Preaching from the Pit

Not The End: A New Beginning

2008-08-27T07:02:00.002-05:00

Folks:

It's been a while since I last blogged. Much has changed. The Hog Wild Bar-B-Q takeout is gone and I have switched to a catering-only business, working out of another location. I no longer serve sandwiches and ribs to walk-up customers.

It was a business decision. For more than a year up to my closing, business steadily declined. It finally got to the point where I could no longer afford to stay in business. Declining sales were just one of many reasons I decided to close. It was a convergence of situations and misfortunes. Gas prices steadily increased, the housing bubble burst, construction activity came to a virtual halt in Riverview, my customers lost their jobs, some customers lost their homes, and despite it all, traffic on 301 steadily worsened making it nearly impossible to get in and out of my parking lot. Add to that: thieves trying to “steal” my electric power burned out my refrigeration (twice) putting me deep in debt for repairs and lost revenue, and, finally, I was broken into (twice) and robbed, costing me hundreds of dollars to replace equipment and ruined and stolen food.

I am deeply appreciative of all the customers who visited Hog Wild over the 4 ½ years at 10715 Hwy 301 in Riverview. Thank you all. I had many good times and it was a great pleasure talking and meeting you all. Some of you have called me and expressed your regrets. I am deeply moved by that, and I commiserate. And yes, there may be other 'que joints but I agree that there is no good barbecue to be had in Riverview now (unless you hire me to cater). But take heart. I am down but not out. I have learned a lot about the business and I have been able to look back and review my mistakes and miscalculations. Hog Wild Bar-B-Q will rise again! But next time, expect it to be mo' better!

Keep you eyes open as you drive around town. Check this blog every now and then. Some day you'll sniff that familiar smoke. You'll get a hint of roasting pork, familiar seasonings. You may hear faint blues music. Follow your nose. You will be happily rewarded

Hickory

2008-03-04T20:23:00.001-05:00

Folks:

Today I am writing about Hickory. The cat, not the wood. Hickory, pictured to the left, is a male tabby who sometime back in 2007 became the "barbecue cat" and visited me every day to get his breakfast and dinner of barbecue scraps. Hickory was one of the many feral cats that live in and around the woods and trailer park behind my business. Like all feral cats, Hickory was beset with problems: injuries, fleas, and a bad ear mite infestation that caused him to shake his head every few minutes. And he drooled a bit. But unlike most ferals, Hickory was very affectionate and tolerated me touching him and petting him. Over time I became quite fond of Hickory. I looked forward to his greeting in the early pre-dawn gloom and again in the later afternoon. Sometimes he "hung out" at the barbecue, napping on the picnic table in the back. But most of the time he'd eat and leave and reappear later. Hickory's life was generally a struggle to survive. But as I petted him and he nuzzled me at the picnic table, he'd often lightly purr. Even as he shook his head to ward off the continuous irritation in his ears, he purred. I doubt most feral cats have reason to purr. But a little kindness and attention was reason enough for him.

Alas, the day came when I had to do something about Hickory. He'd fathered many kittens in the trailer park, casually sprayed his scent about the barbecue, and engaged in hair-raising fights with other males. This all had to stop. I wanted him around, but I could not tolerate this tomcat stuff any longer. So I decided to take advantage of the ASPCA's feral cat program in which they spay/neuter the cat, give it shots, etc. for $25. I merely had to trap the cat myself, bring him in, and return later and claim him. I was willing to do all this for Hickory. I rented the trap.

"Catching" Hickory was easy. Hickory was there to greet me in the morning darkness as usual. I merely put his breakfast in the trap, held the door open, and when Hickory was inside eating, I closed the door. But Hickory was startled by that and began to cry. I loaded Hickory into my truck and soothed him by speaking the gentle, affectionate words I used when he nuzzled me. I talked to him the whole way across town and about half way there he stopped crying. As I dropped him off at 8:00 am I said to him "Bye Hickory. See you at 5:00."

Poor Hickory never made it back to the barbecue. Diagnosed with FIV, the feline version of HIV, the ASPCA was duty-bound to put Hickory down. I was informed of this when I returned to get Hickory at 5:00. So Hickory is gone. His poor, painful life came to an unceremonious end on March 3, 2008, in a strange place, surrounded by people he did not know. I am going to miss him mightily over the next few weeks, but I am happy that I was able to brighten his life a little, bring him some comfort and a bit of happiness during the time he spent with me. Goodbye Hickory. Goodbye my friend.

Jammin' the Pig in '07

2007-12-03T20:10:00.000-05:00

Folks:

We came, we saw, we jammed. Hog Wild Bar-B-Q made its second showing at the Plant City Pig Jam in 2007. As in 2006, we worked hard, drank plenty and had a great time. Also as in 2006, the air was chilly and a fire was needed throughout the night. Fortunately the wind was not whipping like it was last year.

This year we expanded our team a little. Myself and John were still the main pitmasters, but we added "The Ladies": Patti, Carol Ann, and Kim - three friends. Melissa, my daughter, was also involved this year. Pete and Michelle, active participants last year, were once again slinging the pork. We lost Larry however, but he had other commitment and car trouble to boot.

I won't go into a play-by-play in this blog like I did last year. In actuality, this year's activities were much the same as last year's; drinking, socializing, cooking barbecue. There were a few notable exceptions which I will mention. I already mentioned the team membership changes. Last year I stayed up all night in the cold tending 2 fires (cooking and warming) while my team (John and Pete) grabbed a little sleep. This year I was able to get a few hours of sleep while my team monitored the fires. But most importantly, this year we changed the ribs. Last year I submitted excellent versions of the standard ribs we cook at Hog Wild. This year we submitted something quite different: "Guava-Rum Ribs". I cannot reveal the recipe, but let it be known that we came in 4th place in ribs in the Amateur Division. That's out of 30 teams! Which brings me to the final notable difference: this year we participated as "Amateurs" whereas last year I signed us up as "Professionals". Why? I filled out the wrong form! But it worked out in the end and made absolutely no difference at all.

