When did it become an obsession

[Kung Fu BBQ]

I'm trying to pinpoint the time i when from a guy who liked BBQ to a guy is is clinically obsessed with it.

Growing up i hated bbq, being from MN there was no such thing as good bbq. i dare say it is true to this day. I moved down to MO 15 years ago and I had real BBQ for the first time. Never had i thought about making my own.
I worked in westport at a restraunt and we traded out with all the bbq joints who would have us. i gained a taste for the smoked meat.

Then maybe 3 years ago my wife (bless her soul) bought me a smoker. It's been downhill ever since. I have become a complete bbq snob. Nosing into any conversation about the subject. Comparing all I taste to my own. Examining our bank account for bigger and better smokers.

This is my first year going to comps and next year i plan on doubling. I'm dragging all my family and friends down with the ship.

I've completely lost it

can i get an amen!?!?

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by Kung Fu BBQ

I'm trying to pinpoint the time i when from a guy who liked BBQ to a guy is is clinically obsessed with it.

I've completely lost it

can i get an amen!?!?

Amen!

For me--1995.
I and 4 "best buds" retired and held a party by the lake for about 400 of our closest friends.
One guy cooked a whole hog!
I was hooked.

Took a few years to get from "wannabe" to now

Not looking back now--it is only money and you can't take it with you.
Love my 5 kids, but they ain't getting the $$ either

Major bucks going in shortly. Cant afford it but really don't care.
That's why Chad calls it the "DARK SIDE"

TIM

[jminion]

I went to a competition 98, we cooked it. Ended up in the top ten in every category, that was the end of normal life as my wife knew it.

[butts]

Amen Brother!

I just drank too many beers at the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival in 2004, came up with a team name with my drunken team mates and entered the next year. I've been broke ever since!!!

[we'll smoke u]

Hello my name is Scott and I'am a BBQholic. I have been since sept 15-16 2004 when I entered my first contest and I have never looked back.


Oh I forgot to give you an AMEN BROTHER

[SmokeInDaEye]

Being from Texas and with a wife from Memphis, I really didn't have a choice, now did I?!!!

But my conversion from eater to cooker probably started 6 years ago during my first of many trips to Memphis in May. I have yet to compete there but have built a group of friends who let me hang out, have some drinks/food and pick up tips.

Finally pulled the trigger earlier this summer and started actually competing with Wine & Swine and a few friends. It's what I love doing in my free time and besides, I think golf SUCKS.

[Bossmanbbq]

AMEN Brotha,

For the Bossman, it has been a hobby that has taken a life of its own. I think my love for BBQ took place in 1986 when I was working at an Albertson's as a stockboy and went to lunch and stopped at a little BBQ shack called "Chicken and Ribs", I was 15 then and was hooked.

I got serious about Smoking and BBQ about 5 years ago when the department shrink said I needed to find a "release" from all the stress, when you have a few close calls they worry about you going over the edge, the shrink really got worried when he heard I was going to be "Smoking stuff" Of course he thought I meant shooting someone, Damn shrinks, So I had to explain to him that I was going to get involved in competitve BBQ after alot of encouragement from family and friends.

Its been a blessing in disguise, it has given me "ME TIME" , Time to reflect, set goals and take on a hobby where I have met some life long friends and a hobby I can share with those I love, My family has embraced it and loves it, what more can a guy ask for Its still not better then sex, but its pretty damn good

[jpw23]

It happened this year....I'm no competitor but that is just around the corner.....been grillin for years, got my first smoker then another and always looking for the next fix........got a 300 gallon propane tank now welded to a trailer and all the cuts made for the doors and fire box.....I don't do anything halfway!!!!!

[big brother smoke]

Actually, I started around 1992 experimenting with smoking fish and then turkeys with soaked wood chips . However, I have gotten much better at making Q after being here with the Brothers. You literally have hundreds of brothers here with varying opinions and knowledge. I think learning about this craft is infinite.

I am addicted to Qing and now I am even making money doing so. I just bought a new rig in July and I still crave other smokers (nothings wrong with mine). Sort of like women, I like all shape sizes and if my wife ask about this post, please say I usta like all shapes and sizes .

