The smokers
Three wood-fired smokers, each with its own fire and its own job.
Three smokers, one fire each
Each pit has its own firebox and its own job. Between them they hold about 600 pounds of meat a night (sample).
The big offset
1,000 gallons, post oak
Brisket and pork shoulder overnight. Forty briskets on two racks.
The rib pit
500 gallons, hickory
Ribs and turkey in the early morning, hotter and faster.
The upright
Vertical, post oak
Sausage hung on rods for the last hours before the doors open.
Someone watches the fire all night
The pit crew works in two shifts. One cook lights the firebox at six in the evening; the next takes over at two in the morning. Every hour they add a split of oak, check the pit temperature and write it in the log (sample).
A page from the pit log
Every hour, the cook on shift writes the pit temperature and what they did. This is a usual Friday night.
18:00
Firebox lit with oak and a little charcoal. Pit at 250°F by 18:45.
19:00
Briskets on, fat side up, thickest end towards the fire.
21:00
Pork shoulders on the top rack.
02:00
Shift change. Pit at 245°F, one split of oak every 45 minutes.
04:00
Ribs on in the rib pit, 275°F.
09:00
Briskets off, wrapped in butcher paper, into the warmer to rest.
11:00
Doors open.
Pit log (sample).
Get here before it sells out
Doors open at 11:00, Wednesday to Sunday, and we slice until the pit is empty. Whole cuts and catering need two days’ notice.