Farm to Table: Sourcing the BBQ2U Menu Ingredients

Where does our Pit Master Gary Parker, source the wood that creates the magical smoke for the meats BBQ2U serves? How do we source the other fresh menu ingredients? There are bound to be some good stories here. Listen in.

#FarmtoTable #BBQ2U 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hola. Good afternoon, Facebook and YouTube community. I'm here with uh Gary Parker. My name is Jennifer Noreen. We do this every month. And uh how's it going, Gary?

SPEAKER_01 0:11

It's going great. How's it going with you?

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Uh it's good. Is that an actual flag or is that something that you set up through your computer?

SPEAKER_01 0:19

That's something I set up for my computer. You can always tell them something really quick. You can see stuff behind me.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Yeah, kind of phasing it out. It's cool though. I'm liking it.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

That's my favorite background.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Is that the state of Kentucky? Mississippi.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Like you know, like you know the answer to that.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah, I know. I think I'm the only one that came to work today with a sparkly shirt and a police coat on. I'm sure that there's not very many other Northwest women that but you can take the woman out of the South, but you can't take the South out of a woman, isn't that how it goes?

SPEAKER_01 0:48

I know. Um yeah, let's go with that.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, we used to we used to dress up at work and and we're celebrating today, so I'm wearing my celebration sparkly shirt. Sparkling shirt. Yes, because someone has become the citizen of the year for Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce. You know who that is?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Yeah, there we go. Where's it at? Where's my camera at? There it is. There it is. We won. We won citizen of the year. Yes, we did. And we got that for all the foreign stuff you see me talking about here all the time.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

So and how the heck did that happen? What happened?

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Well, you know, that's um um you get your nominations, right? By everybody writing in, telling you what uh telling you, uh telling stories about you and the stuff you did for them, and then uh that goes into a committee, a private committee, uh past winners, and they review the three top candidates, and uh then you find out at the gala, right, who wins. So it's it's a big drama thing. We all stand up, you know, drum rolls, all that kind of stuff. Lots of fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Did you think do you think you did more service this year, or do you think your service just was more visible to the community this year?

