How the BBQ Journey Started

My journey into the depths of BBQ began early on as a child growing up in Walker County, Alabama. I would sit on the back deck of our house and watch my Dad grill steaks, chicken, pork, roasts, and any other piece of meat fortunate enough to end up being placed on the old charcoal grill. The grill itself was a testament of time based on how long it held together through the years and the flavor it held. If there was a hall of fame for grills, it would have been inducted its first year of eligibility. 

You could see smoke coming from the Wade’s house on Pawnee Circle almost every night. And if the neighborhood filled of smoke wasn’t evidence enough of dad’s love of the grill, there was a mountain of charcoal ash behind our house as proof. To this day we joke about climbing that charcoal hill as kids and riding our sleds down it during the rare snow falls. Yes, only in Walker County.

The next step in my journey occurred when my Grandfather introduced me to Crutchfield. Crutchfield was a well known Barber in Jasper, Alabama but he was famous for his BBQ. Through the years I would get to enjoy Crutchfield’s smoked chickens and pork shoulders that he would bring to my Grandparents house accompanied by his “secret” red sauce. 

I was fortunate to get a chance to witness Crutchfield cook BBQ at the Walker County Lake one Fourth of July. I can still remember the smell of smoked chicken in the air and the taste of that “secret” red sauce that had to be simmered for hours. The anticipation was overwhelming while we all waited on Crutchfield to make the decision that the chicken had reached the end of its BBQ journey and was ready for us all to enjoy. Crutchfield was a master of the “low and slow” BBQ process and a legend to this day.

This early baptism by fire into BBQ has taken me on a journey from that back deck of our house on Pawnee Circle to the BBQ catering I now do for companies and organizations across the state of Alabama. To me, BBQ is about Crutchfield’s “secret” red sauce, Dad’s charcoal ash hill, and my journey to take the art of slow smoked BBQ to the masses. For a BBQ addict, there is nothing better than hearing “This is the best BBQ I have ever tasted.”

Comments

[Swann]

Great post. Although I never sleded down the mountain of ash I do recall stumbling through it a couple of times.

[KD]

Great Post