I thank my hard-working team with all my heart. Without them I could not have done it. And I thank my patient customers who put up with the Riverview restaurant being closed while we competed in Plant City, and then while I travelled to Alabama for a family Thanksgiving. (BTW, we're back. We're open again. Y'all can start coming by again.)

Here are a few views and commentary of the 2007 Pig Jam.

Here's our humble set up. Nothing flashy. You can see the tent where me and Melissa slept. The Ladies adamantly insisted that I dress up our display for Pig Jam 2008 and they had some definitely good ideas along those lines. Next year's pictures ought to be better.

I cannot remember this character's name (the guy standing, that is). He stopped by our set up and chatted in almost the identical fashion as he did in '06. He's a true character. His normal job is tour guide for the Jack Daniels distillery. But he enters these KCBS BBQ cookoffs as his hobby. Here he is talking to Melissa. You cannot see it in this picture, but he carries a plastic fork in the pocket of his overalls so that he's always at the ready for tasting BBQ.

Here are The Ladies: (l to r) Kim, Patti, and Carol Ann. They provided hours of amusement, work and help. Whats more, Patti provided a huge pot of gumbo which was consumed with glee on Friday night

Here's Pete and Michelle. They showed up a little late, but eager. Unlike last year, Pete had to work and could not get Saturday off. But he and his lovely bride Michelle skedaddled out to Plant City as soon as they could. (What's Carol Ann doing back there?)

My son Geoffrey and his girlfriend Tiffany stopped by for a visit. They didn't cook any barbecue, but they ate a lot of it.

My brush with celebrity. Here I am with Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ. He's won multiple awards, written three books, been on TV many times and is generally regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on barbecue. Here he displays some chicken he whipped up for him and his team buddies on Friday night. He was a nice guy and later he came by our camp (which was right next door), enjoyed some gumbo and chatted a bit.

Here they are! Fourth place ribs!! Hooowaahhh!! These babies look so good I can almost eat the picture!

Not Just Semantics

2007-10-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

Folks-

What is barbecuing? What is grilling? Are they synonymous? For most people barbecuing and grilling are one in the same. But I am here to tell you that, in truth, they are quite different. Barbecuing and grilling do share some attributes. Both are done on grates, usually outdoors, and both involve the use of hot coals placed somewhere below the grate to cook meat. But that is where the similarities end.

Grilling involves high heat – that is cooking temperatures above 250 degrees (often significantly above). In a typical grill, meat “sees” the fire. In other words, the coals are placed usually directly below the meat. Intense heat radiates directly from the coals to the meat resulting in relatively short cooking times. Fat drips down from the meat into the coals, and if the cook is not careful, grease fires and flare-ups can result. However, under normal controlled grilling, the fat drips steadily on the coals, vaporizing on contact and sending up a puff of aromatic smoke and fat particles that drift up with the heat convection current and adhere themselves to the meat. This adds wonderful flavor (and color, too). Cooking times for grilling max out at around 30 minutes and are usually significantly less for many cuts of meat.

Barbecuing involves low heat – that is cooking temperatures around 250 degrees and lower. In most barbecue arrangements the meat does not “see” the fire. The fire, consisting of a bed of glowing coals, is usually placed in an adjoining chamber so that the meat is only exposed to the heat and smoke. Fat dripping from the meat is collected in a pan or channeled to a collection vessel. It never drips onto the coals. With temperatures at 250 degrees or lower, cooking times are long. The method is used primarily to flavor and tenderize tough pieces of meat. Meat is “infused” with smoke and while it’s fat melts and juices slowly move toward the surface of the meat. Cooking times for barbecuing can be anywhere from 3 to 24 hours depending upon the cut of meat and the temperature. At Hog Wild Bar-B-Q we, not surprisingly, barbecue our meat.

What’s best grilled? Steaks, chicken (yes, chicken), vegetables, most fish and shellfish, hot dogs, sausages, burgers, chops.

What’s best barbecued? Pork shoulder, ribs, beef brisket, hams, whole animals (hogs, steers, goats), turkey, certain oily-fleshed fish like mullet, salmon.

What can go either way? Chicken tastes best when grilled hot and relatively fast. But slower barbecued chicken is good too (it’s what we serve at Hog Wild). I have had many wonderful “true” barbecued ribs, but I have also had some just dandy hot grilled ribs too. Either way is fine. Just make sure you know what you’re doing.

Read All About It!

2007-08-28T19:44:00.000-05:00

Folks –

Read any good barbecue books lately? Probably not. There haven’t been any good ones published since 1996.

Barbecue is an interesting cuisine. Its fans are passionate. Its preparations are regional. I know of no other cuisine that spawns such fervor for sanctioned cook-offs. Chili might be the only other one that comes to mind, but it’s a distance second. But in addition to all this, barbecue has found a niche in a narrow writing genre: a kind of gastronomic/travel fusion that has existed for many years, but now seems to be taken over by authors on their “barbecue quest”. In a "barbecue quest" the author tours the South and Southwest in search of “true” barbecue. He documents his adventures, describes the food, the people, the towns, the landscapes, the ‘cue joints, etc. And he inevitably discovers that “true” barbecue is everywhere and in many forms, and nobody anywhere can claim to be producing the one and only absolute “true” barbecue. Done well, it can make for some interesting reading. But, alas, most authors do not do it well.

