1976 Barbecue Pitmaster Gus the Butcher Talks Turkey

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH.

[00:00:15] Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble. Thanksgiving is here and that means traditions, time with family, and turkey.

[00:00:25] So for today's episode of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, we're talking turkey.

[00:00:31] And we're talking turkey with the pitmaster behind 1976 Barbecue.

[00:00:36] We're so excited to welcome Gus the Butcher for this Thanksgiving episode.

[00:00:41] Gus, welcome to The Low and Slow Barbecue Show.

[00:00:44] Thank you very much. Thanks for having me here.

[00:00:47] That's a pleasure for me and talking to people about the Thanksgiving,

[00:00:52] which is like this year of 2024, it's been so great for us, you know.

[00:00:59] And with all the things that happened here in the Carolinas with the hurricane lane,

[00:01:04] and we did a bunch of things good for the people in the mountains with the barbecue.

[00:01:10] And the barbecue will help us to connect with people and help people.

[00:01:14] So we are blessed for this Thanksgiving and then like,

[00:01:18] and being able to give back everything that we received to us in this year. Amen.

[00:01:25] Amen to that, Gus, for sure. And you kind of jumped the gun on me.

[00:01:30] That's the way I was going with you in this episode here.

[00:01:34] So thanks for talking about that.

[00:01:35] And we want to get into your business and who you are and talk a little bit more about Thanksgiving.

[00:01:40] And thank you so much for sharing what, you know, Thanksgiving means to you and why you're thankful for this year.

[00:01:47] And, you know, I wanted to share as well that for me, Thanksgiving means time together, like I said, with friends and family.

[00:01:52] You know, really from the night before Thanksgiving, you know, everybody's home until Sunday afternoon, eating leftovers.

[00:01:59] You know, a lot of time with people that you love, you know, maybe a little bit too much time with those folks.

[00:02:04] So I'm thankful for my family, you know, my patient wife, two great boys, my dad here in town with us, my in-laws.

[00:02:11] You know, my wife's parents are so thankful for them and the special things they bring to life.

[00:02:16] So, you know, kind of with that, I've kind of stalled a little bit and let you think about it just a touch more.

[00:02:21] So maybe just another moment, Gus, what does Thanksgiving mean to you, you know, overall beyond just this special year in 2024?

[00:02:29] You know, it means a lot because I'm going to tell you, I'm originally, I'm from Brazil, South America.

[00:02:35] And then we came here to United States early 2016.

[00:02:41] And then since then, like we build our own family here with friends, you know.

[00:02:46] And then like now I say that like we have a big family that we choose to stay together.

[00:02:54] And then like these people is like we connect as family.

[00:02:58] So tomorrow for the Thanksgiving dinner here in my house and I'm here in my house, I'm cooking for like a couple of friends.

[00:03:07] So I got like probably 10 birds that I'm going to be smoking for friends that like they call me like, Gus, can you do this?

[00:03:14] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:03:15] Yeah, I love this is what I love doing, you know.

[00:03:18] And but like Thanksgiving for me is like it's appreciation in everything that you got from doesn't matter where it's coming from.

[00:03:30] If you're putting passion in everything you do is like loving your family, your friends and giving to people.

[00:03:40] The guy over there is going to give you much more, you know what I mean?

[00:03:47] Like and then you don't need to ask for anything.

[00:03:49] Things come like automatically, you know.

[00:03:52] So this is what like in like a few words, what Thanksgiving means to me, you know, and for my family, my wife, my two daughters.

[00:04:01] And I'm so glad because we are all connected with everything about the barbecue and the food business and all the things that we do together.

[00:04:10] So we are very thankful for this moment.

[00:04:14] And then this is the moment that we needed to give back for the ones who supported us through the year and is being supporting us things like many, many years.

[00:04:24] You know, yeah, that's really great perspective from Gus there.

[00:04:28] And I appreciate you sharing a little bit more of that story.

[00:04:31] And we're going to talk more about about Gus the butcher in 1976 barbecue and and get some turkey tips from Gus and more Thanksgiving thoughts as we kind of continue today's episode.

