Just got my first smoker

[*michaelsean*]

Does anyone do competition? I have no desire even if I became proficient, and I doubt I ever will. But as a new person to smoking I watch a lot of videos, as you can imagine, and some of them are about how to cook for competition. And I hate them. They ruin my image of barbecue. They cut the ribs down to these perfect little McRib looking slabs, and they cut the brisket down to look like Spongebob dressing as a ghost. (Ya’ll know what I’m talking about.) I get trimming, but this cosmetic stuff is not what I picture when I think of southerners cooking barbecue. Play the lie you’re given. That to me is what takes talent.