Hi everybody, my name is Mike and I'm a barbecue snob. Oh, I come by it honestly enough. There's a certain reverence of all things "cue" here in Georgia and on up into North Carolina that I think is somewhat unique. I think we've got vinegar in our blood or something.
My whole family loves barbecue, and looking back it seems like my old man kinda casually hunted out the good spots to hit on road trips, etc. and we'd wind up in Fayetteville, GA about halfway to grandmama's at lunch time and HAVE to stop at Melear's for lunch.....stuff like that.
Also, some family friends had a big farm about 30 mins south and they had a campground that would fill up every Easter weekend and Labor Day weekend with friends and family from all over. There was a huge cinder block pit that some of the older gents would use to roast 5 or 6 whole hogs over oak and hickory coals all night.
These southern gentlemen, like Ed Cash and Bill Johnson, they'd sit up all night and smoke cigarettes and drink, alternatively, beer and coffee and shoot the sh*t, and they'd let me stay up with 'em, as long as I could keep my eyes open. For me, 11 or 12 at the time, it was fascinating, and I didn't necessarily do it to *learn* how to cook pork right, but by god I picked it up along the way!
To me the real deal is hickory-smoked pork - sliced, pulled, chopped I don't care as long as it's smokey as a Carolina morn. Ideally served with a slightly spicey, slightly sweetened vinegar and mustard-based sauce on a bun, with a couple of cheap pickles or sometimes a dollop of cole slaw. On the side, a big ol' bowl of brunswick stew with some Tabasco sauce poured on it and Saltines crackled in. All tied together by a giant glass of iced tea, sweeter than god's own mercy, with a piece of fresh lemon squeezed in.
Please do not attempt to misuse the term "barbecue" or any of its variations to indicate to me that you are grilling something, or you will be severely reprimanded.
Now I'm 44, and I've always had a love for cooking. I think that to feed people is noble - period. And I love to feed people! The wife and kids remark pretty often that they'd rather eat here than go out to eat (lol).
I've tried and/or been around pretty much all the options for smoking over the years. That whole pig thing is a remarkable experience, but it is a lot of work, and it's sad to say that we don't seem to get together that way much as a culture anymore.
Knowing how to cook good pork has enabled me to have pretty good results all along with whatever tools, but when I got serious a couple of years ago I did lots of research and settled on a Smokette and DAMN I love that thing! I'll upgrade at some point. Getting more and more adventurous all the time, moving to briskets, and hams and pastrami from scratch most recently.
The family are always pushing me to open "Big Mike's Barbecue". That Miguelito (little Michael) thing is a bit of a joke as I'm 6'8", 270 lbs. Sadly, the handle "BigMike" was already in use here, but I digress........
Anyway, glad to be here!