MARTIN'S BAR-B-QUE JOINT

Monday, March 28, 2011

Time to make the donuts!

It's 4:47am....headed to the Joint to start prep for lunch - beans, potato salad, slaw, pies, chickens, ribs. Then my weekly admin work for my P&L. Welcome to the restaurant business.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

this past winter we quit cooking whole hogs on our pit (which is smack dab in the middle of the Joint) because it was too cold. Actually the temp wasnt really the reason, we had to winterize our patio and in doing so if we cooked hogs the smoke had nowhere to go. So its 78* today with a low of 52* tonight and that means the pit is coming out of hibernation. Got a 197# hog going on tomorrow and it will be done about 3-4 on saturday afternoon. Ill try to get some pics posted. Its good to be back writing on the ol' blog again!

-pat

Sunday, February 20, 2011

So let's get the content going again......

Again I'll remind you that I'll pull no punches.....read the following link carefully and ask yourself why do so many successful restauranteurs answer this one question the same way? There has to be a reason right? -oh there is, trust me!!! We'll discuss further in weeks/months to come.
Chris Schlesinger may be the 2nd biggest influence for me in regards to food because it was his book on live fire cookery (Thrill of the Grill) that I bought as a sophomore in high school 20+ years ago that really took my interests to new heights! It was the 1st (of many more to come!) cookbook I ever bought. Saved my $ from two weeks of allowances to buy it.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Anybody out there?

if not im the only one to blame....but a lot has changed over the past year and im wanting to write about it - call it "stage 2" in the evolution of a bbq joint. feedback welcomed!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

New blog......

Thanks Mike Causey (Skyscraper Media) for the new look to the blog......now if I would/could just start posting a little more often.

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!