[00:04:42] We're also going to find out about, like I said, that business and his barbecue journey.

[00:04:47] Of course, everybody out there, I'm thankful for you listening to this episode and all the episodes that you've taken in.

[00:04:53] And if this episode is sparking your interest for the first time or you're a longtime listener, visit low slow BBQ show dot com and subscribe to our newsletter.

[00:05:02] The lowdown while you're there, look around, visit the blog or listen to other podcast episodes with pit masters from across the Carolinas like today's guest.

[00:05:12] Again, it's Gus the butcher.

[00:05:13] So, Gus, let's start talking about your business.

[00:05:16] 1976 barbecue.

[00:05:18] What is it and how did you get your start with that?

[00:05:21] Okay, that's a that's a funny story.

[00:05:24] So as I mentioned, like I'm from Brazil and then so I'm from the south and my wife, she's from the north.

[00:05:32] So she's literally from the Amazon state.

[00:05:34] Okay.

[00:05:35] So when we moved over here and I don't know if I don't know if you know about this, but like the population who lives in the Amazon, they eat more fish than anybody else throughout the country.

[00:05:47] Okay.

[00:05:48] Okay.

[00:05:48] So my wife, she was here and she was like, Gus, I'm begging for a lot of tambakee fish.

[00:05:53] And this was in 2018, 19.

[00:05:58] And then I said, like, we don't have tambakee fish, which is like the close to the black Baku here in the United States.

[00:06:04] And then I said, okay, let's going to import some fish.

[00:06:07] And she goes like, are you crazy?

[00:06:08] No, no, no.

[00:06:08] I'm going to, I'm not crazy.

[00:06:09] Like if you want the fish, that's going to try to bring the fish over here.

[00:06:13] So anyhow, her cousin and myself, we decided to open up a company that called Amazon Fish LLC.

[00:06:22] And then we did something with some guys who are dealing with all the imports and export things, a company in Brazil.

[00:06:30] Believe it or not, but we bought like a full container of fish and we brought to the United States.

[00:06:36] We went through all the FDA, all these things, you know, to bring the thing because the fish was frozen.

[00:06:43] So can you imagine like you have to have a full container on the water for 25 days.

[00:06:49] Refrigerator is going to, you know, it's going to go to the dock in Florida and somewhere in Jacksonville, whatever.

[00:06:56] And then like, okay, yes.

[00:06:58] So we went through all of this and we had some connections from New Jersey down to Florida.

[00:07:04] And then we spread the fish.

[00:07:06] Then the pandemic kicks in and then we go, and I go like, well, we got a problem.

[00:07:13] How are we going to sell this thing?

[00:07:16] Like I need just like five fish for my wife, but we got a full container.

[00:07:21] Anyhow, I started visiting some of the restaurants in uptown Charlotte and then cooking the fish.

[00:07:28] So the first one that I went was Chima Steakhouse in uptown Charlotte.

[00:07:34] And then I was cooking the fish for the chef who was a lady located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

[00:07:41] And she manages all these locations throughout from Pennsylvania down to Florida.

[00:07:48] Chima has a couple of restaurants in those places.

[00:07:51] And then I started like selling the fish.

[00:07:55] So, and then we start selling the fish to the people, you know.

[00:08:00] And then I was like, no, okay, here's the recipe.

[00:08:03] Here's how you're going to cook.

[00:08:04] So you don't know how to cook.

[00:08:05] I can go to your house and I'm going to cook the fish for you.

[00:08:07] So we started like this.

[00:08:10] Then I said like, that's interesting because like we are not selling the fish as much as we were expecting.

[00:08:17] Then I started like, and I think you're going to go like, God, you're crazy.

[00:08:21] And like, I started making like fish sausages.

[00:08:24] Believe it or not.

[00:08:25] Fish sausage.

[00:08:26] Okay.

[00:08:27] I'm starting to see some connection.

[00:08:28] Okay.

[00:08:29] This is why when I created the Gus DeButcher.

