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I’ve been cooking ever since I was a kid. Whether it was my grandmother or mother, I was always in the kitchen attached to their apron strings. Grammy was excellent with all things baked. Mom was the fearless food savage; she experimented with ethnic food, food styles, you name it. From them both, I got my passion for cooking. Way back in the day during middle school “electives” like Wood Shop or Choir were offered… I chose Home Economics. A) That’s where the girls were, and B) I loved to cook.

During my senior year in high school, I got a job at Mr. J’s Pancake House in my hometown. I started as a dishwasher, was promoted to line cook, and ultimately Head Egg Chef, which meant I was pulling and calling orders on Sunday morning, and responsible for getting the final plate in the window for the servers to take to customers. I loved that job. Hindsight being 20/20 that would have been a career.

“Grilling, broiling, barbecuing – whatever you want to call it – is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach”

James Beard, “Beard on Food.”

Fast forward to 1990…newly married…first Weber Kettle charcoal grill. Until two years ago, over the course of 30 years, I’ve owned 3 Weber Kettles. Two years ago I gave my Weber Kettle to my brother-in-law for his lake house and purchased an Oklahoma Joe’s offset barrel smoker (always wanted to smoke with real wood). Then, last year, I crossed the Rubicon, I stepped up to a Big Green Egg. I love them both, but feeling loyal, and guilty, just recently I purchased an old school, original model, black Weber Kettle charcoal grill. So, that’s how we roll here at Brisket & Brawn… real wood, lump charcoal, and charcoal briquettes.