ST. GEORGE — A family-owned and operated BBQ business is celebrating National Barbecue Day with free samples and specials in St. George for the rest of the week.
May 16 is the annual day to pay homage to BBQ in the United States. Big Lud’s BBQ has been open in the area for eight months and owner Yori Ludvigson said Southern Utah has made his family feel welcome.
“People have been great,” Ludvigson told St. George News. “It’s a great place to hang out. All this week, we’ll have different stuff. We’re sampling everything like pork belly burnt ends of the brisket; they’re crazy good.”
The food truck business is going so well; he is talking to the city about turning the area, near 185 N Bluff St. next to Kneaders Bakery, into the St. George Food Truck Park. Ludvison said details are being worked out with the city and there would be two main food trucks with other trucks rotating there. They also plan to host live music each week.
Historians say BBQ originated in the early Caribbean tribes, but the first official proof happened, according to Christopher Colombus. According to the website, “There is proof Christopher Columbus observed indigenous tribes of Hispaniola cooking meat above an open flame. Years later, Spanish explorers would name the process barbacoa, or barbeque, after their encounters with the tribes.”
Traditional barbeque methods involved digging a hole, placing the meat over a pot and covering the hole with leaves. The meat was slow-cooked, with the pot catching the juice from the meat, later to be used as a broth.
Ludvigson said in 1997, he was coaching football at North Sanpete High School when he first help put a pig in the ground. It was with Vern Akauola and his family for the football team. Ludvigson said he was hooked. And since then, he has done too many whole hogs to count in the ground, on a spit or in a smoker.
He said his four daughters always encouraged him to open a restaurant. For years he donated his home-cooked BBQ to charity events and competed in contests.
“I have four daughters and three sons-in-law who help me run this; it’s a family business,” Ludvison said. “My business partner is Ammon, my son-in-law, and we love it.”
Big Lud’s BBQ also caters events. The food truck is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for lunch until they sell out (usually around 2:30 p.m.). Then it’s open Friday, and they are open all day for lunch and dinner and Saturday.
The business has a giant smoker in the back of the food truck. Big Lud’s BBQ also offers a variety of side dishes, such as potatoes and baked beans with bacon and coleslaw. They also offer a creamy macaroni and cheese dish. To see the full menu visit their website.
There are many different ways ‘grillers’ cook their barbeque, such as over charcoal, wood charcoal, wood, gas or slow cooking.
Traditionally, Americans have four types of BBQ regions:
- Kansas City – Various beef and pork cuts are slow-cooked with a tomato and molasses-based sauce.
- Carolina – Slow-roasted pork is cooked with a sauce with a vinegar and ketchup base combination.
- Memphis – Dry rub pork is cooked low and slow absorbing the smokey BBQ flavors.
- Texas – Beef is slow-cooked in smoker grills and topped with a smoky, dry rub.
Many people have their own homemade BBQ recipe. However, many recipes include the same ingredients that include ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire, brown sugar, soy, and molasses in BBQ sauce. A combination of onion, smoked paprika, ground cumin, crushed red pepper and turmeric are often found in the best dry rub recipes.
American barbecue origins point to North Carolina as the oldest place barbeque is found. As barbecue spread across the country, it changed in many ways. However, North Carolina BBQ has held true to its definition for generations. References to “a whole Hog barbecu’d” date back to the 1700s, using pork as the original meat of choice because it was plenty and inexpensive. After the meat was cooked, it was often hung in a smokehouse for preservation in the coming days or weeks.
Big Lud’s offers pulled pork, chicken, hot links, brisket and ribs. For sides they provide cheesy potatoes, BBQ baked beans, mac and cheese and coleslaw. For BBQ Tips, click here
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