How do you guys overcome the ability not to master good BBQ?
 

If it was up to me I'd cook brisket, pork butts, ribs or whatever else every day of the week to master good BBQ. But my wife would kill me and I'd more than likely go broke. If only it was that easy. How do you guys over come this problem?

I ignore her!

Get a new wife?

I'm single

I've never listened to her before, and not about to start now. :becky:

YES

YES

AND YES

The times when I happen to have a significant other I follow rule #1 from Kds.

Nothing will hold me from doing what I love to do. BBQ or GTFO

My wife likes my food and enjoys when I cook. She even invites friends over and I get to cook for them. Got folks coming from Nevada and Maryland this year, probably a few other states too. Been married for 25 years so she has gotten used to me and my obsession!

I cook my food she cooks her food.

My question would be why would cooking upset your wife. Not like your down the local bar drinking ,doing drugs and chasin skirt.......or are ya?

Okay, a more serious answer, because I am seriously trying to pump my 'helpful post' count.

1. I take careful note of everything I do with each cook. From the spice rub to the meat selection and process. With the advent of digital photography, this became even better. When I was younger and learning to cook, I kept logs, noting process and results.

2. I read a lot about what other people do, good or bad. If what I wanted to do was learn brisket, I would read every single thread carefully, about what the person did and what they ended up with. You can learn from others success and failure.

3. I have had the chance to cook with some great cooks. That taught me a lot, about cooking and learning to cook. When I got here and read what Saiko was doing, and what Pitmaster T, then Barbefunkoramaque was doing, it was easy for me to see where I needed to improve.

4. I do NOT drink when I cook normally. I drink afterwards and make up for lost time. But, when I am running my cooker, I am about cooking.

5. Just because it isn't BBQ, doesn't mean I can't learn anything, and I listen and consider what anyone who is willing, will teach me. If Bobby Flay or Steve Raichlen wanted me to cook with them, I would be thrilled, that would go for anyone, you want to talk food with me, I am there.

6. Stick to one method at a time, find someone whose process or reputation you admire and when you can cook, cook exactly that way until you master it. Don't mix processes, which is what most folks do, because they 'like' what they hear, or because each part meets their expectations. Cook one process until you get it where you want it. I cooked BBQ for 34 years one way before I got here. I still do ribs and butts that way, as my product was good. My brisket cook is completely different from 2009, and that is because of being here. Fark chicken, I roast it at home.

OK, I can only use my wife as a benchmark, hope it helps. If/when the bitchin starts, ask wifey to go shoppin and get you some new jeans, t-shirts, shoes (if you are really brave). I find if she gets to do her "jones" she is a lot more tolerant of mine! Bad news, you gotta wear what she buys!

PS: she likes it when I cook cause she gets a pass.

Open your pit up to neighbors? This past weekend I did just that. I cooked brisket, pork butts and ribs. I purchased the meat and pass on the cost with no mark up. Then I get to practice new flavor profiles or whatever I want to focus on. Costs you time and fuel and spices. Sauce is their responsibility.

Pay attention to what you are doing.
Take good notes.
Get feedback from those who you are feeding...

Slide it in real hard through the back door, that is the meat I mean.

This and what you can afford at the time.
It's really not that hard but can be frustrating at times.
I have fond a memory of my offset that I asked the wife to keep a eye on until 2am and I would take over. I woke around 3am to find her sleeping on the picnic bench, checked the fire and went back to bed:oops:
I have to say the shoulders that SHE cooked will live in my mind forever!!!!
I may have forced a coached thing but in the end that was her cook!!!!!!
They were perfect!
She had a new appreciation for the BBQ I did after that:biggrin1:
try getting her involved. If anything else she will leave you alone to create your magic

My wife enjoys my BBQ quite a bit but doesn't want to eat smoked que every weekend. I normally get a rack of ribs for myself or smoke some fatties when I feel the need to fill my addiction.

BBQ ribs, or strip club. BBQ brisket, strip club. BBQ pork, big party at the... strip club. Either way you win.

