Lake Mary, Ms .   I sure miss those days!
    My dad had a Smoker made out of blocks  For hams , turkeys and a hibachi he loved to cook Steak, burgers & hot dogs on. He always involved me in these things from a very early age.
  When I joined the BOY scouts I got lucky again. Our troop was run by all Military guys who had us cooking over fire...
 During this same time period my dad would take some of us friends down to Fort Morgan all night fishing. We would build a camp fire and the first shark or redfish that was caught went on the coals. 
  Later I moved out to my Grandmother's old house and we made a brickpit out under the Magnolia tree.  Roasted many oysters in the shell out there! Rabbits , fish, squirrels were often on the menu. Then a friend started butcher school and brought cheap beef in a couple times a week. Man we were living then!   
 When I got married we always had a fire pit that we cooked over for years to come. I remember my son got a compound bow from one of his uncles. I guess he was 11 or so then. He came out of the house with it  that afternoon headed out into the field behind the house. A friend and I just started a fire and opened a cold beer when he passed by us. We ask what are going for? He said with confidence "I'm going to kill a rabbit to cook on that fire". Sure enough a while later he shows up all excited with a rabbit!  We were a little shell shocked but hey,  We helped him do the cleaning. Salt and peppered it good and he cooked it. To this day that is one of the best things I have ever tasted...
 Years of grilling on that fire pit and a gas grill went by. Sundays at my parents with daddy cooking on the hibachi right up until the day he past in fact.  Col Moreland was the Father in Law back then and he cranked out some really fine Prime Ribs too.
 Then a major life change happened and I moved to the old farm house I'm still in today. Found a mini weber on the side of the road. Nursed a dozen or so broken bones back to life and started back to cooking on that little weber...  Burned ribs so bad once the dog looked at us like we were crazy when we tried to give them to her. 
 Then 2006 I got a Char Broil Commercial gasser and met Barry Martin online. Then on to the SOTG gatherings where I met some really great folks that are here on this site now.  It's just been smokin , grillin, boilin from there on...great fun! and still going...
 So I guess I went a little past "Starting out".
P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

What a great story, and what a fun and healthy upbringing

[Michigan0626]

I was lucky to have my dad and Uncles who all hunted, fished , made sausage and cooked outdoors. Uncle Bob owned a diner in Brookhaven Ms way back then as well. I was always really excited to go there and get chilli and a Pepsi when we went up there.
  So we had Fish frys with the Uncles at the camps over near Lake Mary, Ms .   I sure miss those days!
    My dad had a Smoker made out of blocks  For hams , turkeys and a hibachi he loved to cook Steak, burgers & hot dogs on. He always involved me in these things from a very early age.
  When I joined the BOY scouts I got lucky again. Our troop was run by all Military guys who had us cooking over fire...
 During this same time period my dad would take some of us friends down to Fort Morgan all night fishing. We would build a camp fire and the first shark or redfish that was caught went on the coals. 
  Later I moved out to my Grandmother's old house and we made a brickpit out under the Magnolia tree.  Roasted many oysters in the shell out there! Rabbits , fish, squirrels were often on the menu. Then a friend started butcher school and brought cheap beef in a couple times a week. Man we were living then!   
 When I got married we always had a fire pit that we cooked over for years to come. I remember my son got a compound bow from one of his uncles. I guess he was 11 or so then. He came out of the house with it  that afternoon headed out into the field behind the house. A friend and I just started a fire and opened a cold beer when he passed by us. We ask what are going for? He said with confidence "I'm going to kill a rabbit to cook on that fire". Sure enough a while later he shows up all excited with a rabbit!  We were a little shell shocked but hey,  We helped him do the cleaning. Salt and peppered it good and he cooked it. To this day that is one of the best things I have ever tasted...
 Years of grilling on that fire pit and a gas grill went by. Sundays at my parents with daddy cooking on the hibachi right up until the day he past in fact.  Col Moreland was the Father in Law back then and he cranked out some really fine Prime Ribs too.
 Then a major life change happened and I moved to the old farm house I'm still in today. Found a mini weber on the side of the road. Nursed a dozen or so broken bones back to life and started back to cooking on that little weber...  Burned ribs so bad once the dog looked at us like we were crazy when we tried to give them to her. 
 Then 2006 I got a Char Broil Commercial gasser and met Barry Martin online. Then on to the SOTG gatherings where I met some really great folks that are here on this site now.  It's just been smokin , grillin, boilin from there on...great fun! and still going...
 So I guess I went a little past "Starting out".
P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

Great story. I have my son in cub scouts to learn all the stuff that was never taught to me. And because he wants to become a Marine Corps fighter pilot and Eagle Scout is the single best achievement to try and get accepted into a military academy.

