A Lesson In Barbecue
WILD EMBER
Three Park City barbecue specialists share their tricks on how to create delicious, slow-cooked meats. by Jené Shaw Photos by Travis Engvall and provided by Wild Ember
It can take a lot of patience to become good at cooking barbecue. Not only can you spend upwards of 12 hours to smoke some meats, but it also takes a lot of practice to nail the right temperature, wood choice and seasoning. “My days start at five in the morning,” says Richie Lush, owner of Lush’s BBQ, who smokes his brisket and pulled pork for a minimum of 16 hours. “I don’t stop the whole day, bouncing around to make sure everything is prepped and all my sauces and spices are made.” Growing up in south-central Tennessee, Lush has been around barbecue his entire life. Although he had worked in the restaurant industry as a teenager, he spent most of his career in cable optics construction before he found his way back to the grill. While working for the grill company Traeger, he started to play around with food and won a cook-off for his brisket chili, then started catering for a few people. “It really took off from there,” he says. His business started as a food truck before he opened storefronts in Kamas and Park City. Lush’s serves the classics — pulled pork, brisket, ribs — alongside some surprises like a BBQ portobello Reuben and his signature gnocchi potato salad. “It makes me above and beyond happy when I see people walking away from my restaurant, and [they] say that it was absolutely the best barbecue that they’ve had anywhere,” he says. “That’s what’s driving me to make Lush’s. It makes my heart feel good.”
DISHINGPC.COM
25
