Remember when?

[pgsmoker64]

When I was a kid, we used to do a church barbeque at Labor Day. I always looked forward to that weekend and it was a BIG deal.

The men would start getting ready the weekend before and the ladies would start planning the sides, deserts, etc.

We would cook about 200 lbs of pork shoulders over an open pit.

Here is how it went...my grandfather and others would use two 55 gallon drums with the fronts, bottoms, and tops cut out. They would burn hickory and oak in the top and let the hot coals fall through a grate with large hoes to the bottom barrel. Then they would shovel the hot coals under the cooking grates, which were expanded metal set up on cinder blocks. This started immediately after church on Sunday night and went until about noon on Labor Day.

While the pork was cooking, we fried fish and the old men would sit around playing guitar and we'd sing. I always looked forward to these Labor Day BBQs.

Now...they still cook about 200 lbs of BBQ, but they do it on a gas cooker starting about 6:00 a.m. and finish up at noon and instead of a full compliment of grandfathers, fathers, and willing youngsters, there are only a couple dedicated cooks.

Those old memories are why I love smoking meat so much...I remember the Labor Day picnics every time I start a smoke and I remember how much fun everyone had! My wife gets this, which is why she tolerates my smoking hobby.

What are some of your fondest cookout memories?

Bill

 

[mballi3011]

We used to go over to some friends house an he (uncle Dan but not my uncle) would grill up some of the most delicious tasting BBQ i can remember. Now I have been asking him for so many years to have the bbq sauce recipe and I keep getting the same old response "it's in my WILL" and it is and I like him too much to hope anything bad on him so one day I will come on here with a new posting of a sauce but until them I will keep on tring to replicate it. It's a clear liquid I'm imaging vinegar based with stuff floating it in. Herbs and spices in what order or what it is I cann't remember but it was really good on chicken.

 

[ak1]

My family used to go to a nearby park and spit roast a hog. There would be 30 of us there. We would do this twice a summer. Alas all the uncles are in their 70's and 80's now and it's too much for them. Us cousins and family have tried to do this but it's difficult to get everyones schedules to work together.

 

[pgsmoker64]

MMMMMM, can;t wait to see Uncle Dan's recipe, but I hope it is many years down the road.

Thanks for the response.

 

[pgsmoker64]

To AK1

Sounds like ya'll had a really good time.

Isn't it strange that no one has time in their schedules any more? Is there more to do or are our priorities just different?

That's what I love about smoking...a lot of nice quiet time to relax and reflect, and if they so choose the family can join me!

 

[adiochiro3]

Well said, PGSmoker64.  I wonder about our collective priorities as well, and I love the "relax & reflect" pace of the smoking process.  My dad and I love to tend the smoker while sipping port and dipping our cigars in the port -- the essence of R&R!

When I was a kid, my father used to cook on a small cast iron hibachi (that's what he called it, anyway) and the meat turned out beautifully, especially on family camp outs.  Lots of great memories and meals from that cooker!

 

[gnubee]

When I was a kid back when the earth was still cooling down. The only stores in our town that were allowed to be open on Sunday were Drug Stores. And then only for prescription drugs. The Mill and other businesses also did not run Sundays. Which made Church picnics easy to schedule. We had a local fall fair each year that was agriculturally based with many ranchers and farmers attending. One of the bigger ranches often would donate a whole steer for a bbq I remember it was basically free for anyone attending ,a lot of the women brought pot luck dishes and the men spiked the punch. Us kids would hang around the punch bowl trying to steal a glass of the forbidden liquid. My 12 year old cousin once scored a huge glass of punch from the "Adult " bowl. He was very very drunk and the next day he was sent to the woodshed. Not for wood either. He couldn't sit down comfortably for a long while. This is Orchard country and there were boxes of apples and pears for anyone to have one. As a kid I remember especially the homemade pies and yummy cobblers made with fresh fruits. Not like those gluelike things they call pie now a days. At dark there were fireworks then we all walked home in the dark. ( no streetlights back then ) Sadly this fair marked the start of the school year so for us kids it was a bitter sweet bit of end of the summer fun.

 

[travcoman45]

4th a July's.  We'd start settin up the fireworks fer a nearby town, puttin in tubes an rigggin the grand finale.  Dad couldn't do that no more so he a some fellers would do a whole hog roast fer everbody workin.

Ya know, come ta think a it, settin off them fireworks, I never really got ta see em till I was a grown up!

But the food sure was good!

 

[ak1]

To AK1

Sounds like ya'll had a really good time.

Isn't it strange that no one has time in their schedules any more? Is there more to do or are our priorities just different?

That's what I love about smoking...a lot of nice quiet time to relax and reflect, and if they so choose the family can join me!

Probably a combination of many things. When I was a kid, all my cousins and I did stuff together, because our parents hung out together. Once we got married etc, we had to accommodate time with the spouses families as well. Then, once kids started showing up, well, there's another set of responsibilities. etc,etc,etc. It just tends to snowball