Hope all of you are having a great Memorial Day weekend!!!

If anyone goes down the I-35 corridor through central Texas, let me know. That's Dallas through San Antonio. I'll happily share the 3 or 4 places who have what I consider the best BBQ in the universe.

I believe it is the wood that is used. Almost all of the high end BBQ places in that area use post oak and often mix in at least one or two other hardwoods. I grew up with my mother's family and their wood mix was something like 80% to 90% post oak and the remainder split between mesquite and pecan wood. A good well trimmed brisket smoked something like 12 - 14 hours has a flavor that I have not found anywhere else in the US. It is not a strong or overpowering flavor. A bit on the sweet side and very subtle.

You guys are lucky. My wife doesn't want a smoker in the yard. She loves smoked meats. But doesn't like the smoke getting in the house. I wish I had a half acre or an acre of and. Where I'd could build a pit 75 - 100 ft from the house.

I wish for a smoker but a few years go on urging from a fellow foodie Neighbor I got a Weber kettle grill. Sooooooooo versatile. I mean it is the MOST fun I have had. It's charcoal so it is a bit of learning for me but I have used it for smoking and I gotta say........WOW!

But it is a toy. I am constantly learning how to use the lid vent vs the bottom vents to get optimum cooking heat.

They are cheap enough so give it a go if ya have the room.

Brisket has me a bit boogled on how I should cook it. I have smoked it and loved it. But I have also Sous Vide one and browned it on the grill and gotta say, YUMMY!

I had some smoked seafood last week that a relative cooked on an electric smoker and it was really good.  But I like the flavor you get from smoking stuff on a ceramic grill (like a Green Egg or Kamado Joe).  You have a lot of versatility that way to not only smoke, but also grill and bake.  

I have always enjoyed cooking.  I've done most of the cooking, during our marriage, and not my wife.  With a ceramic grill I can cook anything that I cook in our kitchen.  But the advantage is that I am cooking on hardwood lump charcoal - and when I'm smoking food on it, I can use real hardwood.  I have the larger Kamado Joe (the Big Joe).  It's temperature can be finely controlled.  I calibrated the thermometer so that it is exact.  The fine tuning of the air vents gives me incredible (and easy) control over temperatures.  I've grilled some foods at close to 1,000 degrees F, and smoked at very low temps over hours of smoking... and I've baked foods on it that are to die for.  We like to entertain guests, and we've cooked for pretty large crowds at times.  And you can simmer stuff (like chili or gumbo) and it gives it a crazy-good flavor you just can't get with a kitchen stove or even a gas grill.  

Grilling out also relaxes me when I'm stressed a bit.  Even in the dead of winter with the snow flying (we live in Illinois) I still like to grill out... LOL, and I've grilled in the pouring rain with an umbrella.  Yes, I'm crazy.  But we eat good stuff.