There are already enough places on the internet telling you the exact temperature of a pork shoulder.
This isn’t going to be one of those places.
Okay, sometimes it will be. Because apparently food safety matters.
This is where we’ll share the things we think are actually worth gathering around the grill for: recipes worth repeating, stories worth telling, pitmasters worth knowing, and occasionally whatever Randy from Marketing talked us into publishing.
Recipes Worth Repeating
We love complicated barbecue as much as the next person, but most of us aren't waking up at 3:47 in the morning to start a brisket every Saturday.
The recipes you'll find here are the ones we actually want to make again.
Some will take all day. Some will get dinner on the table Tuesday night. Some will involve an irresponsible amount of butter.
All of them should be worth firing up the grill for.
Stories Worth Telling
Barbecue has never really been about the meat.
Well... that's obviously not true. The meat is pretty important.
But the reason we keep coming back to the grill is everything that happens around it—the people, traditions, arguments about charcoal versus propane, recipes written on stained pieces of paper, and stories that somehow get better every time they're told.
We want to tell some of those stories.
Pitmasters Worth Knowing
There are people out there making incredible barbecue without television shows, trophy cases, or a million followers.
We want to meet them.
From competition pitmasters and restaurant owners to the guy down the street whose ribs mysteriously cause half the neighborhood to appear in his backyard, we'll use The Rub Down to introduce you to people who take their barbecue seriously.
Their maturity level is entirely up to them.
And Then There's Randy
Every company eventually hires someone whose ideas probably shouldn't make it past the first meeting.
We hired Randy.
Technically, Randy from Marketing doesn't exist.
This has done surprisingly little to reduce his influence around here.
From questionable product ideas to marketing concepts nobody asked for, Randy will occasionally be given space in The Rub Down.
Management accepts no responsibility for what happens next.
Pull Up a Chair
That's really what this is about.
Good food. Good people. Stories worth telling. And an excuse to spend a little more time around the grill.
So, pull up a chair.
We'll bring the rub.
You bring the questionable maturity.
Rub Responsibly.
— D. “Smoke” Sparks