[00:08:32] So I was grinding.

[00:08:34] So to do all the emulsification for the sausage, I said that I cannot use pork fat because this will change the taste of the sausage at all.

[00:08:45] And it doesn't taste like fish.

[00:08:47] So what I did was I started grinding the skin in like little bones, fish bones together to try to bring all the collagen into the lean meat of the fish to help with the emulsification.

[00:09:04] So then I did the first fish sausage.

[00:09:08] So where I live here in England, South Carolina, there is a community.

[00:09:14] There's a couple of folks from New York.

[00:09:16] And then they were like, Gus, do you make like a fresh parsley Italian with a provolone cheese?

[00:09:23] And I said, yes.

[00:09:24] If I make fish sausage, of course I can make like Italian, whatever.

[00:09:27] And then I started making like Italian sausage.

[00:09:31] And guys, can you make like the traditional Italian sausage with red bell pepper and fresh onions?

[00:09:39] Yes, yes.

[00:09:39] I can make it.

[00:09:40] You want like hot cakes or sheet cakes and stuff?

[00:09:43] Okay.

[00:09:43] I can make this for...

[00:09:44] So I got into this sausage thing.

[00:09:47] And this is when like Gus DeButcher became like Gus DeButcher.

[00:09:51] So then I went to the curing meats as well.

[00:09:55] And I was curing like salamis, prosciutto and all of these things.

[00:10:00] Along with this, because of the love I've got on the cooking side, I started like, okay, people is asking me like, can you make this?

[00:10:10] And I said, yes, I can make that.

[00:10:11] Can you make some like the Brazilian steaks, like the picanha?

[00:10:14] And then because we're going to have like a gathering here in the house.

[00:10:17] And then I, okay, I grabbed my like kettle, Weber kettle, coached someone's house here in the neighborhood.

[00:10:25] And then I was cooking for families.

[00:10:27] And this thing started growing, growing, growing, growing.

[00:10:30] And I got into the American barbecue.

[00:10:32] And then I went to, this was in 2000, end of 2020, 2021.

[00:10:40] And then I knew a couple of friends and even like Edmar Simone's at Noble Smoke.

[00:10:45] And I said, buddy, I need to spend some time at the smokehouse.

[00:10:48] And why Gus?

[00:10:50] Because I need to learn this thing.

[00:10:52] So I can go and spend the whole night from like, by the time you have to trim the brisket, it's like 5.30, 6 p.m.

[00:11:02] And then go all the way to the morning when you put the briskets in the warmers.

[00:11:06] And then like, and I can do this for free because I need to learn about this thing.

[00:11:10] So I've done that.

[00:11:12] And then I started learning about the American barbecue.

[00:11:15] Sure.

[00:11:15] Not only like more tradition Texas, which is like Noble kind of style.

[00:11:20] But also doing like the porks and the ribs and the wings and the chicken thighs.

[00:11:25] And then I started like creating things myself, you know, combining the South American barbecue cookout or grillout, whatever, with smoking meat.

[00:11:39] So then like when people were calling me like, Gus, can you come to the house and cook for like 20 people?

[00:11:45] We have the family gathering this coming Saturday.

[00:11:48] And we really love the picanha, but we love like the, can you give like some smoky flavor to the picanha?

[00:11:54] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:11:56] Sure.

[00:11:57] And then like I started doing this thing.

[00:11:59] And then I was watching a YouTube video from the, there's a guy that he, like the name of his YouTube channel is like Eat More Vegans.

[00:12:08] And then that guy, he was in Monroe.

[00:12:12] He bought a Santa Maria grill from a guy called Terry in Monroe.

[00:12:19] He has like a, what is the name of the company?

[00:12:24] It's like Rocket Grills.

[00:12:26] Okay.

[00:12:27] He started his company.

[00:12:30] He's a metal manufacturer.

[00:12:32] And he has a shop, like a barn in his backyard.

[00:12:36] So he started doing like the, building the rocket stoves.

[00:12:43] Right, right.

