First Day Low and Slow: Digging and Rib Prep

Itinerary for Day One

  • Orientation: Van Meter Hall and today’s schedule
  • Set up Remind
  • Unload bricks
  • Dig barbacoa pit and line with bricks
  • Gather kindling
  • Make rib rub
  • Make-your-own BBQ sauce contest
  • Trim and rub ribs
  • Unload and stack firewood
  • Day one blog

We arrived to Van Meter Hall at 8:30 a.m. and went over the plan for the day and set up our Remind app to communicate with each other. Then we gathered materials to dig our hole for the lamb to cook in. Unfortunately, the digging posed some difficulties. The bottom of the hole was not flat, walls kept collapsing, and the bricks lining the walls were not staying up. However, with some problem solving, we ending up finishing the hole, and it looks amazing. We even had to scavenge materials from the basement of the building to construct a cover for the pit that won’t leak. While some were digging, others were making the rib rub.

The last thing we did before lunch was a BBQ sauce contest. We formed groups and each had about 20 minutes to create custom sauces using a range of preexisting condiments and spices. After lunch, each sauce was blindly rated by MA and Dan. At the end of the day, we trimmed bone fragments off the ribs and covered them in rub. We’ll be cooking those in the charcoal smoker on Monday (while we also build a big wood fire in the pit for our underground barbacoa lamb). To get ready for that, we had to unload and stack firewood donated by teacher Ailsa Moriuchi.

2024 Programs, Low & Slow BBQ 2024