rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Would love to hear how everyone got their start into the wonderful world of outdoor cooking.
Was it a friend or family member that took you under their wing and got you up and running? Or is outdoor cooking something that you took an interest in, and kind of figured it out on your own? Oh yeah, and do you recall the first grill/smoker that you owned... what was it?
For me, I grew up in a wonderful family, but my dad fired up his gas grill maybe 7-8 times/year. Needless to say, it wasn't him that taught me to cook outdoors...lol! I've always loved food from the grill and/or smoker, but it wasn't very often that I got it growing up.
Met my wife in 93, got married in 94. I grew up in a family where 9/10 meals were homemade, my wifes family was closer to 1/10 meals being homemade.
Needless to say, my wife didn't really know how to cook when we first got married. I didn't know much either because I had never taken an interest in it.
After getting married, the first couple of years we didn't have 2 nickels to rub together, and ate pretty poorly... mostly canned/boxed quick meals. That got really old... but it continued until one day I ended up finding a Char-Griller charcoal grill on sale at Wal-Mart for next to nothing. Bought it and a bag of self lighting charcoal (didn't know any better). Didn't know a thing and messed up a good amount of food... BUT, that's what sparked my love and passion for outdoor cooking, and I slowly started to figure things out on my own (well before forums). That was over 25 years ago, and since then, my love for outdoor cooking has only grown. To me, it's a craft, an art, a hobby, a passion and highly therapeutic. I am no professional chef, but I sure do enjoy trying
So, what's your story?
Was it a friend or family member that took you under their wing and got you up and running? Or is outdoor cooking something that you took an interest in, and kind of figured it out on your own? Oh yeah, and do you recall the first grill/smoker that you owned... what was it?
For me, I grew up in a wonderful family, but my dad fired up his gas grill maybe 7-8 times/year. Needless to say, it wasn't him that taught me to cook outdoors...lol! I've always loved food from the grill and/or smoker, but it wasn't very often that I got it growing up.
Met my wife in 93, got married in 94. I grew up in a family where 9/10 meals were homemade, my wifes family was closer to 1/10 meals being homemade.
Needless to say, my wife didn't really know how to cook when we first got married. I didn't know much either because I had never taken an interest in it.
After getting married, the first couple of years we didn't have 2 nickels to rub together, and ate pretty poorly... mostly canned/boxed quick meals. That got really old... but it continued until one day I ended up finding a Char-Griller charcoal grill on sale at Wal-Mart for next to nothing. Bought it and a bag of self lighting charcoal (didn't know any better). Didn't know a thing and messed up a good amount of food... BUT, that's what sparked my love and passion for outdoor cooking, and I slowly started to figure things out on my own (well before forums). That was over 25 years ago, and since then, my love for outdoor cooking has only grown. To me, it's a craft, an art, a hobby, a passion and highly therapeutic. I am no professional chef, but I sure do enjoy trying
So, what's your story?