Slow Cook, Pit BBQ Perfection Is His Gig

Jack Farrell (left) works the pit and helps turn the roast pig with Gerry Grate (right), pit master and owner of Joe Grate's Son's BBQ.

Short of a long drive south for some real Southern cookin’ - here’s a man who knows how to barbecue a pig to mouth-watering, melt-in-your-mouth pork heaven.

Gerry Grate hails from Georgetown, South Carolina (same as First Lady Michelle Obama’s family) - that’s 17 miles south of Myrtle Beach.

He now calls Middletown, Connecticut, home - and works in the corporate world. That is, when he is not pit master to create the marvelous transformation of pig into BBQ pork roasted to glory.

(He gets the pigs, by the way, special ordered from Meadow Meat Company, located in Middletown. That’s one of his sources.)

Grate is “pit master” and owner of Joe Grate’s Son’s BBQ, “Old Time Carolina Pig Pit Cooking” - the company is named in honor of his father.

“I’ve been barbecuing for 20 years, thanks to my dad, Joe Grate,” says Gerry. “My dad was valet for George Vanderbilt, and along with other family was born and raised on Arcadia Plantation in South Carolina. For holidays and special occasions they would roast pigs, which were also caught on the property.”

The pig roast was a gathering of family and friends, blending the cooking and time with loved ones to create a true celebration.

“I specialize in slow cooking, no matter how small or big the pig. To control the cooking of the meat is to almost guarantee that all who attend the pig roast have a great time hanging around the pit and socializing with others, sharing recipes and techniques, as well as a cold beverage or two.”

(That’s why he builds a pit as opposed to using a cooker.)

Grate is available to cater private parties or cook for corporate parties as well. To reach him, call (860) 538-1171.
And this particular roast? It happened at the Loyal Order of the Moose, Hartford Lodge #723 in Hartford. Lucky them.