Cowboy Chow, Deep Pit BBQ

[SLawyer Dave]

I'm a volunteer and member of the Gold Nugget Museum in Paradise, California.  Every year we have a big community celebration, (Gold Nugget Days), to commemorate the local discovery of a 54 pound gold nugget in 1854 that brought the gold rush to this area.  It is also the major fund raising event for the museum.  Some 25 years ago, a local man of Polynesian decent invited all of the museum volunteers over for a Polynesian "Deep Pit BBQ" as a "thank you" for all of the hard work that the volunteers contributed.   Everyone loved the food so much, that it was decided that we should make it a part of the celebration and make it a fundraising event for the Museum.  So a permanent pit was dug and with Mr. Yamaguchi's help, we learned how to prepare and cook the meat in this unique "style", (ok we don't use banana leaves, but you get the idea).   My contribution is now being the "guy to blame" if something goes wrong.   ;D  Luckily, everything went very well this year, and I don't think we had a single negative comment, (which is pretty unusual when you are feeding 400 people at $12.00 a plate).  This is the first year we opened up the Friday Night "Wrap Party", (where we prepare the meal  and seal it in the pit) to the public.  As such, there was a photographer who put together a slide show and so I thought I would share that with all of you.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151653969863413&set=a.10151653969548413.1073741833.164270013412&type=1&theater

Its a hell of a lot of work, but this method of slow cooking the meat gives you the most tender, moist and flavorful meat that I have ever found.  One thing the photographer missed is the almost quart of marinade that we pour into each bundle that works to "steam" the meat, rather than a traditional baking approach.

[CHARLIE]

SLawyer Dave, I was born and raised on the east coast of Florida and one of the things we'd do is go to the beach, dig a pit and build a fire in the pit and let it burn down to coals. We'd put rocks on the coals. Then we would wrap the meat, potatoes and vegetables in tin foil, lay them on the hot rocks and put more tin foil over the food. Then fill the pit back up with sand.  Later we'd dig it all up and have a feast. DanG that was gooood eatin'! 8)

[giant splinter]

Looks like a great way to spend a weekend, and the food must have been perfect .... so Dave is this how you stay in shape? ;D
Good thing I don't live around there as I could not resist eating too much of that great food.