Ryne Dennis|Athens Banner-Herald
Being labeled a pitmasteris a bit vague in its characterization.
There’s no official school or program one completes to achieve mastery.
No crown or diploma or plaque comes with being apitmaster, it just takes time.
Andusually therespect from others after tasting barbecue that’s been seasoned well and smoked for the right amount of time over a wood pit.
“Honestly, I think other people are going to call someone apitmastermore than anybody doing it is going to label themselves,” said Chuck Ramsey, owner andpitmasterat Pulaski Heights BBQ in Athens, Georgia. “Most people are going to say that they’re learning something every day and not a masterof anything.”
Vote now in Round 3: Best barbecue in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia brackets
More on Southeast BBQ
By definition, literally, apitmaster is "a person who oversees the cooking done in a barbecuepit:a professional or skilledbarbecue," according to Merriam-Webster.
Essentially, like most tasks one attempts to perfect, it takes a lot of time to hone the skills needed to excel.
Pitmasters like Ramsey, who began as a chef in an upscale restaurant, cooked because they loved it. Ramsey began cooking on Weber kettle grills before advancing to the Big Green Egg. After using both devices whilecatering for larger weddings — which he admitted was a nightmare scenario for cooking BBQ — Ramsey opened his own restaurant. He has since graduatedup to a largesmokerthat he has perfected while cooking over white oak wood.
“Apitmaster, I think to achieve mastery at anything, you have to do something, what do they say, like 10,000 hours or something?” saidpitmasterAlejandro Tamez, owner of Tamez BBQ in Athens.“I’m for sure notthereyet, but I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Blazing their own trail: Meet the star women pitmasters of Georgia barbecue
Newnan, Georgia, pitmasterTina Cannon equates being apitmasterwith sculpting or splashing paint across a canvas.While someone can be good at them, they’ll work for years to perfect their craft.
“It's like asking how a person becomes an artist,” said Cannon. “You just start painting, right? I jumped in headfirst and feet first, and had the tenacity to keep doing it."
Wade Fowler, owner of Fowler’s Southern Gourmet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, doesn’t proclaim the title ofpitmaster, he says, because he uses electricity to light the wood in a large oven that he cooks in.
Most argue that it doesn’t change the flavor of the meat, but he believes there are certain dos and don’ts when it comes to earning the pitmastermoniker.
"I think if you're apitmaster, you're doing it on the pit,” Fowler said. "The true pit guys are really good. They're craftsmen."
Also: Five Georgia BBQ restaurants with lip-smacking sauces worth visiting this summer
No matter how one gains the title ofpitmaster, the community is a close group who have earned respect from others because of the great taste of their food.
There are evenpitmastermemberships, forums forpitmastersto discuss food and even meet-and-greets wherethey candiscuss their delicious crafts.
“I think overall on the food scene there’s a tight-knit community,” said Tamez. “I’m sure it’s even tighter when you’re just talking aboutpitmasters, but in the food world and the food scene, you start hearing about the same names and the respect of those people and so, yeah, there’s definitely a culture to it and people know about it. There’s definitely a community there, for sure.”
And debate ragesin the community about whether to burn the wood ofpecan or oak, hickory or mesquite, andwhat the perfect temperature and length of time are to get the perfectly juicy and flavorful piece of meat.
And: As barbecue booms, Black Southern pitmasters claim their rightful place
Most timesthe answer is "whatever works best for you."
While they’re all close to perfection, evenpitmasterswill admit that they’realwaystrying to make it better.
“It’s really just focusing on the smoke and on the wood and just being a part of it, doing it all day,” Tamez said. “Being really about that is what makes you apitmaster, or a pit cooker. Maybe, one day, you can achieve mastery."
Jacob Pucci (The Fayetteville Observer) and Andrew Shearer (Athens Banner-Herald) contributed to this article.
