Brisket and Butt on a Santa Maria Type Grill?


 
Steve Whiting

Steve Whiting

TVWBB All-Star
Lately I have become very interested in Santa Maria type grills. I am speaking of the kind that you cook over an open fire, with no lid or top and raise and lower the cooking grate according to how much heat you want your meat exposed to. If I am correct, wasn’t BBQ in its original form cooked over an open fire? So I know that Tri-Tip has been cooked using this type of grill and very successfully I might add and I have seen ribs cooked on this type of grill also but what about big hunks of meat like butts or brisket? Is it possible to cook these meats on an open pit Santa Maria type grill?
 
There's an episode of DDD where they visit a joint in Texas that only cooks over an open pit (think Santa Maria on major steroids). Guy was doing briskets, butts, chicken sausage, you name it he was cooking it over this big open pit with great success. He was also cooking over wood if memory serves me correctly similar to true Santa Maria style.
 
Hi Steve... A definite YES. I have a couple of Belson charcoal grills that have moveable grills. Not the kind on a pulley system but on brackets that have notches. I have used it for tri-tips with great success. I learned to grill large cuts of pork; butts and whole shoulders 50 years ago on mesquite coals in Hawaii. It can be done and the key is fire management. I also do whole hogs (125#)on a spit.

joe
 
Thanks Guys. Larry, I didn't find anything from Triple D on this place but I did find some cool videos. That pit is amazing. I would love to check it out in person.
 
Steve... I saw a "Santa Maria grill" in action at Lake Tahoe about 4 yrs ago. Pretty neat, I am thinking of modifying one of my Belsons cause the arrange now makes it impossible to adjust the grill height by myself.

joe
 
Larry -

You are correct about it being the Salt Lick. I believe that it is the location in Driftwood that has the big pit. I hope to make a trip out there this summer. It was also on the Best Thing I Ever Ate Show BBQ Edition.

Don
 
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