I won’t bore you with a list of the “barbecue quest” books to stay away from. Instead I will recommend the two I believe are the very best. If you are a barbecue fan and you like the gastronomic/travel fusion genre, here are two books you MUST read:

Real Barbecue by Greg Johnson and Vince Staten. This is the granddaddy of them all. Published in 1988, this tome set the standard for most all other “barbecue quest” books to follow. And what a standard. The book is well written and engaging. The authors literally visit 100 ‘cue joints and write about each one. Sound boring? Believe me, it really isn’t. It’s a wonderful read and I heartily recommend it. It’s out of print, so copies are getting a little hard to find. It took me 4 years to get mine (and it’s autographed by one of the authors!).

Smokestack Lightning by Lolis Eric Elie and Frank Stewart. While books and articles which were little more than bad copies of Real Barbecue rolled off the presses, Elie and Stewart found a unique way to satisfy their urges to travel, eat barbecue and write about it. Smokestack Lightning was published in 1996. In Smokestack Lightning our authors do more than just visit ‘cue joints. It’s not a so much a barbecue road map as it is a charming look into the hearts and souls of the people who devote their lives to the preparation of authentic barbecue. As we read it we become acquainted with the travels and travails of the authors, as well as with the people they meet. There are plenty of descriptions of the barbecue and plenty of descriptions of the techniques. But the interactions with the various characters, their homes and lives, are unforgettable. It is truly a unique book.

Many other books like these have been written over the years. A new one just came out in July by Ray Lampe, a barbecue mover-and-shaker from Lakeland. Yes, I purchased Ray’s book and all the others, and have read them all. After all, I am a barbecue man. But I cannot truly recommend any of them above the two stand-outs I described above. Read these two and you’ve read just about all the real commentary on barbecue that can be written.

Have a good read.

A Barbecue Pilgrimage

2007-03-20T20:01:00.000-05:00

Folks:

It's not often that I will preach from the pit about another barbecue joint. However, there are those joints out there that garner the respect of all pit masters. These are the places like Arthur Bryant's of KC, The Rendezvous Lounge of Memphis, Sonny Bryan's of Dallas, and others: the much vaunted cathedrals of 'cue, palaces of pork, meccas of meat. We have one here in Florida: Peebles Bar-B-Q in Auburndale. I don't regard them as a competitor - they're sacred barbecue holy ground. And so John and I set out last Saturday on a barbecue pilgrimage to Auburndale.

We arrived on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Peebles is a shacky-looking place sitting hard on the side of the Dixie Highway in Auburndale, inconspicuously blending in with the residences nearby. It's the kind of place you have to know about in order to go there. Unless you are a native of Auburndale you'd never stumble across it. Peebles was started in 1946 by the Peebles family who moved to the area from Georgia. Originally they served food to the locals and the citrus workers. Today the citrus workers are fewer in this area, but Peebles' reputation for excellent barbecue brings customers from far and wide. Note the sign above. They are only open 3 days a week. Whatsmore, they close for the Summer! Yet the short time they are open they pack 'em in!

Now Peebles is a no-frills kind of place. They have no A/C, do not serve desserts, do not serve chicken, have no children's menu. They don't sing Happy Birthday to you and they take only cash. It's not a restaurant for sissies. My kind of place.

Note the menu to the left. Really, to say Peebles is no-frills is to almost be overstating the issue. This menu says it all. They have pork, ribs, sliced beef. Their idea of "vegetables" is beans, slaw, and potato salad!

We took our seats and ordered. Here is a picture of John anxiously awaiting his order. Note that John is appropriately dressed. Note also the louvers behind John. In the hot months (beginning in about 3 weeks) they open these louvers for ventilation and turn on the fans. They prop the louvers open from the outide using mop handles, tree branches, whatever. This day the louvers were closed. It was pleasant enough without the ventilation.

Peebles' massive concrete-block pits sit about 10 feet from the dining area. I was able to take this photo by just standing up and taking two steps from our table. Peebles does barbecue the "right" way in my opinion. They burn wood down to coals in a separate hearth and then shovel the hot coals into the pits. They never cook over buring logs! I love the fact that you can see the pits right out in the open. Nobody else does this, to my knowledge - not even me! I really like the idea of it. Look at those ribs cooking in that pit! MMMM-mmmm!!

So here's my order: Ribs and chopped pork, beans, slaw and potato salad. John had the same. The ribs were good, but we could tell that they'd been sitting a while. Same was true of the pork. Although this somewhat diminished our enjoyment of them, it did not ruin it. Peebles clearly uses very little, if any, seasoning on their meat. At Hog Wild we utilize seasonings to great effect and wholly believe in them. Nonetheless, Peebles produces a top notch rib. The pork was tender. Both had a nice, understated smokey flavor - a flavor you can only get with coals and dripping grease. Lovely!

The sides were quite good. Slaw was chopped fine and had a simple, pleasant flavor. The beans were very molasses-y and good. The potato salad was extraordinary.

I want you to note the essential barbecue elements in the picture above: plastic plates and utensils, paper cups, paper napkins and way off to the left (you can barely see) is a plastic sandwich bag containing that barbecue staple; two slices of white bread.

In the end we decided the following: Our ribs are better. Our pork is better. Our beans are slightly better (we serve a sweeter, more tomatoey bean), the slaws are nearly identical, and their potato salad is better. But for pure barbecue ambiance, Peebles can't be beat. Not even by me! Dear reader, if you get the chance, I highly recommend a trip to Auburndale for a true barbecue experience at Peebles - Florida's oldest and most holy temple of 'cue.

