Another Pit Beef Review

Photo Credit: Chicagopossee, see more photos by Dominic Arrmato in the article

Found this great article on pit beef written over at Skillet Doux back in 2007 talking about two pit beef places in Baltimore. Now it's been awhile so I don't know if the red bus over in Halthorpe is still there but really Chaps' review was right on. Makes me want pit beef for breakfast that sandwich looks so good. Yummy.  Finally, something good written about pit beef and I don't see it being called barbecue. Don't get too excited. The sandwich looks way better than the review.

What's Pit Beef

Somehow I found this heavy metal death screaming rock band has a song out called "What's Pit Beef?"  The group is called A Textbook Tragedy.  You can listen to the song here, if you can figure out what it is they are saying.  This really doesn't help people realize that Pit Beef is an East Coast Specialty food, in fact it just creates more confusion. I suppose it it just another tragedy in pit beef land.

Great Pit Beef Recipe

Want this sandwich ? Go visit Mr. JW Johnson and make it your darn self!

Mr. JW Johnson has it going on when you are talking pit beef. He's from Delmar, Maryland (that is down on the Eastern Shore in case you don't know) but unlike others from out of Baltimore, this guy knows what the heck he's talking about.  Unlike others.  He loves to cook and made sure to clarify that in Baltimore there's not batbecue but pit beef. Thank goodness for that.  Unlike some others who are still referring to it as barbecue. Come on folks!  I totally approve his article and yes, this yummy sandwich you see above, thinly sliced and piled high with thinly sliced onions IS what pit beef is all about.  You can read his article and recipe here.

Another Pit Beef Recipe from Maryland

This photo from the Glen Burnie Patch, courtesy of www.Grilling24x7.com

I caught this recipe pop up from the Glen Burnie Patch where you can make your own pit beef at home for Memorial Day by contributor John. First, the recipe sounds great and you should check it out because John is indeed a grilling fool. 

However, I have to give him an overall thumbs down for presentation. Being a  connoisseur of all things pit beef meat, I have to say I am appalled the above photo was used.  First off, it looks more like a half inch thick steak than a real sliced thin pit beef. Methinks someone has their slicer set on SUPER THICKNESS.  And those onions? Please, where is the paper thin?  John, check your slicer and get back to us, we just pulled out a filling.

Pork in the Park Big Fat Daddy's Pit Beef

Right below the Big Fat Daddy's Texas Beef sign is the regular pit beef sign.

I had to drive all the way from Baltimore just to go to the Salisbury Pork in the Park which is a Kansas City BBQ festival to savor some of Big Fat Daddy's famous Pit Beef.  I have to say it was worth the drive.  Ironically I think the owner is somehow trying to dissociate himself from Balmer, Hon, because his sign called it Texas Pit Beef (with all the fixin's.) 

I stopped to ask presumably his wife (a chunky but saucy blonde) why it didn't say "Baltimore's Best Pit Beef."  She winked and replied, "Honestly, he's up and down the East Coast and only in Baltimore do they really know what pit beef is.  We do serve it as Baltimore pit beef which comes plain, or you can get it Texas style pit beef which is actual lathered up in hickory bbq sauce." 

Hey BFD, if you guys read this and  contact me I'll send you this photo!

Oh, so there went the dilemma. So I had to decide did I want to go with what I knew to be true or try this new improved Texas style.  I immediately voted against the Texas Style because my whole point is that pit beef is not bbq so decision made.  The bigger problem now was they have upgraded from a kaiser roll to 6" sub roll so I wanted to make sure I could eat the whole thing.  I stuck with what I knew, and did the regular pit beef, put my horsey on top. Instead of raw onions I opted for some fried (thinly sliced), and oh how good it was.  After a few brewski's I returned to try the Texas Beef. Darn if it's wasn't just as good but an altogether different taste .  It's not wonder Big Fat Daddy's has a following from fair to fair.  I am sad to report I could try the Texas CheeseSteak because I was stuffed. 

By the way they are starting to blog now. 

Don't Call Pit Beef Barbecue

This photo courtesy of George's blog "tasty good times", where he visited Chap's pit beef in 2008.

Pit beef is not barbecue. I want to scream that from the rooftops and of course I see it mislabled and misinterpreted again and again. I should point out this time how upset I was to read it on the "E how Foods" website entitled "How to Make Pit Beef" by Maria Schinto. I should say the author did manage to duplicate a dry seasoning recipe and horseradish recipe perfectly (with no apparent citing---to me it looks as if it has an uncanny resemblance to a NY Times article by Steven Raichlein) she refers to it as Barbecue. I don't consider it a type of barbeque but maybe because so many people have given it that name that is why she is referring to it. Then again, her warning says not to eat too much pit beef or you will get a tummy ache. That's pretty inaccurate, you will never get sick of this grub.

It's beef. On the pit.  Pit + beef = pit beef. Period. Why is that so hard for people to understand? The key here is that  I'm from Balmer, Hon and I know all about pit beef.  Basically we Balti-morons like to set wood afire and burn the hell out of meat that has been marinated in dry rub seasonings, slice it thin and top it with horsey sauce blends, thinly sliced onions and any other way we see fit.

Not you get those people that try to do their own pit beef, and they grill it too fast or on too high a temperature and it dries out and it's ruined. Real pit beef should be moist and melt in your mouth but cooked thoroughly!  Now I've also seen where some morons will have the outside edges burnt to hell and the inside a mooing mess. I'm all for rare but watch as you may get the shits.  Then you have the cheaters that think by slicing their dried out rock o'meat paper thin that you won't notice how it tastes like cardboard.

You must practice and you must know your meat.  The pages of this site will talk about beef, and only pit beef, which again, as we have established, is not bbq!

Good Reciipe and Great Pit Beef Photos

I just happened across this old article and recipe on pit beef here. The article is posted on "Food Nerd"by Henry Hong and thank goodness he is smart enough to clarify that Pit Beef is indeed NOT barbeque. That's all I needed to see...

Oh, but wait, there's some great mouthwatering photos of pit beef with blood dripping out of it. Henry doesn't condone the mayo on it which I will have to agree to disagree, but hey, it is definitely worth a look see.

Since I'm a pit beef fanatic I do have to state here that yet again we have someone referencing THE original 2000 NY Times pit beef article with Big Fat Daddy's in it.  I do not undersatnd why if someone has questions they don't contact the original writer of the article or the subject that the article is about.  I am in agreement with the first few words of this article, that "pit beef is not barbecue" and I so appreciate someone taking the time to get this right, so I'm not going to complain.

Go read it, read it now. Great recipe!