SPEAKER_01 2:00

It's a little bit of both, a little bit of both, right? So we did a lot more. There were a lot more bigger events that um the uh for one reason or another, um, people that would uh commit to funding or backing or sponsoring these things uh would back out at the last minute. We did a lot of diving catches for some of our uh organizations around the town. Uh Pacific Youth Orchestra was one of them. Um the uh uh police department's national night out was another one uh that we jumped into fixed. And um, so there was a lot of those kind of things along with our normal um, you know, buying things for kids at school, supporting booster clubs, supporting authors, supporting seniors. Um, you know, that long litany list of things that uh that we like to keep our hands in.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yeah, and you had just some of your standard programs like collecting receipts for the high school and the teens, and I'm sure you're still giving your some hamburger to the rescue mission and all these things you've been doing for a long time, plus some new things. Um, so yeah, that's exciting. I think um I think you enjoy these things, otherwise, I don't think you would do them. Uh, whenever you visit with Gary, try to get time with him. Uh he's so busy and it's not it's sometimes it's barbecue to you work, but oftentimes it has nothing to do with his problems, but everything to do with the community. So uh we'll have to we'll have to dig deeper on some of those newer developments in another video. Um, because I know there's some things to share. But um today we wanted to talk about farm to table, how the ingredients of the barbecue to you restaurant are sourced. And I think some of this will surprise some of our audience. And um, I think it's great information to share. I know it's something that you love to talk about. So um we want to talk about the meats, uh the wine, the candy, and the beer. We're gonna focus on those things.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Um what's that? And the wood. You said wood.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Oh, that's right. The meat, the wood that makes the meat delicious, and the other items. So tell me about the meat that barbecue to serves and where it is from. Where is it forced from?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yeah, because as you can tell, uh, we're gonna talk a lot about meat because we are a barbecue joint, and you you know, um, you know, we do a little bit of vegetable stuff here, but uh, but it's not like you know, uh, your gourmet restaurants and stuff that do farm to table with vegetables and things. But no, uh the meat or the center-of-the-plate proteins, um, to me are are really uh um really important to try to get those as um close to farm to table as you can get. And it's and the name is a little bit deceiving, it's not literally farm to table, right? There's a process that meat follows, right? And you gotta be very aware of it. Um we use as you're showing there on the screen, we use a uh we use a company callie uh meat, which uh has a has four particular brands. Um and um um and we use the same headlines brand here. Uh sometimes we use their Double Ranch uh version, which is uh is a little bit great about this one. But uh the way this works, these are these are grain-fed and grass-fed cows, right? Uh they they the herds are uh independent ranchers from the local area, right? So for us, the local area can be um the southern part of Canada, all the way to Washington, Oregon, these kinds of things, right? Um they're all raised a particular way. They're uh they're largely grain-fed. Um, you know, a lot of grass feed. So when they're born, you know, they grass feed for X number of years, they go on grain. Um, and then when they're being prepared for the um uh being prepared to go to market or go to market, right? They are fattened up on corn, um, sometimes potato, but mostly corn. Uh those are the two high starches that um that the cows are given. Um they're uh and then I'll contrast this in a minute. But um, and so then they're you know, once they reach a certain weight, then they're euphemized and processed into into eventually into case meats, and of course, high-by briskets and beef ribs and and these kinds of things off this brand. Um, you know, but what's neat about this company is uh it's it's local, you know, you know, relatively speaking, it's uh it's all about the ranchers, and you know, it's not big business, it's not Tyson, right? And uh or Swift or one of the one of these bigger places, right? So what's really the difference there? Uh the difference is in in those larger ones, the Tyson ranches, or the the Tyson products or the or the Swifts or the National. Um, those are feedlots. That's the that's that quintessential thing that you see. These cows are tenned up, you know, they're just they're just fed, whatever, they're injected with steroids. There's all these kinds of things that go on in the meat industry uh to fatten these things up so they can get every pound they can. You know, it's not really being about quality meat. Um and uh and they take them out to euphemise them, and you know, they'll you know, you see that stuff in a lot of the big brand stores, right? And it you know, it kind of looks the same. You can't tell the difference really, but the the quality of the meat, the nutritional value of the meat um is so much higher uh when they when they're allowed to mature normally and um because they are uh restoring or um renewable resource, right? But you've got to raise them right, you've got to have respect for the animal, you've got to have respect for um for the whole process, right? Keep it clean, keep it um you know, keep it healthy, and and uh everybody wins that way, right? Um, you know, and and I bring up the the big the big companies, um it really drives me crazy because we can't do this with pork, chicken, or turkey, right? And when you study those processes, it's so commoditized these days. Um I mean it's uh yeah, you you'll hear a little bit of talk about chicken and being cage-free and this kind of stuff, but you know, in the millions of tons of meat that that are served to America, right? They're basically raised in these big farmhouses in these cages until they hit a certain weight, they process, right? And they show up in your in your supermarket or your or your restaurant, right? And uh there is no true farm to table, you know, aspect of those things that uh that really can supply the uh uh the same kind of um bulk or uh or volume, you know, that the beef industry has set up so that they can still feed America, but at the same time, um you know, let the cows be happy cows and grow naturally, right? That all makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

It does. So it sounds like you have a special opportunity with beef to to really source it from practices that you feel good about, and you wish that your turkey, chicken, and other meats could be sourced the same way, but it's just not possible. So um, and I know that you are always trying to deliver a great affordable product, and I know that plays into things as well. So um it's good to know that you're sourcing from quality, quality sources for the meats.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Um, we don't have any questions on meats, so we're gonna move on to the uh thing I also think I want to put a favor that the the only thing, you know, this is this is how most of us do this um uh with with this particular grain of meat. If you really want to get crazy, um, you know, there's also the wagyu, all right, which is raised even more natural. Um, but those are particular that's you know, that's cross-breeding and species type management type stuff. Um, and then there's a couple others that um that are out there, but they're also uh technically fall under the definition I just gave you a far in the table, where that's a very respected process for the animal.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