BBQ Bob

Pig Jammed

2006-12-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

Folks:
I promised I would recap the Pig Jam over a month ago. Due to some technical difficulties, I had to put it off until now. But better late than never. But before I go over all the fun and adventure we had, let me get straight to the main point: we didn't win. Didn't come close, really. But as you may remember from my previous post, I didn't enter this thing for the win, I entered it for the fun and experience. And I had plenty of both. So here's the recap:

John and I were the first Hog Wild team members to arrive. We got there around noon on Friday. Here John surveys the situation while we determine how we are going to set up. Our equipment consists of the portable BBQpit and stuff piled next to John's truck, and the stuff crammed into my Bronco.

Here's our humble set up. But it served as home for the next 30 hours. Here we drank beer, sat by the fire, talked, laughed, and whipped up some of the best BBQ we've ever done.

I took a picture of this rig to demonstrate how some of them can get kind of elaborate. This rig is certainly not the most elaborate of the bunch, but it was one of my favorites. I cannot recall the team's name.

I do recall this team's name, however. These are the Rock 'N Roll Barbecue guys. A real couple of characters. The guy on the right is the chief cook, and the guy on the left is his sidekick. Can't recall their actual names, though. These guys also didn't win, but seemed to be having a great time. They boasted trophies from many barbecue contests past.

Here we are rubbing down a couple briskets. We originally were going to let them dry marinate until around 3:00am and then start cooking them. As it happens, the weather turned very cold (colder than we expected), and we had to get cooking around 1:00am.

This lady droive by. This motorized cooler actually had beer in it. Needless to say, she was quite popular around the place.

As the sun began to set the air cooled dramatically and teams began to fire up their pits. John observed "It looks like the industrial revolution". Indeed it did. But it smelled better.

The night was cold, but people partied and cooked all night long. My team went to bed around midnight but I stayed up to mind the fire. John got up around 3:00 Saturday and went out and bought coffee. I needed it.

We woke Pete up at around 4:30. Pete, alas, had consumed too much Jim Beam the night before and had difficulty rising in the morning. Here is Pete waking from his slumber in his tent.

Saturday, after submiting our entries to the contest, we began selling barbecue to the general public. Here are some folks deciding what to buy.

Here is a shot of some beautiful barbecue cooking in the pit. On the far left is the brisket we started at 1:00am. A couple pork shoulders can be seen in the background. Another brisket started at around 3:30 am can be seen in the foreground.

I threw this picture in to show how some set ups were even smaller than ours. These guys cooked on Webers and New Braunfels outdoor pits. A regular backyard set up. But, champion barbecue can be cooked on anything.

Here's a crowd shot. I thought the crowd was good, but many of the veterans told me that the crowd was bigger last year. Seemed OK to me.

AHHH. Now that's some kinds barbecue! This pork shoulder was glazed with bourbon and brown sugar, giving it that dark "crust". But it is not burned and not dried out. This pork was pure heaven.

This is about as close as I got to a trophy. The awards ceremony was held around 5:00 on Saturday afternoon. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature was heading down. Shortly after the ceremony we broke camp and headed home. A good time was had by all.

Pig Jammin'

2006-11-07T15:26:00.000-05:00

Folks -

It's getting close to that time of year. I usually shut the place down on Thanksgiving and stay closed until the following week. My shop is small and we always have family in town during both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sales usually drop around these holidays. My teenage employees start asking for time off; mid term exams, holiday travels. But mostly, family time is important to me. My employees need to spend time with their families, too. In that regard, this year will be no different from others - except in one aspect: This year we're knocking off early to cook competitively in the Plant City Pig Jam!

Yes, loyal readers (both of you), Hog Wild Bar-B-Q will be closed from November 17 to the 28th. On Saturday, November 18th, our cooking team will be busy in Plant City cooking Texas Beef Brisket, "Bourbon Basted" pork shoulder, our signature ribs, and beer can chicken. This is the first Kansas City Barbecue Society "sanctioned" cooking contest I've ever cooked in. Although we're going for the grand prize (all 4 meats with a $3000 purse), I am mainly going for the fun of it. And because the Pig Jam is so close to Thanksgiving, we're just going to stay closed for the next few days and enjoy the holiday.

The Pig Jam is being held at the Randy Larson Four Plex on Albertson's Road. If you're reading this and live nearby, plan on coming out and cheering us on. Or at least joining us for a cold one and some 'cue. And for those of you that can't make it in person, I will post a blog detailing the experience, complete with pictures, which will be just like being there.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

BBQ Bob

The Desperate Hours

2006-10-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

Folks:

These are my hours of business: Wednesday through Saturday, open at 11:00am each of those mornings and we close 7:00pm on Wednesday and Thursday and at 8:00pm on Friday and at 7:30pm on Saturday. That’s it. Four days only. Many of you already know that. Some of you are just finding out.

Many people ask me “Why aren’t you open more often?” I always answer honestly and completely. For those of you who always wondered but never asked, I present the long version of that answer here.

First, I decided that if I squeezed five days worth of sales into four days, then my margin would be higher. You see, it costs a restaurant a certain amount just to stay open. Moreover, business is not steady throughout the week. The week starts out slow, with very few lunch customers and almost no dinner customers, sometimes so few that it costs money just to be open. For some reason this is particularly pronounced in Riverview. After struggling to try to make a buck over five days in which one was always a money loser, I decided to shorten the week to four days. I knew I’d take a “hit” at first, but figured as people learned my hours I would soon be seeing the same revenue in four days instead of five.

Second, it takes backbreaking work and long, long hours to keep a little BBQ pit open. Unlike the pizza chef across the street, I cannot wait until 10:30 to show up and open at 11:00. In order to make the barbecue that has become famous, and have it ready by 11:00, I arrive at 5:45am. I work usually until closing, and then spend 30 minuets or more cleaning up. My days are 13 to 14 hours long. On one of my days off I do all my banking, bookkeeping, and shopping, which takes another 8 hours or more. I also clean the pits on my days off, and do repairs and so forth. My work weeks are typically 65 hours long. I think that’s enough.

