Without experimentation, you never learn. I went almost 20 years cooking the same things that  I already "perfected" and never changed. People loved what I cooked and I never had any complaints. I was happy with the few things I could do. 

I decided to buy a dozen BBQ books and work on new techniques and started cooking new things. I then got online and started getting many more ideas.
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Continued on the bottom of this page. It got too long and you came here for the "Q")


Below are examples of my good and bad experiments and what I learned from each of them. On most of them, I explain exactly how I did it. Enjoy. 
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new" Albert Einstein

   My Ugly Drum Smokers

Ribs 

   Pork Butt (Pulled Pork)

Inihaw na Baboy (BBQ Pork chops, Filipina Style)   

   Chicken

Big Ron's Hot Wings  

   Pitmaster for a day (Smoker Training)

   Brisket  

   Double smoked ABTs

Little Heart Attacks  

   Cookin on Cast Iron

Mexican Q  

   Smoked Sketti

Pizza  

   Lechon Baboy 
   (Whole Hog roast in the Philippines)

 

Guns-n-BBQ (Country style baby shower) 

 

(Continued from the top) Most BBQ Blogs blow smoke and pretend nothing bad ever happens behind the scenes. They never bother to mention the trial and error involved in perfecting "your style". The worst thing you can do on a BBQ forum is question the wisdom of a BBQ blogger. They have NO sense of humor and they will pounce on you while ignoring what you said. They use the forums to promote their webpage and are not there to learn. That's not what I'm building here. I have a style and hold myself to certain standards. I do my experimenting with no witnesses and try to never try new things when feeding people.

 

Anyone wanting to learn new things REALLY needs to join The Smoke Ring. It is a forum with caterers, professional BBQ teams, restaurant owners and a bunch of backyard professionals. Don't show up bragging or with a chip on your shoulder and don't show up talking about gas grills. Come in quietly, with your hat in your hand and they will help you improve your game faster than you could believe.

Now, when you are proud of yourself and it's time to brag, slide over to BBQ Brethren and shout it from the rooftops. It is a much larger group that enjoys seeing your successes.