All righty. Well, we're gonna talk about um one of my favorite topics next, and that is the oak, the post oak that you use to get that amazing smoke. And uh because I spent 15 years in Texas, I'm very familiar with these trees, and I love sharing this information. Here's some pictures. I remember an oak tree in the park by where I lived in New Bromples that literally was supported by a cement block that was like four feet by four feet. It was holding up the tree that was like a I swear the main branch was like a foot and a half or two feet wide. It was just something to be seen, you know. That the oaks in Texas are definitely a marker of the look and feel of Texas. And I think it's super cool that uh Gary sources the meat or the wood from Texas, and then I'm just so familiar with how beautiful these trees are. So, but they are I hope I'm talking about the same tree. Is this a special?

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Oh, yes, you have to be careful with the larger tree, like like you're showing on their post of typically grows in a grove. Um, and uh and they'll they're long and they're strain, and um, yeah, they're about the size of a of a big fence post, right? Um a lot of times uh these are usually mistaken. There's a version, there's a species of this, it's very complicated. Um, but sometimes their live oak and things like that get mistaken for post oak. And um and so uh but post oaks for the most part they'll grow in the groves, right? And um, you can see it if you've ever do a road trip across Texas, right? That almost as soon as you hit the border, right? Um, you'll see just these uh these small oak trees that are lining the fence rows and they're just everywhere, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

They really are.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

It's like you can't really you can't really uh get away from them. And uh we clear them all the time. We we clear you know millions of trees, you know, to make room for cattle and and this kind of stuff. And um, and so that wood's all available and um um they're fast growing and so on and so forth. But um, yeah, they uh um and so they just have millions and millions of cords of this wood. And so some of us in the barbecue world, you know, we'll we we love buying that stuff. We we actually bring it from Texas, yeah. Actually, the sources are Mexico, Texas, and um in Oklahoma, um, depending on who's cutting where right at the moment, and um and so we'll love that uh you know the our uh broker, um because it's not only me and the other barbecue guys, it's also the wood fired pizza guys, and and so you know that use a lot of this wood. And so we bring the stuff in by the train load, right? And um, in fact, our broker sits right on the train tracks in South Seattle, and um so they'll come up and they'll drop the cars off of the big cargo containers, and you know, each cargo container's got a different species of cooking wood in it, and and so we all have our our favorite um that we pull from there. But that's how we actually get it up here, right? That's you can imagine that's a huge expense, right? It'd be it would be so much, so much easier, right? Just to get some local arborists to uh you know to give us you know a lot of this allur and stuff like that that's cut down as as these places clear um you know clear areas for neighborhoods and so forth, that would be so much cheaper, so much easier, but it wouldn't be authentic, right? And um, and so if we're really gonna call ourselves a Texas barbecue joint, we need to cook with Texas wood, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Yeah, so without going deep into the different flavors, because I know you have a lot of things you say about the different flavors of wood and why you choose post hook, but what is the distinct flavor of this tree and why you use that for smoking as opposed to something else?