There are pros and cons to my methods. I argued with the pizza chef about it. He bellowed “What happens to the guy who shows up on a Tuesday and sees you’re closed and goes away? You lose a customer!” Maybe. But I gamble that he comes back on one of the days I’m open. If he returns on Wednesday, then I did not “lose” his business on Tuesday. Had I been open on Tuesday he would not have needed to return on Wednesday. Therefore I have his business and have spent less “overhead” getting it. The pizza chef claimed that he’d never adopt my philosophy and he’d keep his pizzeria open 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, period.

My method seems to be working. I’ll always get asked why I am not open on such-and-such a day or at such-and-such a time, but the fact that they are asking me while standing at my window proves that they have indeed returned and I have not lost them. And I feel vindicated in another way: I have lately noticed that the pizza chef is now closed on Mondays. Also I have noticed that he closes shop on Tuesday through Saturday from 2:00pm until 4:00pm, during the “dead zone.” Let’s see…he’s closed an additional day, plus 2 hours each day over the remaining five days…why…he’s only open FOUR DAYS! The sneak!

Where's the Beef?

2006-08-29T18:23:00.000-05:00

Folks:

Most of you have probably noticed that I don't offer beef on my menu. Once in a great while I get a customer who is dead-set on ordering beef even though I don't offer it. When he finds out I have no beef, he is dejected. So, why no beef? Don't most barbecue joints offer beef?

Believe me, I have nothing against beef. I have eaten some spectacular barbecued beef brisket in Texas. And one of the best barbecue sandwiches I ever ate was a beef sandwich at Arthur Bryant's in KC. I have a lot of respect for brisket and the pit masters who can cook it well. But I am a small shop. I have limited pit space and even less warmer space. Despite that, when I opened in 2003 we offered a dandy beef brisket. But early on I saw that pulled pork and spare ribs were the clear favorites and the beef was taking up room and not selling quickly enough. I began cooking smaller and smaller portions of brisket. Pretty soon I was cooking tiny little beef chunks. Now you must realize that although I am no brisket expert, I have barbecued a brisket or two in my day. Brisket must cook slowly over low heat for up to 14 hours. Whatsmore, the bigger the cut of meat, the better it cooks. Here I was cooking lumps of stew meat so that I could fill 3 or 4 beef orders every day. So sometime in 2004 I took beef off the menu.

If I am ever able to open a larger, sit-down restaurant, I am sure beef will make a come back. I hope them to offer a true Texas brisket in all it's glory. But in the meantime, we're "Hog" Wild Bar-B-Q and we do pork. Come and enjoy our lean, juicy pulled pork and don't waste another minute worrying about beef.

BBQ Bob

Thanks For The Honor

2006-05-08T17:37:00.000-05:00

Folks:

I’d like to take some time to thank all my customers. Actually, business people ought to thank their customers daily. But this occasion requires special thanks. Back in February the good people of southern Hillsborough County voted Hog Wild Bar-B-Q “Best of South Shore” in the barbecue category. The “Best Of” contest is a yearly contest run by the South Shore News in the South Shore area (Riverview, Gibsonton, Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Sun City, Wimauma). The readers of the newspaper cast their votes for the best business in the many categories offered, such as sandwiches, pet grooming, photographer, etc.

In the barbecue category it was essentially between us and Sonny’s. And we won.

But Sonny’s is so big and popular. Sonny’s has been around for decades. How can a little old shack of a place like Hog Wild Bar-B-Q beat them in a popular poll? It’s easy. We at Hog Wild are passionate about our barbecue. And because we’re so small we can treat each slab of ribs like a work of art. We can fuss and fret over the slaw, the potato salad, and the barbecue sauce. We can make sure each pork shoulder is cooked the way we want. We can chat with each customer. The result is the very best barbecue anyone in Hillsborough County has ever had. Period.

But wait – I don’t need to toot my own horn like that. The people have spoken and tooted it for me. My many thanks to all of you! I’ll just shut up now…

BBQ Bob

Fat

2006-02-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

Folks:
I think it's time to say a few words about fat. Fat is good. However, people behave as though fat is bad. People behave as if ANY fat is bad. But that is not correct.

Fat has some essential qualities for cooking barbecue and for the general enjoyment of food. Fat is necessary for the cooking of barbecue. Fat serves to baste and moisturize the meat during the cooking process. Fat is also necessary for flavor in meat (as with other things). Without fat there is no flavor. As the meat slowly heats in the barbecue pit, connecting tissues break down and tenderize, while the fat melts and gives it a wonderful juicy consistency and excellent flavor. When I buy my meat for Hog Wild Bar-B-Q I look for plenty of marbling and external fat; usually from the shoulder of the hog. After submitting this kind of meat to the smoke and heat, the result is a succulent, sweet piece of pork that cannot be matched!

Decades of marketing and propaganda by the Surgeon General's office and FDA have trained us to regard fat as unhealthy. We have so totally fallen for this schlock that we now willingly sacrifice flavor and enjoyment in favor of joyless, flavorless, ultra lean meat. Think I'm kidding? Just witness the growing popularity (especially among women) of the abominable "boneless, skinless chicken breast". Further, today's pork products are nearly 50% leaner than pork from just decades ago. The hand-wringers among us regard this as a good sign. The pork industry trumpets this fact to try to sell more pork. But ask anyone older than 50 and you'll hear that today's pork has virtually no flavor and is difficult to cook without drying it out.

