Hi, my name is deathbot....and I married a vegetarian...and yes, that's actually true. I started poking around the LTBBQ site about a month ago when I was interested in getting a more reliable smoker. I've been tricking out 22.5-inch Webers a number of different ways for the past 10 years from using the smokenator to the slow n sear. I actually got my start on those $40 Brinkmann smokers you can pick up at Home Depot - which is the inspiration for my username. My friends and I went through two of those bad boys when meat juice hit the fire they turned into an apocalyptic robot fire. Hence, the deathbot was born (and quickly died). But more recently, I decided to I wanted a more reliable set-up that required less attention and could lock in steadier temps. So after a ton of research here and elsewhere, I purchased a Pit Barrel Cooker. I'm three cooks in and love it - 14-pound packer, quartered chicken and SL ribs (tonight).
Barbecue for me started as a competition amongst friends. Every Fourth of July we'd have a massive cookout and everyone just kept raising their game. About that time, I bought Adam Perry Lang's Serious Barbecue and just started trying as many recipes as I could from the bacon-wrapped drumsticks to Get a Book Brisket to Beef Ribs. I loved the complexity of his techniques and the end product was amazing. Like many (most likely), I've also taken to Aaron Franklin's salt, pepper and oak approach. It's the opposite of the APL way but I've done some amazing cooks this way. Ultimately, I'm now trying to find that middle ground...slightly more complex rubs, the occasional injection and a wrapping mixture when it makes sense. I believe there's a perfect middle ground between simple, classic barbecue and the 9-step, 30-ingredient long cooks.
I hope to get the chance to chat with many of you and I'm excited to officially be a part of the forum.
In brisket we trust,
Deathbot3
