Noob from North Carolina

Greetings from Valdese in Western North Carolina

I found this forum during my research of ceramic cookers.  I do not yet own one but I have at least made the decision to purchase a Large Big Green Egg sometime during the next several months.  Last spring, I decided I wanted to try my hand at low and slow meat smoking, so I purchased the 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain and used it with great success.  Shortly after that I purchased a Weber One Touch Gold charcoal grill to make the switch from gas to charcoal grilling.  Shortly after that, I built an ugly drum smoker that is just awesome.  Shortly after that, I gave my gas grill away and have moved completely back to charcoal cooking outside.  The quality of my grilled and smoked foods has improved dramatically since last April.

Here's a peek at the UDS:



I went another step further and made a mini smoker out of my Smokey Joe portable charcoal grill...



With the success I have had with these cookers, my urge to cook more stuff outside has just grown out of control.  I have had mixed successes cooking non-meat items on my grills and smokers.  I suppose this is the main reason I have decided to become and Egghead.  It appears that the efficiency and control offered by the BGE system will be just what I need to take my outdoor cooking to the next level.  I'm eggspecially looking forward to getting my homemade artisan breads on the grill!

While I'm saving my pennies to make this purchase, I'll be wandering around in this forum to see what else I can learn from you guys.  With any luck I'll be an egg owner in June or July!

Cheers...