[00:12:44] And then like I was watching the YouTube video and I was, my wife was next to me and I said like, this guy is like, he's now a neighbor.

[00:12:52] He's right here.

[00:12:53] I need to go see him.

[00:12:55] So I went to his place.

[00:12:57] And then like, hey, buddy, I'm here because like I watch your video with the Eat More Vegans.

[00:13:02] And then like the guy bought the Santa Maria grill from you.

[00:13:06] And I need you to build like a rig for me.

[00:13:09] So then if you check my Instagram, the 1976 barbecue.

[00:13:14] Yeah.

[00:13:15] You see my rig over there.

[00:13:16] Sure.

[00:13:17] So this guy built that one.

[00:13:19] So after that, I bought like the rocket stoves.

[00:13:23] Now we are working another project that he's building for me.

[00:13:27] Yeah.

[00:13:28] You know, I can, I, it's no, no, no, stop.

[00:13:30] It's like, it looks like a snowball.

[00:13:32] Uh-huh.

[00:13:33] And then, yeah, that's it.

[00:13:35] And then recently, like last week, I went to Austin, Texas to, to see some, a couple of pit masters that I follow on Instagram.

[00:13:43] I went down to close to San Antonio as well.

[00:13:46] Yeah.

[00:13:47] I want to get into that, get into that Texas trip just a little bit.

[00:13:51] But before we get off your business, I want to, I want to talk a little bit more about, you know, 1976 barbecue specifically.

[00:13:57] First of all, you know, where did you get the name from?

[00:13:59] And, you know, what do you feel like your specialties are today?

[00:14:02] It sounded like you had kind of a winding path to get to, you know, the rig and the barbecue.

[00:14:07] But where did you get the name and what do you specialize in now?

[00:14:12] Knowing you can do kind of everything.

[00:14:13] I am from 1976 barbecue.

[00:14:16] This is the year I born.

[00:14:17] Oh, okay.

[00:14:18] Well, happy birthday to us both.

[00:14:21] Yeah.

[00:14:22] Then like my family, when I'm in the kitchen, they say like, Gus, looks like you knew how to cook the day you're born.

[00:14:31] And then the name of this company is going to be 1976 barbecue.

[00:14:36] There you go.

[00:14:38] So then became 1976 barbecue.

[00:14:41] A bunch of people asking me about this thing.

[00:14:43] And I said, and by the way, 76 is a good year.

[00:14:47] So, you know.

[00:14:48] Yeah.

[00:14:48] Yeah.

[00:14:49] Yeah.

[00:14:49] So the specialties for you guys today.

[00:14:54] Well, we are, we are here in the house.

[00:14:58] And I'm so glad to have my two daughters.

[00:15:01] I have two daughters.

[00:15:02] One is 20.

[00:15:05] My youngest, she is 15.

[00:15:08] And we are together here prepping everything for the families that are coming here tomorrow for dinner.

[00:15:17] And, and I always say like, hey, the leftovers, we're going to give to someone, you know.

[00:15:27] And mainly during Christmas, we go to some, you know, homeless shelters.

[00:15:36] And we prepare a whole meal for them.

[00:15:40] And then I always take my daughters to do the front work.

[00:15:45] You know, I do all the prep.

[00:15:47] I take them.

[00:15:48] And then we go to the shelters and we give food to the people.

[00:15:54] And then I always say like, this is something that we do.

[00:15:58] I'm talking about this here right now.

[00:16:00] But like we, we, what this hand, what this hand does, this one doesn't need to know, you know, like just do it.

[00:16:07] You know what I mean?

[00:16:08] Yeah.

[00:16:10] Yeah.

[00:16:11] That's great.

[00:16:12] So obviously catering business is kind of the show.

[00:16:15] And I know you do a lot of events around town.

[00:16:17] How often are you out serving?

[00:16:20] How often are you busy on, you know, on any given month or year?

[00:16:24] And how can folks find out about you if they want to get a catering event?

[00:16:28] Well, they can go to my website with the 1976barbecue.com.

[00:16:33] Okay.

