I live in the Midwest, work a desk job, and spend most of my free time outside with a smoker running.
I got into smoking meat a few years back. Started with a cheap offset from Walmart that leaked smoke from every seam. Burned a lot of food on that thing. Eventually figured out temp control, learned to stop opening the lid every ten minutes, and started turning out stuff that was actually worth eating. Upgraded the setup since then but the cheap smoker taught me more than anything else.
These days I cook a lot of pork (butts, ribs, fatties), chicken thighs, the occasional brisket when I feel like committing 14 hours to one piece of meat. I do a lot of stuff on the flat top and cast iron too. If it involves fire and seasoning, I’m interested.
What this site is
This is where I put the recipes and methods that actually work for me. No filler, no life story before every recipe. Just what I use, what temps I run, and what I’d tell a friend if they asked how to make it.
I’m not a trained chef or a competition pitmaster. I’m a guy with a smoker in the backyard who cooks a lot and pays attention to what works.
Gear I use
I get asked about gear a lot so here’s the short list. This is the stuff I actually own and use regularly.
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE. Best thermometer I’ve owned. Fast, accurate, and the build quality is solid. The cheap instant-reads are slow and they lie to you. This one doesn’t.
Meat Church seasonings. I use Holy Voodoo on chicken and beef, Honey Hog on ribs, and Texas Sugar on pork and cream cheese. I’ve tried a bunch of other rubs and I keep coming back to these.
Pink butcher paper for wrapping. I don’t use foil anymore. Butcher paper lets the meat breathe and you keep more bark.
Lodge cast iron skillet. Use it for everything. Searing, toasting rolls, making sides. Buy one and take care of it and you’ll never need another pan.
Affiliate stuff
Some of the links on this site are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one of them, I get a small cut at no extra cost to you. I only link stuff I actually use. If something isn’t worth the money I’ll say so or just not mention it.