Pit Beef Baltimore's Barbeque BBQ Barbecue

Aside from putting my watermark, this photo remains untouched.

Big Fat Daddy's Famous Pit Beef

Back before the days of Dine in Diners and Dives, Steven Raichlen (Primal Grill, The Barbecue Bible) came to my pit beef stand, which was a tiny restaurant housed on Route 40 in Rosedale for a sandwich.  The printed publicity in newspapers and magazines that followed pretty much changed everything.   Back in those days pit beef stands were everywhere.

I use the whole flank of bottom round.

A pit beef stand is basically an oversized barn type building that grills the grub inside and serves you at the window.  My late brother Brian & I We took it a step further to ensure customers were cozy in the winter. They used to sit in our oversized heated tent and get our free salad bar in cold Baltimore winters.   Our meal deal back then cost $5.25, you got a nice sandwich, fries, a drink and all you can eat salad bar. Believe it or not that was high priced compared to other places, and we did a lot of business.  I still use bottom round for the most part, as it

The important part is the dry rub.

Pit Beef

My pit beef is grilled and seared over hardwoods at high temperatures yet the key is the dry rub marination process.  I have a dry rub guide here.    You must have a professional meat slicer to slice it paper thin, pile it high on a kaiser bun. Top with bbq, horseradish or a mix of horseradish and mayo, and thinly sliced white onions.  Oh yeah, this is Baltimore's version of Barbecue.

Big Fat Daddy's rare Pit Beef Sliced Paper Thin

Side Dishes

Fries go great with pit beef, for a healthy alternative you can find out how to make delicious sweet potato fries.    

How to Make Pit Beef:

Big Fat Daddy's At the Fair

Funny thing  depending on where you go, some places have no idea what Pit Beef is, so here I still do Pit Beef, but I have to call it Roast Beef, and make a special au' jus for it.  Of course my Texas Style has my special barbecue sauce on it.  I didn't mind selling late into the night because the weather finally cooled down.

So good you could just slice yourself a big fat sandwich right now! I love the way the tents looked at night with this little festival!  Every year, I feed the same folks, and I appreciate them dining with me for all these years!

I only have seven more weeks on the road thank goodness. Then winter comes and I can take a small break and get myself back in shape for next year.  

If you need Big Fat Daddy's for a fair or festival, contact me 717-793-2124 or 410-908-9241!

Olde York Street Fair Mother's Day Bell Socialization Services

It's that time of year again where I call on my family and friends to donate their Mother's day to help raise money for a good cause. We all get together and run food stands for Bell Socialization Services who run the Bell Family Shelter in the city of York PA. They offer THIRTY DAY Temporary shelter for the homeless or those needing to regain their independence.  No one offers that anymore. Good shelters are hard to find.

I've know people who have received help from the Shelter (one woman who took her kids and fled her abusive husband) and they gave her the tools she needed to go start a new life.  She's now got her own apartment, job and new safe haven.

Bell Socialization Services, is simply put, amazing and I'm glad to be their partner every Mother's day for decades now. Come out and eat with us in York Pennsylvania on the corner of Market and George and know your purchase is helping Bell.

Rain or Shine I'll be cooking up some barbecue for you and I look forward to seeing my fans from Pennsylvania.  Here are some of the menu selections



Texas Beef / Pit Beef dry rubbed with some CF Sauer Spice and my Special Dry Rub
Pork BBQ
Turkey Legs
Angus Burgers
Smoothies
Lemonade
Limeade
Orangeade
Crab Dip in a Bread Boule!  you know you want some!
Gyros
Nick's Ferrante' Brothers Italian Sausage (Hatfield)
Cheesesteak
Funnel Cakes
Deep Fries Oreos

What are you waiting for?   This is a tradition. Come up and say HI.

Update: Thanks to YOUR support we raised over $1000 for Bell woot woot!

East Coast West Coast Eats Something to Chew On

Barbecue Mayhem

Have you ever stopped to think that you can taste a thousand different barbecues up and down the East Coast yet all will taste delicious but no two alike? Certainly this is due to different ways of cooking and different spices, sauces, woods uses, etc.

Big Fat Daddy's pit beef is premarinated with dry rub.Learn all about dry rub here.

Where's the Beef?

Problem is I often wonder about the whole East Coast vs West Coast ways of cooking. Let's take beef for instance. I bet a steak in Texas is cooked totally different than a steak in Maryland.  This means you may not care for a sirloin in your home town but visit a different state and see how they prepare, marinate, or cook it and you may just change your tune.

I'm unsure if the West Coast knows anything about Baltimore Pit Beef and Dry Rubbing.  Now I don't know, I've not been to California to see if they have pit beef stands so I'm curious to know what I may be missing.  Some other states call it London Broil which is another version of Pit Beef in a way, as they are cooking and slicing the same darn way, but not sure if most use the dry rub.

Seafood Surprise

Maryland crab cakes taste totally different than Pennsylvania crab cakes which taste altogether different than New Jersey crab cakes. I often wonder how you can change a recipe so much when it really only calls for a few items? I suppose it's all based on where you grew up, what you are used to eating, and how you like it made. Maryland eats hot crab dip but in Virginia they look at me like I have three heads when I try to sell it down there.  

My wife loves lobster salad, but only in Old Orchard Beach, Maine--no two places seem to make it the same!

I'm all for shrimp but I would not be a cowering pile of fluff if someone invited me to an old fashioned Crawfish Chow Down where the scary little buggers still had their heads on. That is one big old countrified HELL NO for me.

Red and White Hot Dogs

I guess you can chalk it up to red and white hot dogs.  In Maine the red casing hot dogs are made with lamb and beef and taste yummy, and are pretty common around there.  Rochester and upstate New York has Zweigles (pop open) totally white hot dogs.

Courtesy of ErinCooks.com , the Maine red hot dog.

Now I grew up in Baltimore where the Esskay plant is, and we didn't have all these fancy gourmet colors and varieties.  I feel like I got shorted. Make sure to catch the article over at ErinCooks.com about the red hot dogs.

Are You Hungry Yet? 

If not this will sure make you hungry,  check out the Best Restaurants in Los Angeles. There's some great reviews of five local restaurants over at Barrys Tickets and I hope to visit them real soon as I think that Father's Burger is calling my name. Sites like this are very informative when you are planning a trip. Best to check out what local food reviews are and consult with local yocals  who write articles and know exactly what you MUST eat when you are in their town.   Yum.  See, I think I am missing some things on the West Coast. 

Road Trip 

So I think it's awesome to think about what foods you may be missing out on. My advice? Travel often and sample lots of local foods.

  
I want to hear about your regional favorite food, something you get in your state that just isn't prepared the same elsewhere! Let me know Tweet me @BigFatDaddys

Happy Holidays From Big Fat Daddy's

Happy Holidays to you and yours.  I'm celebrating thirty years of grilling this holiday season. I can't imagine how many pounds of beef I've seared to hell and back but it's gotta look something like the size of Delaware.  Just to put things into perspective for you, the Kansas City Barbecue Society is celebrating their 25th year, having officially started in 1986. Baltimore's Pit Beef Row wasn't on the map until 1999-2000.  Some states still don't know what pit beef is.  Others think it's barbeque and it's not.  Stay tuned for some exciting new things for 2012....but for now, I'm enjoying some time off for the winter. See you soon.

 

Done for the season enjoying a big ass cookout with our friends.