What's next after a WSM

[YetiDave]

Aye I'm a gadget geek too and I work in the AV industry For me at least, BBQ is an escape from that. I have a wireless thermometer for the sake of convenience (and not having to run up and down stairs to check temps) but I enjoy tending a fire, reacting to temp changes without trying to fight them and still ending up with a great product. I enjoy relying on experience and intuition, which I feel is something a little taken away from by ovens and temperature controllers. It's BBQ, it's simple - meat, fire, smoke.

[essexsmoker]

It all depends on why you do BBQ. For some, it is the challenge of building and maintaining the fire, and perhaps doing things traditionally; for others, it is the creative cooking - designing new taste and flavours; for others still, it is simply socialising and entertaining folk with good food.

I think all are valid aims. Personally, I am all about producing food that tastes great in the easiest way possible; most of my bigger cooks are at events like board-game sessions or music-making, where I am participating in the event as well as cooking for everyone. Time spend building and tending a fire is time that I am not socialising and making music. Having a system where I can perhaps spend the evening before doing all the preparation, but then press the switch and let the grill do the rest for me - that is more time spent with my friends.

So why do I use a pellet grill, and not just stick the food in a domestic oven, or under an electric grill? Because the food tastes fantastic - that isn't just my biased opinion, but also the folk I cook for. I couldn't achieve the quality of food I cook on my smoker in a normal kitchen.

Plus, I am a gadget geek, and a lot of my friends are too. I can completely understand someone not seeing the point of being able to monitor a grill/smoker remotely by wifi, but for many of us who work with computers and electronics, it is as much a point of kudos amongnt our peers, as maintaining a minion setup or keeping a wood fire going is for the traditionalists. "What that? Yes, that's the IP address of my BBQ."

When it comes down to it, I think it doesn't matter how you cook your BBQ - if you are producing tasty food, and the hobby is putting a smile on you and your friend's faces, then you are doing it right.

Very well put.