I cannot tell you how many times customers have told me something like "Your chicken is so moist and tender. Every time I try to barbecue chicken it comes out too dry." I always ask "What cut of chicken did you use?" Inevitably the answer is "a boneless, skinless breast". First of all, the chicken breast is a naturally lean part of the chicken. What little fat it has is subcutaneous: under the skin. If the skin is removed, most of the fat comes with it. The result is an almost fatless hunk of meat. This may be fine for stir-fry, but it's a disaster in the barbecue pit. When submitted to the heat and smoke of a barbecue pit the skinless boneless chicken breast becomes a tasteless, dried out chunk of chicken jerky, unfit for human consumption. Sadly, this is how most people barbecue chicken, as well as pork loin, pork chops - even ribs.

Good, marbled, fatted meat is so hard to find. What can we do? If faced with grilling or barbecuing a lean piece of meat, there are options available to you. You can marinate it prior to cooking in an oily, acidic marinade (this adds some fat and breaks down some of the tissue), you can baste the meat frequently with a buttery, oily baste (careful of flare ups) or you can wrap the meat in foil and cook it in it's own (or your added) juices. Often these methods are just stop-gap measures. Removing the meat from the baste, uncovering or slicing the meat, and placing it on a serving tray all begin to initiate a drying process that seems to proceed rapidly, undoing all your efforts to moisturize. My advice: seek out fattier meat! It's out there! You just have to look hard. When you find it, buy it! And then enjoy it!

At Hog Wild Bar-B-Q we celebrate fat! We revel in it! It's what makes our barbecue so good! Although much of the fat "cooks off" in the barbecue process, much also remains. So don't be surprised if you get a little fat in your sandwich, or you have to pull a little fat off a rib bone. These are morsels of excellent flavor! Don't complain. Don't wring your hands. Slurp it up, roll it around in your mouth and savor it! If you can't enjoy a little fat, then a barbecue pit is not for you.

See you for lunch.

Why I Do It

2006-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

When I bought that little trailer, hung out the Hog Wild Bar-B-Q sign and went into business, I had never cooked commercially before. I was like a lot of other guys across the country who hold down office jobs during the week, but barbecue nearly every weekend in their back yards, barbecue at parties, and do a little catering now and then for some cash on the side. Like all those guys, my friends and relatives loved my ‘que and told me “Bob, you ought to open your own place!” Like all those guys, I dreamed of it. But I differed from these guys in one critical way: I actually opened my own place. So now, about two years later, my corporate life is quickly vanishing into the mists of memory, and I am a professional pitmaster with a new set of responsibilities and virtually no income. I get up every morning way before sunrise; get to the trailer by 5:45. I kindle a fire, then wash, trim and spice down meat for the day’s cooking. I work anywhere from 10 to 14 hours (depending on whether my entire afternoon crew – two teenage boys – is going to make it in) and drag my butt home dead tired most days.

Before I started Hog Wild I fantasized about what it would be like serving my barbecue to the public. I had visions of lines of people forming at 10:30 anxious for me to turn on the OPEN sign. I fantasized about tables full of people chowing down on ribs and pork, grunting and uttering an occasional “Mmmmm-mmmm-MMM!” now and then. I imagined high fives and slaps on the back from my happy customers as they picked their teeth and headed for their cars. Well, needless to say, this isn’t the way my days usually play out. Sometimes I do get compliments and accolades, but often people just buy their food and head out.

So why do I do it?

Last September I was at a bit of a low point, psychologically. We’d been going through a series of slow weeks. A lot of our “regulars” were not showing up. My dinner crowd had dwindled to a handful of people and my Saturdays had shrunk to half of what they should have been. It was inexplicable. Not only was I not receiving accolades, I was not even getting customers. Then I received the following email:

Bob,
My family and I are in Tampa for three months-evacuees from New Orleans. I was sold from just the sight of your place, then the Robert Johnson poster-then the food. Great ribs. My wife loved the Sloppy Hog. Don't change anything. Don't franchise. Don't expand. Being from New Orleans, ripe with dive restaurants serving great food at low prices, your place is an oasis from chain eateries in Tampa. I've been telling all in-laws about Hog Wild, trying to pry them away from Sonny's. My pitch has been "they're open until the food is gone." Man that's a winner in my book. Keep smokin.

My mood brightened immediately. This is why I do it. Here’s someone who enjoyed his dinner so much he took the time to write me to tell me about it. In the two weeks that followed this email, my customers began to show up, the place began to get busy. So now I head in at 5:45 whistling, ready to get the fire lit, the meat washed, the sauce cooked…

The Incredible Deliciousness of Coleslaw

2006-01-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

Our best sandwich is the Sloppy Hog. Hands down. This is my opinion, clearly. But many agree with me: friends, fellow barbecue enthusiasts, customers. The Sloppy Hog is a barbecue sandwich with small dollop of mayo on the bottom bun, a mound of seasoned barbecued pork, my special BBQ sauce ladled over the pork (or our tasty “hot” BBQ sauce if you prefer), and then an order of coleslaw dumped on top. Mind you, this is our fresh, made-daily coleslaw. The sandwich is massive, messy and downright delicious! The sandwich’s roots are from the upper and mid-South region of the US: Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, where a “pork sandwich” comes with coleslaw on top unless you tell them to “hold the slaw”. Here in Riverview that would not fly, so we offer this Sloppy Hog sandwich; a special sandwich topped with coleslaw. Hog Wild Bar-B-Q is well known for this sandwich in these parts. People who eat one are hooked and come back again and again to order them. Some customers travel for miles just to have one. Some people even travel here from England to have one! You would think that the Sloppy Hog would be our best seller.

You’d be wrong.