[tlg4942]

  The Boy Scouts were a blast. Get the right leaders in there and he will never forget the experience.   
 
 
[/quote]
Great story. I have my son in cub scouts to learn all the stuff that was never taught to me. And because he wants to become a Marine Corps fighter pilot and Eagle Scout is the single best achievement to try and get accepted into a military academy.
[/quote]

[TMB]

P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

That's gonna be a loooooooong time goal Terry 

[Tailgating is my game]

P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

I was the same way until I discovered beer many years ago.......now I don't need the beer lol.

Reminds me of a friend that co-owned an Island on LI sound many years ago. He would have a party on the island with kegs, Clams, & oysters. The first year I went with him to pick up the clams & oysters & a guy at the store said try them on the hot grill.  Well around 12 hours later & a few kegs plus a visit from the coast guard for making two much noise (how can you make too much noise on your own Island the 20 of us that were still standing out of 60 guests were hungry at 3:00 am.

People started opening the oysters but all I could see is lots of cut fingers So in the back of my brain I thought fire up the grill.........best oyster I had since that same afternoon. No blood, but I did have more beer Anyway the other 19 or so joined right in.  Now that I am an adult I don't do those things anymore Reunion anyone ?


But I really understand anyone that does not like them as they can make you very sick......no honey it was not the beer it was the oyster

[TMB]

P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

I was the same way until I discovered beer many years ago.......now I don't need the beer lol.

Reminds me of a friend that co-owned an Island on LI sound many years ago. He would have a party on the island with kegs, Clams, & oysters. The first year I went with him to pick up the clams & oysters & a guy at the store said try them on the hot grill.  Well around 12 hours later & a few kegs plus a visit from the coast guard for making two much noise (how can you make too much noise on your own Island the 20 of us that were still standing out of 60 guests were hungry at 3:00 am.

People started opening the oysters but all I could see is lots of cut fingers So in the back of my brain I thought fire up the grill.........best oyster I had since that same afternoon. No blood, but I did have more beer Anyway the other 19 or so joined right in.  Now that I am an adult I don't do those things anymore Reunion anyone ?


But I really understand anyone that does not like them as they can make you very sick......no honey it was not the beer it was the oyster

Ill stick with clams     I really don't drink so if I got sick with oyster it would be the oysters 

[WMB-DMB]

I am an only child of an only child.  But my mom had a brother.  My dad and my uncle brought land on Lake Murray SC and build two houses.  We weren't rich but we had lake houses because my mom's dad was a contractor.  He build houses for his children before he retired and then build us lake house after that.  We spent summers there and my dad would drive 40 miles to work each day. 

My uncle was a fisherman, not a cook.  But my dad, although he liked to fish, loved a good steak or anything cooked on his PKGrill.  He brought it in around 1960 from Arkansas.  We had a stand at home and a stand at the lake and it was always in the trunk when we went from home to home.

All the homes were sold when my dad died and I now live in NC.  I don't know where my dad's PK is, but I expect it still works.

I now have a black PK, I love.  I used Gas for years, but 3 years ago after looking at buying an egg, I decided to go old school and get a PK which I love using.

[Pam Gould]

P.S. I tried to get Tommy to eat some fresh half shell oysters a week or so ago. Some flaming ones as well. He would not go for it. So thats my new goal...

That's gonna be a loooooooong time goal Terry 

Tommy don't do it..they grow in your mouth..and they are alive when you bite into them..no way  .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

[rwalters]

I am an only child of an only child.  But my mom had a brother.  My dad and my uncle brought land on Lake Murray SC and build two houses.  We weren't rich but we had lake houses because my mom's dad was a contractor.  He build houses for his children before he retired and then build us lake house after that.  We spent summers there and my dad would drive 40 miles to work each day. 

