Project Week

Project Week

Pitmasters - Day 5

Today we went to MOAT Mountain Smokehouse in North Conway, NH. We met with their head chef and looked at their 4 smokers. They have two 360 smokers, a 140, and a 120. They let us go into their basement and see how the smokers worked.

Meeting with Chef Scott to learn talk dry rubs, smokers, and more!

Checking out the smoker setup.

MOAT Mountain was a unique stop for us because of its diverse menu. 

Lots to choose from on the MOAT Mountain menu!

Aside from BBQ, they had pizzas, nachos, burgers, and lots more. -James

The Smoke House Nachos, topped with brisket, sausage, chili, and cheese!

Another fantastic meal for the Pitmasters crew!

Pitmasters - Day 4

We started the day off with an early start to the Smokehaus in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Arriving to Smokehaus bright and early to see the smokers get going.

The owner showed us how to load the smoker outside before showing us the inside of the establishment. 

Helga gets cooking with a hundred pounds of chicken!

The group then took a short walk inside to see the smaller smoker, named Gertrude, where they were smoking ribs and chicken. After we saw the two smokers we then tasted some of there different types of rubs along with their variety of barbecue sauces. 

Getting some ribs and more chicken going on Gertrude.

We then took a trip to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to pick up our own ingredients to make our own rubs. When we got back to school we created our own rubs in our small groups. -Jack

Putting our dry rubs on.

Pork shoulder is rubbed and ready.

Pitmasters - Day 3

We started off our morning bright and early getting the smoker going with Mr. Cantwell. 

Mr. Cantwell gets the smoker going.

A little while later it was time to put the pork shoulder in. 

Giving the pork shoulder a little spray of apple juice 

Then we moved into the classroom where we made our DELICIOUS sauce that was going to be for our pulled pork sandwiches!

Tyler measures out some cayenne for our bbq sauce.

For lunch we headed down to Manchester where we ate at KC’S Rib Shack and it was AMAZING. It had a great atmosphere and the ribs were delightful.

Some delicious eats from KC's Rib Shack!

The squad after a fantastic meal at KC's Rib Shack!

After our amazing lunch we got back to campus and had some downtime to rest before getting right back to it to finally check out our pulled pork! Max was using this bear claw tool to pull the pork into pieces before enjoying our homemade pulled pork sandwiches!

Max about to go berserker on some pork shoulder!

From pork shoulder to pulled pork.

Our delicious pulled pork sandwich - barbecued right here on campus!

It was DELICIOUS! -Quinn

Pitmasters - Day 2

At the beginning of the day we graded Monday’s BBQ using a ranking system we have created. 

Our BBQ Score Card.

Following that, we met Mr. Cantwell for a smoker demonstration. His smoker was hand built and we talked about the process of building it. 

Mr. Cantwell gets the smoker going.

He then talked to us about smoking cheese and the importance of keeping the heat low and letting the smoke do the work. 

Cheddar blocks are loaded and ready to smoke!

After our time with Mr. Cantwell, we departed campus and went to two different BBQ spots. The first place, Smokeshow BBQ in Concord, used a wood only smoking method. He used oak and hickory wood. 

Enjoying some delicious BBQ at Smokeshow

Great visit to Smokeshow BBQ with pitmaster Matt!

The second spot, Gabi’s Smoke Shack in Londonderry used a white oak and propane mix to smoke. But both places had very distinct and tasty briskets. 

Pitmaster Anthony shows us the smoker at Gabi's Smoke Shack.

To wrap up the day, we met Mr. Cantwell again to prepare our pork shoulders for Wednesday to go in the smoker. He marinated them in mustard and a traditional dry rub. -Tyler

Getting our pork shoulder seasoned for the smoker in the morning.

Today we went to different BBQ restaurants to learn about the process of smoking meats. First we went to Smokeshow in Concord. The food at Smokeshow was my favorite out of the three restaurants my group has visited. I especially liked their “Goodness” burger.

Ribs, corn bread, and the goodness sandwich (pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked turkey).

After we traveled to Gabi’s Smoke Shack in Londonderry. Their brisket was very well seasoned and very tender. 

The delicious beef brisket from Gabi's Smoke Shack.

After today and learning about the seasonings, the wood used to smoke, and how to cut the meat I feel prepared to prepare my own meat. -Max

 

Pitmasters - Day 1

The Pitmasters crew kicked off the week with a busy day learning about the history of regional barbecue, the elements of smoking, and the processes of making dry rubs and sauces. A blind taste test, a delicious lunch expedition, and an informative visit to a %100 grass fed cattle farm made for an exciting first day!

Mr. Sampson's pork shoulder dry rub taste test

For the first day, we met in the Memorial Classroom in the morning. We started off with some videos about BBQ from different shows like The Chef Show and Ugly Delicious. Later on, we had chef Dan showing us all the ingredients that are needed to make a dry rub such as a little bit of sugar, black pepper, and spices. Mr. Sampson also gave us a chance to try different ingredients and how pork tastes when applied with different sauces and dry rubs. After that, we headed out for lunch at Smoke Shack BBQ.

Chef Dan's dry rub and barbecue sauce workshop ingredients

Arriving at Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue in Boscawen, NH

A 1/2 rack from Smoke Shack

         Finally, we arrived at Smoke Shack. I was amazed when looking at the menu because there are so many options and I could not decide what to choose. After a while, I went with Teriyaki Smoked Chicken Wings because I love chicken wings. I would definitely buy more to bring home, but I thought I get to save money for the restaurants that we will be going to in the next few days. It turns out that I could not even finish my meal because there were too many chicken wings, about 12 as I remembered, so I decided to bring the rest to my friends when I come back. When everyone finished, we then went to a farm which is about 35 minutes away from campus. We met Ed and Cindy who are the owners of the farm; they are so friendly, they told us different things about those cattle that they are taking care of.

Ed and Cindy's pet horses

Some of the cattle from Cascade Brook Farm

%100 grass fed Angus cattle at Cascade Brook Farm

We had a chance to learn about the lives and personalities of the cattle as Ed described. The cattle are so friendly; they came towards us as we came closer to the fences. We learned about how to take care of the cattle humanely such as by exercising and giving them enough nutrients. And that is our first day. -Tony

At the end of a great visit to Cascade Brook Farm in North Cutton, NH

Today we started off talking about different regional styles of barbecue before trying a few different dry rubs and sauces prepared by Mr. Sampson. We also met with Chef Dan who taught us to make a simple dry rub and sauce. After that we went out to Smoke Shack BBQ in Boscawen. We all tried different things and it was a good start to the week. After lunch we went to Cascade Brook Farm in South Sutton to learn about how cattle is raised and treated at small farms. -Gillian 

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