There are so many directions this question could go. I think for the purposes of this post, we will stay away from the existential and focus on the question as it relates to Big Meaty’s BBQ.
I’ve always loved food. When I was growing up, it always brought me a lot of joy to eat really delicious food. As I got older and needed to be able to cook for myself, due to some health related issues (which we’ll cover later), I found that I really enjoyed it. This really became prevalent for me around 2011-2012. I was grilling at least daily. One of my earliest memories around that time was creating a grease fire in my grill that I had to put out by knocking out the glass in the hallway of my apartment so I could put the fire out. Watch your fires, kids. Only you can prevent forest fires!
As soon as I started taking my smoker to the car meets every summer, I felt like I was onto something. I’ve always been organized and logical in my planning, so I took charge and decided to pull off more of a menu, since winging it really didn’t work out too well. Every year since, the quality of the food has gotten better.
In the last couple of years, I’ve been really dabbling in my own spice rub mix, as well as making my own barbecue sauce. Both have been interesting ventures and the feedback thus far has been positive.
I’ve also heavily invested in some fun cooking equipment over the last 5 years. I started out with a tiny propane grill that was a gift from some close friends. I then upgraded to a larger gas grill, since I wasn’t allowed to have charcoal at my apartment. Then they made a rule that propane was out too. That left me with a George Foreman grill and my stove. Now, don’t get me wrong. The Foreman is good for what it is and its one of many pieces I still use pretty frequently, for convenience during the work day. You don’t get that smokey flavor that comes from grilling, though. This year, I invested in a Masterbuilt Gravity Series charcoal grill and smoker. I went all out with it and made sure to get the one with the options for rotisserie, as well as the griddle. I also have a Masterbuilt electric turkey fryer. I cant stand dry poultry, so the turkey fryer was a game changer for me (as well as brine). I almost never have turkey any other way. Additionally, I have a pressure cooker (knock off Instant Pot) that gets a lot of use in the winter time when its too cold to grill. I’ll go into more detail on how I use these devices later on.
If I had to answer the question “Why am I here?”, I would say it’s to share and explore the processes, successes, failures, and all that goes into the journey of cooking, with a heavy focus on barbecue – but not limited to that. I want to share what I’ve learned, share the tools I use and how I use them, and share what is working for me and what isn’t.
I’m already in the early stages of planning for the next car meet, in June. I start to formulate ideas for that, so I’ll be keeping some of that close to the vest until we get closer. I’m considered an event at the car meet, so I feel I have a certain standard (self imposed) that I should meet. I think the plans I have for this year will be interesting.
Where do I get ideas? To be honest, I will often spend a bunch of time just digging around the internet until something peaks my interest. I also spend a fair amount of time when I need down time watching shows like “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”. I’ve come across some really great sites that I follow regularly where I get good ideas. I will usually find a recipe and start with that, putting my own spin on it – usually minor but sometimes doing things like changing the meat will change the dish entirely.
I’m honestly not sure what my posting plan looks like right now. For now, we’ll just play it by ear. I’m thinking I’ll do maybe a recipe a week. We’ll see.