My uncle was a fisherman, not a cook.  But my dad, although he liked to fish, loved a good steak or anything cooked on his PKGrill.  He brought it in around 1960 from Arkansas.  We had a stand at home and a stand at the lake and it was always in the trunk when we went from home to home.

All the homes were sold when my dad died and I now live in NC.  I don't know where my dad's PK is, but I expect it still works.

I now have a black PK, I love.  I used Gas for years, but 3 years ago after looking at buying an egg, I decided to go old school and get a PK which I love using.

Awesome memories!  Man, if only you could find that ole PK!

[Hub]

I am from Texas. Cookin' a cow over a fire is a requirement for manhood. It helps that it's genetic.

I'm with Tee except that I'm from Oklahoma where we have to learn to cook pigs, too.  If you can't figure out how to grill it or smoke it, you don't cook it at all.

Hub 

[akjeff]

While I've always enjoyed outdoor cooking, I really started getting into it, after moving to Alaska(via Uncle Sam/USAF). When my hitch was up, I found myself working in telecommunications(and still do, 27 years so far) in remote locations all over the state. Restaurant food(that is when it's available) gets old pretty quick, as do MRE's, canned goods etc. My coworkers and I turned to cooking for ourselves, which involved a lot of grilling, smoking, dutch ovens, etc...It's not unusual for a crew(2 to 5 guys) of us to get dropped off at mountaintop repeater sites(via helicopter), and stay there for a week or more at a time. We take things like Webber Smoky Joes, dutch ovens, and a couple bags of charcoal, and take turns cooking for the crew. After a 12 hour day, climbing towers, and whatnot, it really feels good to dig in to a great meal, and very rewarding to fix a meal that the crew really appreciates. We've enjoyed some fine grub in the middle of nowhere over the years. Started doing it more and more at home in my off time. Never get tired of it!

Jeff

[rwalters]

While I've always enjoyed outdoor cooking, I really started getting into it, after moving to Alaska(via Uncle Sam/USAF). When my hitch was up, I found myself working in telecommunications(and still do, 27 years so far) in remote locations all over the state. Restaurant food(that is when it's available) gets old pretty quick, as do MRE's, canned goods etc. My coworkers and I turned to cooking for ourselves, which involved a lot of grilling, smoking, dutch ovens, etc...It's not unusual for a crew(2 to 5 guys) of us to get dropped off at mountaintop repeater sites(via helicopter), and stay there for a week or more at a time. We take things like Webber Smoky Joes, dutch ovens, and a couple bags of charcoal, and take turns cooking for the crew. After a 12 hour day, climbing towers, and whatnot, it really feels good to dig in to a great meal, and very rewarding to fix a meal that the crew really appreciates. We've enjoyed some fine grub in the middle of nowhere over the years. Started doing it more and more at home in my off time. Never get tired of it!

Jeff

Dropped off by helicopter atop a mountain with a Weber and dutch oven... how cool is that?!?!

[akjeff]

While I've always enjoyed outdoor cooking, I really started getting into it, after moving to Alaska(via Uncle Sam/USAF). When my hitch was up, I found myself working in telecommunications(and still do, 27 years so far) in remote locations all over the state. Restaurant food(that is when it's available) gets old pretty quick, as do MRE's, canned goods etc. My coworkers and I turned to cooking for ourselves, which involved a lot of grilling, smoking, dutch ovens, etc...It's not unusual for a crew(2 to 5 guys) of us to get dropped off at mountaintop repeater sites(via helicopter), and stay there for a week or more at a time. We take things like Webber Smoky Joes, dutch ovens, and a couple bags of charcoal, and take turns cooking for the crew. After a 12 hour day, climbing towers, and whatnot, it really feels good to dig in to a great meal, and very rewarding to fix a meal that the crew really appreciates. We've enjoyed some fine grub in the middle of nowhere over the years. Started doing it more and more at home in my off time. Never get tired of it!

Jeff

Dropped off by helicopter atop a mountain with a Weber and dutch oven... how cool is that?!?!

And get paid to do it! 

Jeff