The Sloppy Hog is both my darling and my biggest frustration. I love the Sloppy Hog. But it has been difficult to promote it to my customers. I cannot begin to count the times I have had a customer ask me “So what’s good here?” I always begin with the Sloppy Hog. The customer seems interested until I get to the part about the coleslaw dumped on top. I am usually met with everything from looks of incredulity to downright disgust. People hold up their hands and say “No, no. I don’t want THAT!” I insist that it’s a wonderful treat – just try it and you’ll like it! Well, it’s not for everybody, but it seems to me it ought to be for almost everybody!

Why is this absolutely delicious sandwich so difficult to sell? Is coleslaw on a sandwich such a foreign concept? Well, as I stated above, there are large regions of the country where millions of people eat barbecue sandwiches that way. You might say, “Well Bob, that’s fine but what about the rest of the country?” True enough, but consider that a veritable icon of Southern food is the “slaw dog”; a hot dog with coleslaw dumped on it. This is a popular item from the Carolinas to Florida. You can get a slaw dog in any Southern hot dog stand. No one winces at the thought of a slaw dog. And let’s not forget the “slaw burger”, another Southern classic. This tasty treat can be found in Kentucky, Tennessee and various other areas, but was made famous in the Kentucky Headhunters Grammy award-winning song “Dumas Walker” in which they sing the praises of a local Greensburg, KY café and the delicacies they offer. So slaw on the sandwich is common in the south: barbecue, hot dogs and burgers. But is it common anywhere else?

Yes! Go to any New York City deli and look at the sandwich menu and you’ll see corned beef and pastrami and a variety of other sandwiches with coleslaw dumped on them. I’ve enjoyed many of them myself. Order a Rachel sandwich (Reuben’s sister) and you’ll be treated to a wonderful type of turkey sandwich with coleslaw on it. So there is no excuse, in my mind, for a Northerner to recoil at the thought of coleslaw on his sandwich.

So what is it? I really can’t say. It could be that my customers are made up of people primarily from the Midwest or other places where both barbecue and sandwiches with coleslaw are rarities. You know – places like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, etc. Another factor could be that even though my customers may hail from places like North Carolina or New York City (where coleslaw on the sandwich is common) they themselves are part of the homogenized “large restaurant chain” crowd: people who eat only at McDonald’s and Cracker Barrel and Chili’s and places like that. No coleslaw on the sandwich.

Whatever the reason, my vision is to get the Sloppy Hog in as many mouths in Riverview as possible. It’s a difficult task, but I have accepted it and intend on carrying through.. So come on down to Hog Wild Bar-B-Q and order a Sloppy Hog! You’ll be glad you did.

I guess it’s true that an artist must suffer for his art.

What Makes a Genuine Joint?

2006-01-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

Where can you get the best, most genuine barbecue in town? If you go to any city known for barbecue and ask that question, you’ll likely get several answers, but you are sure to be steered toward one of the old landmark barbecue houses in the area. In Dallas you’ll be advised to try Sonny Bryans Smokehouse where they serve the best Texas style brisket in the West. In Memphis it might be The Rendezvous Lounge, serving up Memphis-style dry rubbed ribs. In KC you’re sure to be told to go to either Gates or Arthur Bryant’s, both of which have dominated the KC barbecue scene for decades. In Decatur, Alabama you must head straight for Big Bob Gibson’s and get some of that wild and whacky white barbecue sauce. In Savannah you’re bound to be directed to Johnny Harris, purveyor of pork barbecue and ribs and their famous red sauce. There are others all over the South and Southwest.

To be sure, there are many barbecue restaurants around this area. Some are very well known, others not. Tampa Bay does not really have a generations-old dominating barbecue house. But we do have an assortment of small 'que joints that are "genuine".

Everybody has heard of Sonny’s. There’s a Sonny’s Real Pit Barbecue in just about every decent-sized burg in Florida. There are several in the Tampa Bay area. There’s one to my north in Brandon, and another to my south in Sun City. Sonny’s ads are on the radio and TV daily. And people flock to the place. But are they the best? Do they serve the most “genuine” barbecue in the area?

Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill is part of Darden Restaurants, the conglomerate that owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden. A Smokey Bones restaurant appeared in Brandon a couple years back. They pack ‘em in. I’ve even eaten there. There are several Smokey Bones around Tampa Bay. So they’re big and popular. They must be genuine. They must be the best, right?

Is either of these large chain restaurants serving definitive, genuine barbecue in the Tampa Bay area? I’d say, in all honesty, no. I’d also say, again in all honesty, that neither place serves terrible barbecue either. It’s just that neither place is cut of the same cloth as the joints I mentioned above. What makes a barbecue a true landmark? What are the hallmarks of a restaurant to make it the place that has “the best” in an area? Well, dear reader, any joint that follows the rules set below has a shot at being a genuine place – a place that may well serve the “best” barbecue in town. The three major properties are:

1. First and foremost, it ought to serve genuine barbecue. What do I mean by genuine? Entire books have been written on this. Distilled to my own opinion, genuine barbecue should be cooked slow and low, preferably with wood and charcoal. But even if the place uses a crock pot or a gas oven, the key is long cooking times and patience. Regardless of the type of wood used or the cooking technique, the meat should be prepared with heart and soul; with marinades or rubs (or the lack thereof) that stem from local or familial tradition, early morning preparation and checking and fussing over each slab of ribs and each pork roast. Each slab of ribs should be a testament to the talent of the pitmaster; each pork sandwich a work of art. Such practices ensure a genuine product.