[00:16:34] Also 1976 Instagram.

[00:16:37] All my information is up there.

[00:16:40] If you go to my website, there is like some food menus and some package that you can choose.

[00:16:47] And then call me directly.

[00:16:50] We can work together in the menu.

[00:16:53] And then like if you need to change anything, they can change.

[00:16:57] We can accommodate.

[00:16:59] We can talk about like even like for this Christmas time.

[00:17:02] I got a bunch of people call me like Gus.

[00:17:05] That's going to do the prime ribs, smoke and everything.

[00:17:07] So that's one of the things that I do.

[00:17:10] And I like to smoke and then go straight to like very hot fire to sear the meat, you know.

[00:17:19] And yeah, we are.

[00:17:23] We started this thing with the barbecue in 2020.

[00:17:27] And then right now I think that I can say that we've been busy like pretty much every weekend doing barbecue.

[00:17:36] So this coming Saturday we got a private event.

[00:17:38] It's a birthday celebration in Waxhall, North Carolina.

[00:17:43] And the following weekend we are serving Elevation Church in Heavey Rock in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

[00:17:53] So yeah, we are busy.

[00:17:56] Well, congratulations for that.

[00:17:58] That's great news for you.

[00:18:00] I follow you on Instagram and other people can too.

[00:18:03] It's at Gus.TheButcher.

[00:18:05] And of course, 1976 barbecue has an Instagram post.

[00:18:09] Well, and Gus, the food just looks really good there.

[00:18:13] Mouth watering.

[00:18:14] And clearly you guys can do a lot.

[00:18:15] Hey, I also see it says master.

[00:18:19] Shoot.

[00:18:20] I don't even know if I can say that word.

[00:18:22] Charcuterie.

[00:18:23] What does that mean?

[00:18:24] Is that is that something you've got to learn about?

[00:18:26] Tell me about that.

[00:18:27] Charcuterie comes from the French.

[00:18:29] But I say that everything started in Italy, I think.

[00:18:33] Uh-huh.

[00:18:33] Okay.

[00:18:34] Curie meets in like in a – it's like when I went to Texas last week and I went to Lockhart, Texas, where is the place where – like I was trying to look at the history and say, okay, where is the place where barbecue in Texas is born?

[00:18:52] Maybe I'm wrong about this, but like the things that I found out was like that the cowboys, they're moving the cattle through the states.

[00:19:01] And in Lockhart was the place that they did the stop to eat and rest.

[00:19:07] So – and then I went to visit like the Black's Barbecue in a little small town where the pit started like in 1900 or something, you know?

[00:19:20] Yeah, wow.

[00:19:21] Some places like – and then like this horizontal pits and they're still the same thing.

[00:19:26] They're still doing the same process, just salt and pepper and very simple, low and slow, and then you got great food out of there.

[00:19:36] So I've never ate like too many meat in a week as we did last week.

[00:19:46] What do you feel like your best stop was?

[00:19:48] You've mentioned that a couple of those places, but what was the best thing that you had during your Texas trip?

[00:19:56] Lockhart was phenomenal for me because like I really appreciate everything that the PT Masters, they do in Austin, and they do a really good job.

[00:20:09] Like I was talking to the PT Masters at Franklin Barbecue.

[00:20:15] This was, I think, last Saturday, and they were like cooking like 200 briskets for the next day.

[00:20:25] And then like – and they do like a phenomenal job.

[00:20:32] Terry Black's Barbecue, the guys were cooking like 300 briskets per day.

[00:20:36] Like that's insane.

[00:20:38] Yeah.

[00:20:38] That's insane.

[00:20:40] When you go to a place that they have like 1,000-gallon smoker and then you go like maybe I'm going to be six and then you see like 15.

[00:20:49] Come on.

[00:20:51] You know, that's amazing.

[00:20:53] But like going south, close to San Antonio, Texas, that thing impressed me a lot to see like five, seven generations running the business as they started.

[00:21:06] You know, that was phenomenal.

[00:21:09] Phenomenal.

