T
trouserchili
Guest
Well, I suck at introductions but here I am. My name is Jeff but many call me Jeffro or just Fro. I've been using the name "trouser chili" online since 1995. I'm 26, married and have a little boy and a dog. We all live in a little ranch in the suburbs of St. Louis, specifically Shrewsbury, Missouri. I enjoy motorcycling, Formula 1 racing, SCCA racing, autocross and of course cooking, especially BBQ. I am a network engineer specializing in routing and network security by trade and have spent many a year literally building the internet.
I used to do all my BBQ on an ancient and rickety old 22.5 inch Webber Kettle that I inherited from my father. He had it since I was little kid and I suspect it was well over 20 years old when it died the other month. I could smoke up some mean ribs in it using the offset coals technique and I've yet to find a person that didn't like the result. But the bottom finally fell out of it during a cook and I nearly lost 5 slabs of ribs. To replace my loss I've recently picked up a New Braunfels Bandera, one of the last at my local Home Depot. They are now stocking all Char-Broil units. I had to rob the other remaining unit of parts to make mine complete. But I got some extra grates, a nice 4-inch temp gauge and a 10% discount for my trouble. Wheels fell off it in the parking lot. Karma I guess. I've made one good and one wonderful pork butt in it so far, and ruined two slabs of ribs. I chocked those up to a learning process and cut my losses. The dogs appreciated my mistake far more than I. I also have a newer 18.5 inch Webber Kettle that I use for grilling beef only and a Weber Smoky Mountain that I never use.
I'm looking forward to learning more about my Bandera, and have already read the Bandera 101. I've put in a new fire grate and a baffle made from aluminum flashing. The flashing already sags badly though, so I'm looking for a better solution. Cooking became much easier with the addition of both, and I made my wonderful pork butt with both in place. I also ruined two slabs of ribs with both in place. I wasn't thinking and didn't realize the temps would be much hotter below the pan with the pork butt in it. Oh well. I'm going to attempt a brisket next, but want to smoke it with oak and thus far haven't found any. Currently I'm buying wood from grocery stores. I need to find a cheaper source.
I used to do all my BBQ on an ancient and rickety old 22.5 inch Webber Kettle that I inherited from my father. He had it since I was little kid and I suspect it was well over 20 years old when it died the other month. I could smoke up some mean ribs in it using the offset coals technique and I've yet to find a person that didn't like the result. But the bottom finally fell out of it during a cook and I nearly lost 5 slabs of ribs. To replace my loss I've recently picked up a New Braunfels Bandera, one of the last at my local Home Depot. They are now stocking all Char-Broil units. I had to rob the other remaining unit of parts to make mine complete. But I got some extra grates, a nice 4-inch temp gauge and a 10% discount for my trouble. Wheels fell off it in the parking lot. Karma I guess. I've made one good and one wonderful pork butt in it so far, and ruined two slabs of ribs. I chocked those up to a learning process and cut my losses. The dogs appreciated my mistake far more than I. I also have a newer 18.5 inch Webber Kettle that I use for grilling beef only and a Weber Smoky Mountain that I never use.
I'm looking forward to learning more about my Bandera, and have already read the Bandera 101. I've put in a new fire grate and a baffle made from aluminum flashing. The flashing already sags badly though, so I'm looking for a better solution. Cooking became much easier with the addition of both, and I made my wonderful pork butt with both in place. I also ruined two slabs of ribs with both in place. I wasn't thinking and didn't realize the temps would be much hotter below the pan with the pork butt in it. Oh well. I'm going to attempt a brisket next, but want to smoke it with oak and thus far haven't found any. Currently I'm buying wood from grocery stores. I need to find a cheaper source.