I post on Facebook that smoker Will be up and running for a weekend and plenty of room to spare. I always get friends and neighbors dropping off meat Friday evening. I always get a few butts, ribs and briskest everytime. Which I cook all night friday and they Come pick up there cooked meat on Saturday just before dinner. Everyone thinks it is great. This way is cost me nothing for meat to practice. Since everyone offers me and my family some of there meat I cooked for them. So I get free dinner also. Only cost I have is my rub and bbq sauce I make . This is pennies compared to cost of meat. I make out since I get practice for comps , get dinner for pennies. I hope everyone doesn't catch on to my scam.

If you think your Q is not the best. Eat at your local Q joint and yours will probably taste better than theirs.

No wife, but a girlfriend of 3 constant, happy, and loving years..

Best to do, like already mentioned, is to get her involved. She loves helping me start the fires, trim the meat, season it, be an extra hand when trying to take off meat from the pit, slice up ribs when they are done, etc. About the only thing she doesn't do is help drink the Jim and Coke and clean up the ash!!

Plus it helps that she likes the results..

Sometimes she does let me know that I need to hold off on the "big time" BBQ for a little bit to keep it from getting old but she doesn't complain if one of the Webers get fired up to roast some corn, potatoes, kabobs, or the like on an almost nightly basis.

I think shes a keeper fellas! :biggrin1:

landarc and LMAJ said it best master each skill . .. come to think of it they are all good responses in certain situations..

At the family gatherings, you supply the meat. But you got to practice because the wife don't want you to take crap over.

Think back to the days of classroom study with the occasional quizes and tests.

Step 1: Master a fire management technique with your smoker and fuel.
Step 2: Choose quality (non-enhanced) meats.
Step 3: Start with a simple homemade rub or a quality commercial rub.
Step 4: The textbook - The BBQ Brethren.
Step 5: Start with shorter length cooks (chicken, fatties, ABT's, Moinks, Porkloin, etc.)

Consider them your quizes. As you get comfy with these cooks... prepare and study some more for the longer cooks.


Repeat often...

I 100% agree with all of that. Get a smedium sized notebook, and start taking notes. Take notes of all aspects of the cook. How the pit is running, how much charcoal you used, times, meat prep. Every single bit. I even take note of observations and thoughts for what to try next time. Information and knowledge goes a long way towards getting a process down. And only changing one thing at a time helps eliminate variables without creating more problems. Staying sober is also a plus to keeping that attention to detail. I guess another thing is start simple. One example is using S&P for your rub. Get the rest of your process down then start experimenting with flavor.

Get a new wife!

Seriously, my wife looks at my path to mastery as a hobby. It makes me happy. It keeps the family fed. Smoke bothers her, so I try to limit my smokes to 2-3 times per month (more if she's visiting family and friends).

If she is a BBQ fan, and your product is better, that will help, because it saves money.

My wife's only complaint is usually "Why are you cooking so much at a time?" My usual answer is "practice". She considers queing a rather innocuous hobby and she likes to eat the stuff, so it's usually not a big deal. Sometimes she helps me out by trimming and rubbing if she's not busy, and she will usually help wrap pork butts and ribs. I pick up a few brownie points by inviting her friends over to eat and sending leftovers home with them. I usually volunteer to cook for her family's holiday gatherings, although sometimes they turn me down.

Drink

If budgeting becomes a factor try to grab meat when its on sale. I love to cook Chicken thighs because i think its a huge challenge and I love the finished product. Some cut of chicken is almost always on sale so keep your eyes peeled. Same goes for Pork.

When/If you approach your wife about the cooks and money is an issue show her the value in you cooking in bulk, you can bring the results in for lunch and save money instead of eating out every day. Also, it would probably help to get her involved. Summer is coming up, tell her to invite some friends over for a pot luck dinner party. You can turn your hobby into something you both can enjoy by sharing it with others. She can whip up some sides, you can smoke some meats and your friends can supply the booze. Win/win for everyone; she gets drunk and you get to do what you love. Probably get lucky to boot.

I would suggest to concentrate on one item until you are happy with the results like whole chickens. Cheap enough if you make a mistake. Also, get a dog if you goof, just toss him/her your Q and you will make a friend for life.

Having owned a deli and a mobile wood fired oven, my wife doesn't really like smoked meats but she loves having me home and not out all night cookin at bars and being married to my business. I still keep detailed notes on my cooks and learn something new every time. Good luck!

Seriously I think some would be pit masters try to reinvent the pig or cow. Reading is certainly worthwhile if you don't mix all the comments together. Start with one thing you and your other like and perfect it. And as always KISS.

