Pig pickin' in South Carolina - or how I spent my Father's Day Weekend.
We are currently in Charleston, South Carolina with our number two son and his family. Tyler is a real estate agent and works with the illustrious "Mama Liz" at Agent Owned Realty in Mt. Pleasant.
He's also a fine cook and started our weekend off with a home made "low country boil" - shrimp, small new potatoes, corn on the cob, sausages, crab legs, and lots of butter for dipping.
Tyler's wife Nancy comes from one of the great barbecue dynasties in the state and this weekend was our chance to indulge in the day long activity that is roasting a whole pig. On Saturday, Tyler, Ethan (my four year old grandson) and I headed out about 7am to pick up the pig and then on up towards Summerville and Nancy's parents.
There, on the shores of the lake that backs to the house and in the shade of stately pines, was a stainless steel kitchen on wheels, a grill on steroids, a tribute to the caveman who invented fire. This folks, is a serious ode to barbecue.
We put the pig on about 8:30am - no salt, no seasoning, no nothing - and there it stayed until 2:30pm.
Then it was time to turn the pig, pull out the ribs, and cook for about another hour or so. Then came the real test, it was time to pull the pork.
With long tongs and about three sets of hands, every meaty morsel, dripping with juice, was pulled from the bone and piled high in the interior. Then bottles of home made barbecue sauce - not too sweet, not too tangy - were poured on, turned and mixed and left to rest.
On the other grill, the ribs got a last minute sear. Up in the house cousins, friends, uncles, aunts, politicos, etc. were gathering - it was time to start the pig pickin'.
Add some cole slaw, potato rolls, slow cooked beans, mac and cheese, pickles, rice, hash, corn on the cob, strawberry cake, bread pudding, chocolate pudding, blackberry/peach/coconut squares, a vat of sweet tea and you've got yourself a feast.
And that my friends is how I spent my Father's Day Weekend - at a pig pickin' in South Carolina with loved ones.
Just to round out the weekend, we are going to the beach today and then on to a luau with old family friends. Home tomorrow!
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