Amen

[HoDeDo]

Well for me.... BBQ is almost genetically ingrained. I can't remember not being around it. Dad tinkered and cooked every weekend. My uncle, father, and a few friends started the HoDeDo's when there was no KCBS yet.... The first "Blue Devil" cookoff was just a fundrasier for the college.... So they have been at the sporting side of this for 25+ years. They competed to spin stories, smell the smoke, and usually donate money to a good cause.... they never cared about winning, just being out cooking. It was not as much of a sport as it is these days.

Watching them in action was my favorite thing to do however.... how could they pull off all the moving parts to churn our such good eats under all the rules? (and still party it up like they do??) I only got to watch the competitions from the sidelines as a visitor.

As soon as I was old enough I asked to be voted into the team, starting in high school, I was pit bitch and sous chef -- chopping and mixing, splitting logs, you name it. I made my first trip as a HoDeDo to Frisco, CO to cook the BBQ @ the summit, and that year we took 7th in brisket, 1st in side dish, and I was truly hooked, running up to get the ribbons.

Here it is 14 yrs later.... and while I LOVE the competition, and live to get the walk, and maybe a little $$ -- I've met so many great people, strengthened friendships, and given my family something to do other than watch TV, and sit around the house. For me this thing is going full circle...My daughters love 'que, and the 5yr old is a die hard kid's que'r. She has a whole set of friends she has met at the contests, and looks forward to seeing... some we have to have play dates with outside of the contests, as the kids wanna be kids ( and dads need an excuse to get together and have a beer, right? ) I have met so many folks over the years that are great friends, and now that I have my family engaged, I have a whole new set of families and friends that continues to grow. I would go as far as saying it really is a lifestyle these days, as opposed to a hobby, it really is a part of my daily life.

Then there is this place -- Wayne (Mokan Meathead) pointed me over here, I think he found his way here through Jay (Spicewine)... and the brethren just add to the love I feel for BBQ, and the folks that do it. It great to hear all the other stories, advice, tips, and perspective from all over... What a great place for Que.

by the way... AMEN

[Puppyboy]

I have never thought of this before and it is bringing tears to my eyes.

I grew up watching my dad use the grill. His chicken and london broil were his specialties.

His chicken used a homemade bbq sauce handed down from his father and eventually to me.

He always blew his top when he saw my uncle douse a perfectly sliced piece of meat with ketchup.

I have grilled for years but the real sickness set in when I got my first smoker on fathers day 2005.

[backyardchef]

Amen, brutha!

I posted about this elsewhere, but short version-- I agreed to cook ribs for a ton of folks for a july 4 party around 95 or so (the exact time is lost in a haze of smoke, but not the wood kind... Uhm....) Anyway. My neighbor gave me his kettle, but no one knew how to cook the ribs. I couldn't find much info online other than Basso's board. I committed to cooking them right-- low and slow, from what I could figure out. People thought I was crazy. I liked that.

After that, spent a week in KC with my wife eating bbq every day (sometimes 2-3 times a day) and came back completely hooked after seeing smokers in what seemed like ALL of the backyards....After sitting in Arthur Bryant's and watching Bacon work, there was no looking back, my friends.

[Mark]

I hoard wood. Yes I do. I am a compulsive wood hoarder. I fantasize about it.

But since this is Qtalk and not woodpile, I'll spare you the details of my plight.

Obviously, having all this wood compels me to use it although I have not yet resorted to smoking salt. I've smoke-cured my own homegrown tobacco though.

[Mark]

I told you this was really a support group for a certain obsessive/compulsive disorder.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...7&postcount=14

[lazybonesmoke1]

I was always into cooking as far back as I can remember. I was reading an article about "Blue Smoke" in N.Y. and I started to think of my favorite bbq place around town. I could not think of any. At that same time my dad kept asking me to take over his restaurant. ( I was an executive chef at a large hotel then working for the man) So I started then obsessing about bbq and now years later am still in it . I love it everyday. Amen Brotha!!