Big Beef Blowout - Early California Pit Beef BBQ

[Moose]

I bookmarked this a few years ago - it's by Professor Salt, a SoCal Brethren:

19th century California cattle ranchers threw massive beef barbecue parties that lasted for days and fed hundreds of thousands of guests. At a time before refrigeration allowed for distant shipments of fresh meat, California ranchers raised cattle primarily for their hides and tallow. The meat was a byproduct, and these parties were a way to get rid of all of it in one big, beef blowout. More HERE.

Turns out our new place has a subterranean firepit that might be ideal to try this. If anyone has experience cooking meat below ground, any tips would be appreciated!

 

[landarc]

Fly me down. I used to watch the Mexican laborers cook like this on our nursery. Mostly I remember my dad getting drunk with them. BobBrisket knows how to cook like this.

 

[Moose]

Fly me down. I used to watch the Mexican laborers cook like this on our nursery. Mostly I remember my dad getting drunk with them. BobBrisket knows how to cook like this.

Actually, I'm seriously considering this for the mid Sept SoCal Brethren Bash - I hope you'll join us!

 

[Enkidu]

I am so down for that!

 

[Yellowhair42]

I once cooked a BBQ sauce injected pork shoulder in a pit I made.I dug a hole in the back yard about three feet in diameter and two feet deep.Then lined it with softball sized rocks and had extra rocks around the perimiter.Then built a big quick burning fire with sticks to get as hot as possible in a short time.I let it burn for two hours and took out most of the coals.I prepped the shoulder by wrapping it in many layers of corn stalk leaves that I had woven into a mats.I placed the meat bundle in the hole and covered it with the extra rocks and then the dirt I dug out.Then covered it with two layers of wet cardboard.I let it sit all day.I think it was in about 10 hours.I was trying to replicate what primitive people without modern equipment would do.I dug it up and it was perfectly slow cooked.I think it would be impossible to over cook.It could have benifitted from being wrapped with an animal skin because all the liquid leaked out but I didn't have one and didn't want to use foil.

 

[V-wiz]

Dude i am SO IN. Ive actually been thinking of doing this in my backyard. Back in the old days this was the method for cooking. Like Tonir BBQ.

 

[HB-BBQ]

Awesome, I have never seen this process beyond the way they cook the hogs at a Luau. I hope someone else comes along with the experience you need to learn from.

 

[landarc]

There is a woman in Los Angeles that was fighting the health department, at least until about 3 years ago, she was selling both Barbacoa de Cabeza and Barbacoa de Cabra (Cabrito?) but, since her "oven" was not certified, she was being shut down.

No kidding though, search the forum, BrisketBob did a cook like this.

 

[Moose]

I once cooked a BBQ sauce injected pork shoulder in a pit I made.I dug a hole in the back yard about three feet in diameter and two feet deep.Then lined it with softball sized rocks and had extra rocks around the perimiter.Then built a big quick burning fire with sticks to get as hot as possible in a short time.I let it burn for two hours and took out most of the coals.I prepped the shoulder by wrapping it in many layers of corn stalk leaves that I had woven into a mats.I placed the meat bundle in the hole and covered it with the extra rocks and then the dirt I dug out.Then covered it with two layers of wet cardboard.I let it sit all day.I think it was in about 10 hours.I was trying to replicate what primitive people without modern equipment would do.I dug it up and it was perfectly slow cooked.I think it would be impossible to over cook.It could have benifitted from being wrapped with an animal skin because all the liquid leaked out but I didn't have one and didn't want to use foil.

Thanks for this.

Your post leaves me wondering how one might wrap the meat in such a way that you don't lose any of the juices. I would imagine heavy duty foil would do the trick. I need to research this some more...I'm probably going to do a trial run before the Sept bash so I don't screw it up.

 

[landarc]

Leaves, like they do in Hawaii. But, I would suggest you consider that using a cotton cloth and then burlap is traditional for a reason, that the meat does not steam to done. If you use leaves, the meat steams and gets that characteristic 'Kalua' textrure. As I recall it, Barbacoa has a drier texture.

What I do remember...the bachelors labor housing had a fire pit made from the rims off of WW2 surplus wheels, stacked 3 deep in the ground.

There were rocks in the bottom, they were river rocks, likely picked up from the creek on our property.

Fire was huge, men were drunk, sometime during the night, burlap sacks were placed on the coals, a metal sheet (yes, glavanized steel) and then the whole thing was covered with dirt. Not sand, or soil, dirt, often kicked onto the metal, along with leaves, cans etc...

Meat was eaten the next day for lunch.

 

[deguerre]

Jeanie does whole hog cooks in the ground doesn't she?

 

[Moose]

Leaves, like they do in Hawaii. But, I would suggest you consider that using a cotton cloth and then burlap is traditional for a reason, that the meat does not steam to done. If you use leaves, the meat steams and gets that characteristic 'Kalua' textrure. As I recall it, Barbacoa has a drier texture.

Excellent point. In the article, it mentions they used top round and shoulder clod. If I'm correct, shoulder clod has a lot more marbling and fat in it than top round, which is really lean. Seems to me it would be better to go with a fattier cut than not.

 

[buccaneer]

I've been to a Maori hungi or three and they used wet burlap sacking too.
Back in the day with rugby mates that was, not in NZ unfortunately...
Fatty mutton was the meat, tender as anything when it was done.
he principles are the same as mentioned, rocks were the heat source used.

 

[gtr]

Excellent point. In the article, it mentions they used top round and shoulder clod. If I'm correct, shoulder clod has a lot more marbling and fat in it than top round, which is really lean. Seems to me it would be better to go with a fattier cut than not.

They carry clod at RD - I can get one there - or - I'll be sliding by Huntington tonight - I'll ask if they ever carry those.

 

[Chezmatt]

This sounds like traditional Mexican barbacoa. There is a great discussion of it (by a current practitioner) in the book "Republic of Barbecue." Of course, he's talking about cooking a steer's head, and waxing poetic about the eyeballs.

 

[Moose]

They carry clod at RD - I can get one there - or - I'll be sliding by Huntington tonight - I'll ask if they ever carry those.

Find out who much they weigh, if you would. Maybe we can do this test run together in the near future.

 

[Hook_Line_and_Sinker]

Look down their "pit". Yea. You UDS owners know that look? Sure looks like a drum buried in the dirt! Rebar would make a nice grid, and a drum lid snapped on before you top it off with dirt, seems like it would work ......