Trying to figure out how to cook not just good, but award-winning BBQ? You know the kind that gets people reminiscing about the time they ate your fall-off-the-bone ribs and have the potential to bring home a trophy at a competition? If you’re looking to elevate your BBQ to the next level there are a variety of online communities where you can access the vast knowledge of pit masters from across the country and around the world.
We recently interviewed one of our past customers, Wade Morris to share how he was able to start collecting awards at local competitions so quickly after getting started. One of Wade’s keys to success was by joining online BBQ communities to learn how others were smoking, cooking, and slathering sauce on their meats. The other nice aspect of these communities is that many of them are free to access and participate in. In addition to reading tips and tricks for understanding concepts like indirect heat or if you should cook with a lid on versus off your grill many of these sites allow you to ask questions that are specific to your situation. You can take a look at Wade’s BBQ trailer in the video below.
Top BBQ Communities
www.amazingribs.com – Ready for a seriously deep-dive into cooking techniques, recipes, and even the history of BBQ? Look no further than AmazingRibs.com that has over 1,000 articles and blog posts on this topic. As the name of the website suggests, you’ll find plenty of information about cooking ribs but that’s not all. You find tips and recipes for cooking steaks, sausage, and vegetables on the grill too. There’s even some tongue-and-cheek relationship advice on how BBQing can actually make you more appealing to the opposite sex or improve your existing relationship.
The majority of the content on this website is free and provides the ideal starting point for beginners all the way up to the advanced BBQ griller. For those just getting started there are easy to follow recipes for grilling hamburgers or hotdogs. Those that have built up some more confidence can try cooking things like lamb or creating their own sauce. You’ll also find product reviews to help evaluate if a future purchase is right for you. If you’re really wanted to expose yourself to other serious cookers, check out The PitMaster Club that is less than $25 per year for enrollment.
www.smokingmeatforums.com – This is an extremely active BBQ community. Often you’ll find hundreds of BBQ enthusiasts discussing everything from what smoker a newbie should purchase to get started to how to personal recipes for how to cook burger chili with a kick. This website also includes articles from its members with recipes with detailed photos, product reviews, and more. If your goal is to form relationships with and connect with other people that are into smoking meats this is one of the best places to get started online. The community overall is friendly and seem to welcome to non-experts as well. The forum also features a broad-range of posts beyond traditional BBQ. For example, you can read about one member’s results of cooking Mexican Chorizo Rice Balls.
www.bbq-brethren.com – If you’re not quite a newbie and really want to take your BBQ to the next level this is the place. There’s an entire sub-forum conversation dedicated exclusively to competitive BBQ. If you want to find the best wood or charcoal for smoking meat this is the place to go. At any one time there are literally thousands of users participating in this forum. If you’re 100% brand new to BBQ, the above websites are probably the right choice for you when starting out. But when you’re ready to take you cooking to a whole new level, it’s time to join this community.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this post on where you can go to learn more about BBQ cooking. If you have any suggestions for other websites people should visit to learn how to cook, feel free to add those to the comment section below.