Granddaddy's Barbeque

Granddaddy started cooking hams on a make shift grill back in 1978 for his family.

He very much enjoyed cooking barbeque and still does to this day. He believed barbeque was slow cooked meat on long burning wood coals, not firing up the grill for a quick cook in the back yard.

One cannot describe the peace and solitude that one experiences sitting around and stoking the fire all night long. The only noises of crickets and frogs and crackling fire are natural music. The smell of the meat and fire is heaven in and of itself.

He took some of the block that he used as stairs for his single wide and formed a grill. The cook top was a rock sifter that had been given to him by one of his construction buddies. An old piece of tin from the back of the barn covered the cook surface just right to hold in temp and let out only a little of the smoke. His sons would cut and split the wood for use right there on the farm.

Only fresh, never frozen meat of the best cuts qualified to be cooked on his grill. A common site was Granddaddy in his Liberty Overalls and tee shirt fiddling with the fire or turning the hams. He knew the hams were ready when they passed the waggle test, i.e. the leg of the ham would easily waggle free. The hams were pulled off the grill and pulled apart in an old tin wash tub. The meat stood alone, no sauce needed if prepared right.

When friends would experience the meat they asked how they could get one of his hams so he started cooking hams for gifts and dinner parties. His friends list grew and grew. Holidays became a time when friends expected their ham. The demand grew so much that he needed a commercial kitchen just to keep up with the demand.

Nana had her own role in that she would make the sides, sauces, and desserts. A perfectionist as well, she tried plenty of store bought products but had to tinker with her own recipes. Again, only fresh ingredients were used to get things just right. She wrote these down in her little black book and won't share these secrets.

Barbeque became a family tradition. A table made of two saw horses and plywood with a plastic red and white checkered table cloth became the serving and eating table. People would stand with their plate and eat as picnic tables didn't come until much later.

From this process, Granddaddy's Barbeque was born. We invite you to come and join us for a meal. Bring your appetite because portions are big and you are gonna love the food.

Thank you!