Vent: That one guy at the competition who swore by lighter fluid

I was at a small bbq comp outside of Tulsa last fall, just doing my thing with some pork shoulders. This older guy walks up to my setup, sees my charcoal chimney, and just laughs. He tells me real pitmasters use lighter fluid because it's faster and the flavor burns off anyway. I tried to explain that I've had better luck with the chimney and wood chunks, but he wouldn't hear it. He even showed me his rig where he was dousing a whole grate of ribs directly with fluid. I just nodded and walked away, but it stuck with me how some people refuse to adapt. Anyone else run into a stubborn purist like that at a local event?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancys9015d ago

Yeah, that lighter fluid guy sounds exhausting, I feel for you.

leo_campbell15d ago

My buddy Tom had a neighbor exactly like that at his old apartment. The guy would come out with a full charcoal setup and then spray half a can of lighter fluid on it, like he was trying to start a bonfire. One time a giant fireball shot up and almost singed his eyebrows off, lol. Tom just started grilling at the park instead of dealing with that chaos.