Hello from north central Wisconsin

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jseymour84

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Antigo, WI
Hello everyone!

My name is Jesse, and I am an amateur cook. I have always loved to cook, and over the years of watching Food Network I have found that I enjoy shows like Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen mostly because I picture myself in that show and try to put together a dish based on the same four ingredients, then watch what the pros do for their dishes.

My specialty is smoked and grilled meats. I do make my own dry rubs, BBQ sauces, and marinades, but that is the extent of my cooking knowledge. One thing that really puzzles me is that a food judge can taste a dish and instantly tell that there is not enough acid, or that it needs more of a bitter to balance the sweet. How the heck do they do that, and how does one know how much acid is needed?

I would love to reach a point where I can seriously think about trying out for an amateur cooking competition like the amateur shows they do on Chopped, but at this point, I am just not there yet. I did take 2nd place in People's Choice category for my ribs at my first competition last fall, but I would like to branch out into classical cuisine. The long winters up her mean that I can just smoke or grill everything. I mean, I'm a die hard smoker but I am not going to try to smoke ribs or chicken in -20 weather.

I am looking forward to getting to know you all, and I will try to not overwhelm the community with my newbie-ness. :LOL:
 
Hi, Jesse. Welcome to Discuss Cooking :)

My husband and I are just getting into smoking this year. Last night we smoked a chuck roast and made a sauce for it in a pan on the smoker. It was really good :yum:

I think the secret to balancing flavors is to taste as you go along. If your dish tastes a little too sweet, add a little vinegar or citrus juice, and so on.

Good to have you here.
 
Hi, Jesse. Welcome to Discuss Cooking :)

My husband and I are just getting into smoking this year. Last night we smoked a chuck roast and made a sauce for it in a pan on the smoker. It was really good :yum:

I think the secret to balancing flavors is to taste as you go along. If your dish tastes a little too sweet, add a little vinegar or citrus juice, and so on.

Good to have you here.

Thanks for the warm welcome! I envy the two of you for just starting to smoke - so many discoveries await you :) The biggest lesson I learned about smoking was that your meat's internal temperature will plateau for a while and you might think you need to raise your cooking temp, but be patient and wait it out. Keeping the temp low during that time will really help with rendering the fat and connective tissues and make for a really tender piece of meat.
 
Hi Jesse. Welcome to DC. The answers to your "how do they do that" is experience. We've all cooked a lot of mistakes to learn what's right.
 
Well Jesse you are going to fit right in. Every male and a lot of women just love to BBQ. They can go on for post after post talking about it. What wood they used. Or did they have only a gas grill. What rub or sauce, etc. I am sure you know what I mean.

So welcome to DC. You have found your home. I live in an elderly housing building. We have a gas grill available to us, but considering my age and ability along with agility, I have yet to approach it. I need to get my boys here one day and do it for me. I do love smoked meat. But I am definitely not a fan of dry rubs only. I want sauce on my ribs. :angel:
 
Thanks for the warm welcome! I envy the two of you for just starting to smoke - so many discoveries await you :) The biggest lesson I learned about smoking was that your meat's internal temperature will plateau for a while and you might think you need to raise your cooking temp, but be patient and wait it out. Keeping the temp low during that time will really help with rendering the fat and connective tissues and make for a really tender piece of meat.

Welcome to DC! Know that plateau well.;)
 

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