These are the most important to me. And re #1, I continue to log all cooks in detail and include comments on what I would do differently next time. Then I refer to that before the next cook. I even logged reheating some beef ribs trimmed from a standing rib roast because there was... uh... stuff to learn. :rolleyes:

My biggest suggestion is that even if you can't Q then you should still be cooking. Mastering the ability to cook indoors in the oven or on the stove transfers very well to smoking.

If you're paying attention to the way things react indoors you can apply those same principles to the way things work on the smoker. The biggest key to all of this is that you have to PAY ATTENTION to what is going on and if you don't understand why something is happening you need to learn.

IMHO, It's important to take a scientific approach to it, because that's really what it is, a series of physical and chemical reactions that you're trying to recreate on a consistent basis. In order to be consistent you need to understand the cause and effect behind the actions that you take and nothing teaches that better than experience, whether it be indoors or out.

How about trying some outdoor cooking WITHOUT smoke?

Think about it.....you still get to practice your fire mastering skills, your air control, your timing, flavor profiles, etc. and she (and you) can also enjoy roasted chicken, pit roasted pork loin, meatloaf, etc.
Then there's grilling, which opens up a WHOLE NEW bunch of fun. There's grilled fish, veggies, bread, pizza, etc.

Some people get sick of the smoke, so just cut out the smoke, if that'll keep her happy.

Another thing I'll do is cook up a bunch of chickens one afternoon and then pull the meat off the bones, portion and save for later (enchiladas, tacos, nachos, soups, etc.). I get to play with brining, seasoning, trimming, injecting, whatever I want to do to 4, 6 8 or even 10 chickens all day long and she get's "ready to use" pulled, chunked or chopped chicken in the freezer. It saves us money AND it's better than canned chicken pieces.

I do this same thing with butts too......I can't remember the last time I only cooked 1 or 2 butts. Seems I always do at least 6 at once these days.

Get her tickets to a show or all day event and send her off. Then bbq while she is gone.

Just make good BBQ, it's what I do.

Let's face it. BBQ isnt that hard and there are no secrets. It just takes time and a effort. KISS -Keep it simple. Find a method that works for you and stick with it. No need to reinvent the wheel everytime you fire up the smoker

I like to cook, always have ever since I first helped grandma in the kitchen. Growing up I always wanted a little food shack. Instead I end up in a different job all togather. Over the years I started giving away the rub I made for my BBQ since it was getting alot of compliments from friends and family. Finally took the rub commercial.

Now I get semi-paid to cook and practice, since I post pictures of the meals to Facebook to help promote my products. the more I cook and post, long as it looks good.. results in selling product. Sometimes things just don't look all that great but taste good, other times looks like crap but taste good. It's the Spark of an idea that I want to instill something that makes them go , "Oh.. I have to try that"

Master BBQ, I would say not in this lifetime... least for me, but the journey will be tasty.

Don't forget the butt glitter...

How about trying some outdoor cooking WITHOUT smoke?

This is what I do. Let's face it, I work all week and on the weekend, I don't always have time to sit at the smoker for hours and hours, so I grill....a lot.

Make a salad to go with it.... or some veggies. I hear that they're good for you too.

"You" could lower your standards or keep better records to chronicle your successes and failures to learn from your mistakes!
I've finally beaten brisket with great success it's the pork that is giving me he'll.
Best of luck

As far as cost go, I buy whatever I want to cook and figure out how many it will feed. Then I invite that many people over and tell them to bring a side dish and some beers. My garage fridge is always full of beer and I eat the left over side dishes all week long. It's a win/win!

I tried that once on the wife while she was sleeping after a good night of drinking. Not a good idea took about a week for the black eyes to go away. lmfao

I also, get my wife to help. She loves to cook and that helps, but when she tasted the smoked goodness that I made the first time she went nuts.
I also have trouble at times with affording different cuts of meat...but if you can't afford those ribs now, work with chicken or make a brisket, whatever might be on sale.

I got a job.

Put some meat in her mouth

I go to the store and buy what we refer to as "Sketchy Meat". Its the meat that is about to expire at the store and they discount it. Sometimes deeply. Then I smoke the hell out of it. That way I can practice my craft while keeping costs down at the same time. My wife likes not having to cook, so I lucked out.