Hickory Coals
 

I grew up in an area that had no shortage of BBQ " joints" and if there was one thing they had in common , it was a barrel to burn down coals. For many years i drove by a joint every morning on my way to work before daylight. You could count on seeing the owner burning coals from a big pile of hickory outside. They had a fire at this place and afterwards the hickory was gone as well as the burn barrel. Before the fire 18 wheelers would be parked along the US Hwy. and the parking lot was full of customers Now the restaurant has a decent business but nothing like it was. When the hickory coals left so did a lot of the customers. I don't know but i believe they are using a gas cooker now. Do you keep on driving if you don't see a wood pile or smell hickory coals burning ? To me hickory and bbq go together and you're not going to sell one without the other.













































































































'

Many restaurants in our are use gas assisted wood burners, pellet cookers, and even some electric smokers. As long as it's smoked and cooked properly maybe it will taste good.

But in the end, it's not the cooker or the type of wood, but the pitmaster that determines the quality of the food.