By Paul Suplee, MBA, CEC, PC-3

I love it when friends stop by the restaurant to visit. In our business, we consider many of our guests to be friends, so suffice it to say that we see a lot of friends throughout the week.

But it’s the old friends — good folks visiting from the other side of the ‘crick,’ as we say – who are always a pleasure to see.

This past weekend, a buddy of mine decided to take a detour on his way to Dewey Beach and swung through Pittsville for some early afternoon grub.

We fished together for a couple of years before I defected to a new team, and we have stayed in touch. An Army veteran, we get along splendidly, jovially ripping each other apart in text threads and in person. It’s a veteran thing, I guess.

So when Sasha came in to town and brought his family, he pretty much told me just to send stuff out. And of course, he wanted to try all the barbecued goods, and I was certainly not going to disappoint.

Preparing a glorious tray of our world-famous pulled pork, brisket and our crazy-delicious ribs, I added some of our sides and, of course, all of our homemade sauces.

Of course, after splitting two orders of deviled eggs, a fried green tomato with crab dip, a brisket grilled cheese and a few beers, this massive platter of smoked goods was more than they could handle. I sat in awe watching them do a great deal of damage on the platter, but, alas, they came to a screeching halt, seemingly at the same time.

I joined them in a round of beers, introducing them to Weedline (my hands-down favorite session IPA, and a local to boot). We laughed, Sasha reminded me of being a traitor to the team and we laughed a little more. And that is what kicked off a great Saturday for me.

When people come to eat with us, we often get asked for our recipes, and while they aren’t published, I really do not have any issues with sharing them.

As I have said for years, if this is the best that I can do, then shame on me. Plus, I had the great fortune of working for some world-class chefs in different parts of the country, and it did not matter who it was.

They all shared their recipes. They all shared their secrets, and they all shared their love of the game.

Now that it is my turn to try to share some of this joie de vivre in an ugly, ugly business, and now that we have pushed through the first wave of this blasted virus, every day becomes a bit brighter as we move forward.

I’m not sure about you, but this year definitely took a toll on my state of mind.

It has been rough, but my team has fought through and luckily no one on the crew has tested positive for the dastardly beast.

Now that we are back in quasi full-swing, we are just trying to recreate the vibe that we have always had in the building and she is slowly coming back to life.

And even though we have been opened for over two years, we still get guests daily from Ocean City, Southern Delaware and Salisbury who attest to it being their first visit, even though they have read about us or saw us on TV.

Many have friends who are regulars and they rave about everything, but “this is the first time that we could make it out here.” That is a common theme.

But that is just fine, as with new guests we make new friends. And with new friends we get to play around with the food and make said friends happy beyond belief. That is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Pulled Pork Barbecue
per butt

1 pork butt, bone-in
BBQ Pork Dry Rub, as needed (recipe follows)
Hickory for the smoker

• Pat the pork butt dry and rub the entire surface with the dry rub.
• Don’t be shy with the seasoning here, as this is a large cut of meat, and the seasoning will only remain on the outside. As you break it up the flavors will mix in. If you do not use enough dry rub, the end result will be bland.
• Set the smoker to 215 F and, using he hickory logs (or chunks or chips depending on the type of smoker), let it rip for anywhere from 12-14 hours. A lot depends on the temperature outside the smoker, humidity (hot summer day or rain), so you have to realize that all situations will be different.
• You will know that the butt is done when there is a nice, dark crust on the meat, and also when a fork goes right through the meat with ease.
• Pull the pork until it is cool enough to handle and pull it.
• Keep it hot for service.

BBQ Pork Dry Rub

1/4 c. Kosher salt, big flake
1/2 c. Dark brown sugar
1/4 c. Good quality cocoa powder
1/4 c. Paprika
2 Tbsp. Dark chili powder
2 Tbsp. Ground black pepper
1/4 c. Granulated garlic
2 Tbsp. Onion powder
1 Tbsp. ground thyme

• Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container until needed.

— Paul G. Suplee is an Associate Professor
of Culinary Arts at Wor-Wic Community  College.
Find his ePortfolio at www.heartofakitchen.com.