barbecue

Jay G. Did a post about grills, and it got me thinking. I have a love affair with grilled and barbecued food, but I never posted anything about the subject.

My barbecue addiction started in October of 2004 when I took a break from college and went to work for a locally owned barbecue joint. Within 6 months, I impressed the owner enough with my desire to learn all aspects of the business that he decided to make me the manager. Now, I learned some valuable skills about payroll, inventory, ordering, stock rotation and accounting, but the thing I loved the most about my job was cooking.

I became a decent camp cook in boy scouts, and my Dad helped me refine those skills over the years, but I didn't have much experience with barbecue. I quickly learned, though, and soon was able to turn out amazing meats on our 3 foot tall, 4 foot deep, 16 foot long wood burning pit. And the key to it all? Temperature.

For those just entering into the world of grilling, gas grills are great. They're easy to use, are easy to maintain a constant temperature, and are relatively quick. But if you are interested in really becoming a true Pit Boss, then you will need a large charcoal pit with a smoke box. This lets you use direct heat with charcoal for burgers, steaks, and such, or you can use an indirect wood burning fire in the smoke box if you want to barbecue ribs, brisket, ham, chicken, etc.

My pit is a Char-Broil barrel grill with a smoke box. Yes, I can grill 2 dozen burgers at once. I can also smoke a large brisket, if I so choose. And if I want to grill 2 small steaks? I can just put a grate in the smoke box and build a tiny fire!

When I moved to Florida from Louisiana, I didn't have room to bring my pit with me, so after things settled down I went looking for one. The one I wanted was a charbroil barrel pit with smoke box attachment, and it ran $180.00 at Home Depot. That was a little rich, but I was smitten. I happened to walk into Winn Dixie the next day, and they had a charcoal display with my Char Broil right in the middle of it. I grabbed a staffer who was walking by, and asked the price.

'not for sale.'
'what do you mean?'
'It's a display.... Well, what would you give for it?'

It turns out he was a manager, and the display was going away next week anyway.

'I'd give 100 for it.'

He thought for a minute, and agreed. I loaded it up, fully assembled, and took it home for $80.00 less than retail. Never hurts to ask.

Now this is just me, but I'll never own a gas grill. Is there a place in the world for gas grills? Absolutely! But if you are ready to enter a whole new and exciting world go for the charcoal, and don't forget the smoke box!