2. It should be a family-run establishment. There can be more than one store location in town, but its best if the place is not chain-like. Becoming a chain will enrich the owners, but the barbecue seems to always suffer. Take Corky’s Bar-B-Q and Ribs for example. Corky’s was a proud establishment in Memphis, serving up fine barbecue for decades. Then they became a chain. Now you can get Corky’s barbecue in Atlanta, GA and Raleigh, NC. But I hear tell it just isn’t the same. To quote Lolis Eric Ellie (a noted barbecue scholar) concerning Corky’s: “The food is tasty; it’s consistent; it’s professional. But all the quality controls that mitigate against a substandard plate exiting the kitchen also insure that nothing stellar will emerge.”

3. The place ought to have a “personality”. Can you honestly tell the difference between Bennigan’s and TGI Friday’s? Do Sonny’s restaurants have a look-and-feel markedly different from that of Woody’s? No and no. But walk into one of the barbecue “shrines” in this country and you’ll likely never forget the way the place looked and felt. Some strive for their personality; others just manage to acquire it. It’s a delicate and complicated combination of the location, it’s interior décor, and the personalities of the people who work there. Some define their “personality” by displaying a Spartan lack thereof. But, big or small, the “best” places all have it.

The following 5 ancillary properties often also apply, but they can be ignored without subtracting from the “genuineness” of the joint. They are derived from generally accepted public opinion.

1. Shackiness. The place ought to be a shack. The chairs should not match. The floors should creak. The dining room (if they have one) should be impregnated with decades of smoke. Etcetera. Add your own.
2. Out of the Way. It should be down a side street, on the edge of town, in a rough area off an alley, just as you pass the service station look to your left… In other words, it should be slightly hard to find. Not in the middle of town. The saying goes: the more out-of-the-way the place is, the better the food.
3. The flatware should be plastic, the plates paper, the cups Styrofoam.
4. It should have a dirt parking lot that contains both an array of pickup trucks and family sedans with an occasional Mercedes or Jaguar. The diversity of the vehicles speaks to the overarching reach of the food; the crosscutting of socioeconomic strata that true barbecue can achieve.
5. Flies. There should be flies buzzing about. Not too many. Just a few. The smoke and fat particles that billow from the pit are fly attractors. If the place is not attracting flies it must not be cooking properly.

I can think of several local joints that meet enough of these criteria to qualify: My barbecue brothers operating in Brandon at First Choice Bar-B-Q and Down To The Bone Bar-B-Q, are two that come to mind. And of course, Hog Wild Bar-B-Q.

So take these to heart, dear reader. Study them. Look for these qualities. If you go to Sonny’s, mentally check off the items on this list that Sonny’s meets. Then go to Hog Wild Bar-B-Q and relax. You’re there.

Spare or Baby Back? What's the diff?

2006-01-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

As a barbecuist I am often asked if I serve “baby back ribs”. I do not. I have nothing against them. Because of price and the type of cooking required, I have made a personal decision to cook only the traditional “spare rib” as barbecue. When I tell the customer this, I am usually met with confusion, a blank stare, a pause, and then an order for ribs. After observing this phenomenon for the better part of a year, I have finally decided that most people are probably not aware of the differences of the different cuts of pork rib. So for my second sermon from the pit I hope to demystify the rib.

First, there are three basic cuts of pork rib: the baby back rib, the sparerib, and the country rib.

Spareribs are the traditional slab of ribs. They’re the kind that you get at Hog Wild Bar-B-Q. They come from the belly of the pig, behind the shoulder and consist of 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones and between them. They are the most inexpensive cut of ribs, characterized by fatty flesh and somewhat tough meat. St. Louis style ribs are a variation of the full slab. They are trimmed and have the brisket bone removed. I buy my ribs untrimmed. I remove the brisket bone myself and trim off any excess fat. I also remove the “membrane” on the bone side of each slab. Because these ribs are the “low end” of the rib scale, they barbecue the best! Slow, 250-degree smoky cooking will melt off the fat and baste the meat as the tough tissue is broken down. The result is a tender, fall-off-the-bone rib of unequalled flavor.

Baby back ribs, sometimes called loin ribs or back ribs, are cut from the loin section. They do not come from baby pigs! They are shorter, more curved, and smaller than spareribs. They have a covering of meat over the bones and also between them. Because they do come from the loin, they are leaner than spare ribs. They are also considerably more expensive and in shorter supply. By and large, because they are so lean, they technically can’t be “barbecued” as they have very little fat to break down and the meat itself is already tender. Baby backs are best “grilled” over heat around 350-degrees and eaten promptly. Baby back ribs are delicious when cooked this way and glazed with a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce.

Country style ribs are actually not ribs at all but are cut from the blade end of the loin, right behind the upper portion of the pork shoulder. To me they are more like fatty pork chops than ribs. While they have more fat per pound than any of the other styles of ribs, the fat is in layers and the meat between those layers is leaner and less marbled than most other ribs. They are the meatiest of all the ribs. However, because the fat on these ribs is not marbled within the meat, they are easy to dry out and (in my humble opinion) are not suitable for “barbecuing” in the traditional sense. Nonetheless, these ribs can be delicious when used in recipes in the kitchen.

So head on down to Hog Wild Bar-B-Q and get a sampling of how spareribs ought to be done. And don’t ask for baby backs. I don’t have them.

Welcome Hog Wild Customers

2006-01-22T09:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Pit!

To those who found their way here from porkmeisters.com, WELCOME to my website. I’m BBQ Bob, pitmaster and proprietor of Bob’s Hog Wild Bar – B – Q in Riverview, FL. Glad you’re here. From time to time I will offer commentary on this page in subjects ranging from barbecue to business to recipes and anything else I please. This is my place to vent, preach and pontificate. I cannot say that I will offer a new piece every week. More like every month on an irregular schedule. I will update it often so as to keep you coming back. And, by the way, I might even decide to listen to your responses from time to time.