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Um, this one's got a really good blend of um bitters um associated with it. Um if you want to go real far down the bitter scale, uh a lot of the guys that uh that cook with pecan will go down uh go down that path because that's super bitter. It'll uh if you put raw pecan on your tongue, it's like a really dry wine. It just dries you out, right? Because it's so much bitters in it. Um post oak is a nice cross. What you get is a flavor that's kind of a cross between um between uh hickory and uh in the bitters of an oak, right? And so it's it's um that's that's mice center, that's the way I describe it, right? Um but uh and so it's a much more blended flavor, and it works really well with when you just have salt and pepper, right? That you're glowing.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yeah, it's pretty simple. What makes that flavor of the brisket? I know it's the salt, and you know, when a lot of it's the smoking and the way that you cook it, it's less about the ingredients, it's really more about for the meats anyway. It seems like it's more about the how than it is the what goes into it. So um, so yeah, it's fascinating. So um, what about some of the other things? I know your meats are your are the star of the menu, definitely the brisket and turkey and pork and sausage, but um, what are the other products that you have in the store that that are you know kind of endearing to you? And and can you tell us a little bit about them? So I know you have some wine, candy, and there's a beer selection.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Yeah, so let's we're talking about the candy first. Everybody has seen the um the Texas two week pralines in here, right? That's another one of those special kind of things. Uh, you know, pecan is certainly you know uh you know a Texas product. Um, everybody makes things out of pecan down there. Um, you know, and so we bring that straight in from Texas. And that's also um the history of that one as um that was a local uh local business. It's still a local business. Um it was formed in the 1800s, late 1800s, when Cotters Avenue, which is the street that the Capitol of Texas is on, uh, was was originally developed. It used to be lined with these big pecan trees, right? And um, and so you can imagine the old time. I mean, this is 1800 1800 stuff. So you get this you get this big road cut down from the Capitol all the way down to the Colorado River, which you know we call Town Lake now, um, all lined to these gigantic um pecan trees. And so this business guy was pretty smart. He knew how to do um, he knew how to make caramel, right? Naturally, and um, and so he would go out and pick up all the pecans that would fall down on the street, right? Down in the he created he created the Texas Chiwi Prey Link, right? And so uh everything here is natural. Um still it's still Texas pecans that go in it, and we go to the extra effort to uh to we are the Washington vendor uh for uh fruit lambs candies that still makes this today, and um and uh so we're we're kind of a distributor for them and we like selling it here in the store for that reason. So that's another example of an organic local business uh farm to table kind of concept, right? That's uh that we do it and it's not always obvious. Coming back into Washington, um my favorite here, uh Mary Ellen Houston over at uh Olala Wines. Um this is another local winemaker who has a really high-end, uh, really nice uh wine collection, wonderful tasting room out in um uh out in out of Washington. And um uh she has a uh we do you know we do some events out there. Matter of fact, our next event out there is gonna be in, I think it's July. Right. We're we're uh hosting a chamber event um out at uh Olala Winery. Yeah, so uh lots of fun there. Another great local business. Again, she grows a lot of grapes um and she processes and makes a lot of really wonderful wines. And so I want you know, we try to keep that theme going through you know a large part of our menu. You know, okra is one, um, you know, the fried okra that everybody talks about up here because you can't get it up here like you can back home. Um, I mean that stuff is made, comes out of or grown out of Mexico for me, right? And uh we bring a uh a particular uh particular one in, right? Um you know, we still do the bluebell ice cream, which is the uh um you know out of Brendan, Texas. Uh we have the uh you know we only sell one kind of beer in that Shiner Box that comes out of uh Shiner, Texas. Um you know I'm trying to think what else what else am I forgetting?

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Um I think you got it. So Shiner Box. So why do you only carry one selection of beer? Is it mostly because that's the one you love?

SPEAKER_01 18:11

I would carry uh trying to carry only Texas products in here. That's another kind of thing of being genuine. Um I would carry Lone Star if I could, but you know, Lone Star won't license anybody outside the uh outside the the boundary of Texas, right? So uh unfortunately I can't carry that in the store, but uh but uh but I can't get uh I can get Shiner and uh can license it. So um we've got a distributor that brings that in for us. And it's a great beer. You know, one of my one of my favorite things about Shiner is I'm trying to introduce Washington to the fact that there's something other than IPA to drink, right? Uh yeah, right. I mean Washington because of the hops and everything being grown here, um, you know, IPA it's like like well, that's a beer, right? But you know, you have things like China, which is a bot, you have um uh lagers, you have the talk, other kinds of beers that uh that are made around the country, and um so for those who uh you know have lived or grown in tech grown up or Texas, right? And you want that flavor, you know where to come get it now for them to keep that thing stock in here.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Yeah, so everything from uh your meats, the wood, the wine, the candy, the beer, is there anything else that's kind of interesting where it's sourced from? Any other stories?

SPEAKER_01 19:28

I'll probably think about it here afterwards. I can't keep track of the whole menu.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

We can follow up on this topic next video. Um, we're gonna wrap for today and get an update on philanthropy uh in a couple weeks from you. Um, but thank you, Gary, for sharing what's going on at the restaurant and um a little bit about how the ingredients of your food are sourced. So we'll be talking to you again in a couple weeks.