Saturday, August 19, 2006

The "Pit"!







Well here she is. Took me & Bo all day but we got her home safe & sound. I would have cranked her up last night but I was too dang tired to do so. She is awsome! Its weird for me to be cooking on one of these shiney, stainless Ole Hickory Pits. I am used to a good ol' dull, black off-set stickburner or a traditional brick pit. But the effeciency these things have are pretty impressive. They are so well insulated. The temperature consistency in the chamber (where the food is) is almost as good as a brick pit, and thats what I wanted to mimic......our brick pit in Mississippi. I've been thinking for days as to what I'll name it. Every real pit has to have a name because a pit, as far as I'm concerned, it is a living, breathing being. A pitmaster & his pit have got to be on the same page all the time, got to be able to talk to each other........buddies. The name I have givin this pit is "Miss Hattie", in honor of the late Miss Hattie Mullins from Tuscumbia, AL. There are several reasons I gave the pit this name.......I wont bore you with them, but she was a woman of class, a true southern lady! This morning I cranked her up with a dry run (no food in the pit) and the temp held very well, just as I suspected it would. Just put in 3 slabs of baby backs for a short cook (4 hours or so). I personally dont like to cook baby's near as much as spare ribs, but I opted for baby's because I'll be able to cook them in four hours instead of 7 (give or take) for the spares. We're just trying to get to know each other so I'll probably cook baby's for the next couple of days or so before I throw the shoulders, briskets etc. on her. With it being 93 degrees today I should be able to get at least 7-8 hours for my burn time (amount of time it holds the temperature without adding coals/wood). I would like to see it get maybe 10 hours if it can, we'll just wait and see. I am like a five year old on christmas day.

3 comments:

lovelife said...

good luck might make a trip to eat when you open. i am in springfield mo

Pat Martin said...

lovelife i hope you do make the trip down here to eat......you do that and your meal is on me.

Anonymous said...

Had a blast going to get Ms. Hattie! Can't wait to eat some of that pig. Cristi said her mouth is watering just thinking about it.

What is this Blog???

You ever been sitting around cooking for your family and friends and been told the following: "Hoss, this is the best I've ever had in my dadgum life.....you have got to open up a place of your own". The thought crosses your mind to do just that, but for whatever reason you dont. Well I'm "that" guy that actually went through with it and did it. I had absolutely ZERO restaurant experience! I decided to start this blog about my own experience hoping that it may be of some use and help to others who might be interested in opening their own place.
I learned this craft almost 20 years ago cooking whole hogs on brick & cinder block pits at a couple of little BBQ Joints in Henderson, TN. I learned from old, lifelong career Pit-Masters, working with them as an apprentice during school off and on for four years. Over the course of that time I learned the old, time-honored craft of REAL pit barbecue. At Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint I am trying as hard as I can everyday to bring that time-honored authenticity to my customers.
As you read you'll see I've made some stupid decisions, and I've made some good decisions. If you are thinking of opening a restaurant, especially a BBQ Joint, read this blog! Maybe some of this info can be of use to you. At the very least you will be entertained because I pull no punches.
Now listen, this is my blog to not only help with information but my blog to freely rant about my day to day experiences. There is no real "bad language" on this blog but there might be some things said that are very "tongue in cheek". If you are easily offended and/or cant see the satire in my posts then please just leave the blog. It will save both of us the annoyance of each other. For those of you who do like satire and are looking for good information about this experience, then by all means enjoy!