Now it is some days after my holiday BBQ and I was invited to the home of one our fellow BBQ Pit Masters, Claudio Reck, and that brings us to the real meat, and the source of inspiration of the whole holiday story business.

Claudio has become an accomplished BBQ man, Pit Master, over the past couple of years and his daughter and son are following in his footsteps so it’s a great pleasure to chow down with the man and his family.

What I saw on arrival was quite a contract to most BBQ pits I see. It was an inexpensive, home made pig pit and a pair of pernils tied on to a varita, and Claudio was hand cranking the meat so it has a divine roasted skin and great color. Here is a  picture of the pit.  

Now what I found so cool was how he made this pit, so simple, inexpensive, and it totally breaks down into 6 or 8 pieces, and lays flat for storage until you want to do another pig roast. Claudio took some scrap angle iron about one inch by one inch and screwed it to the sheet metal at the corners. That makes it very ridged and sturdy when all four corners are screwed together. You can lay a sheet on the ground to place your coals on and one sheet on the top and wala! You have jiffy pit for under $50.00 bucks. And I tell you this is a good little pig cooker.  What’s cool about that is it isn’t how fancy your equipment is, it isn’t how much it cost, or even how it looks.  You can get great results, and excellent BBQ no matter how much it cost.  It’s not the cost but the cook, and the seasoning that counts.

The proof is in the pudding, so they say, and theory held up darn well at Claudio’s house.  The finished product was beautiful and so darn tasty too.

Jeannine’s Pernil Seasoning

Salt / pepper/ lots of fresh garlic / & oregano.  Rub that baby real well with the rub mixture.  It will be kind of like a paste when you mix the ingredients together. Poke holes and pack the seasoning deep in the pernil.
 
Claudio makes a great sancocho with the leftover pork.Claudio says "The smoky flavor gave it an incredible flavor." "A sancocho is basically a soup with lots of roots, meats (I used the pork and some kielbasa) and
vegetables and it is a great meal."

Claudio Reck
President
Vista Systems, Inc.
(787) 728-1074