[00:21:10] That's right.

[00:21:11] Did you have a preference, anything that you ate in particular that just stands out in your mind?

[00:21:17] Now, again, as somebody that's prepared, I saw some sausage picks.

[00:21:21] One of the things that I like it was the slammers.

[00:21:25] This is like a – you prepare everything for the sausage, but you don't case in that thing.

[00:21:31] Right?

[00:21:32] So what you're going to do, imagine like a meatball, but you're going to make the meatball like long.

[00:21:39] And then you're going to wrap it with layers of bacon.

[00:21:44] Inside of this thing, you're going to put like a piece of cheddar cheese and a jalapeno and you're going to put on a smoker.

[00:21:50] Hmm.

[00:21:52] So then they call this slammers.

[00:21:56] And then like I was at the pit room talking to the pit master and said, like, Gus, this is what we sell a lot here.

[00:22:03] The cheddar jalapeno sausage is not as popular as the slammers.

[00:22:10] Yeah.

[00:22:11] Wow.

[00:22:12] And then like I love that thing and I said, I'm going to start doing this in the Carolinas for sure.

[00:22:17] Right.

[00:22:18] You brought something back.

[00:22:19] We're going to look for it from Gus the Butcher innovating the slammers.

[00:22:23] Yeah.

[00:22:24] Yeah.

[00:22:24] Yeah.

[00:22:25] It was really good.

[00:22:26] I really like it.

[00:22:27] And believe it or not, like we ate so much.

[00:22:29] And then like on the way to the airport that we were driving from a locker that was last day and it was three and a half hours for me to go to Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

[00:22:42] And then I had leftovers in the car and my wife was traveling with me and I said, like, I'm going to make through the security with these leftovers and I'm going to bring home.

[00:22:51] Right.

[00:22:51] So we made through the security and I was with the bags.

[00:22:55] Yes.

[00:22:55] So, and I brought sausages and all my leftovers with me.

[00:23:00] The next day in the morning when we were here, I was, I woke up in the morning and said, you know what?

[00:23:06] I'm going to make a Texer barbecue tacos for my breakfast today with the leftovers that we brought from Texas.

[00:23:13] Right.

[00:23:14] Yeah.

[00:23:16] Wow.

[00:23:16] That's wonderful.

[00:23:17] I can't get an open bottle of water through the airport checker, but I guess if you're coming through Texas, it's expected for people to bring a leftover barbecue home.

[00:23:27] Oh, that's funny.

[00:23:28] That's funny.

[00:23:28] Hey, so we're going to get to Turkey Day tips here in just a second.

[00:23:31] But, you know, Gus, you've had had a great road and an interesting, distinct journey.

[00:23:37] You know, obviously running a business is no easy walk in the park and obviously every weekend with an event.

[00:23:44] Yeah.

[00:23:44] What keeps you doing it?

[00:23:45] Why do you do what you do in 1976 barbecue and as Gus the butcher?

[00:23:51] It's like, this is what I love to do.

[00:23:53] For me, it's not a work.

[00:23:55] This is like a family, family together, put the hands on together.

[00:24:02] And preparing our food and the food that we prepare for ourselves is the food that we want to give to people.

[00:24:10] So, and we enjoy so much the food that we make for ourselves that like people like what we do.

[00:24:18] So, and then I think that we are on the right path.

[00:24:23] So, that's the only thing is like if you have a passion in what you do, like that's not your, it's your work.

[00:24:31] You know, you generate revenue for you.

[00:24:33] But like it's like automatically what you're doing.

[00:24:38] You know, I just do it.

[00:24:41] And like we are in a hunting season and have folks that they're up in Buffalo, New York hunting.

[00:24:47] And I got a friend of mine, Anthony, he was texting, messaging, Gus, I'm bringing like deer meat.

[00:24:52] Can you please make a, would you be able to make summer sausage for me when I got home?

[00:24:57] I said, yeah, absolutely.

[00:24:58] I can.

[00:24:59] Yeah.

[00:24:59] As long as I keep some for me as well.

[00:25:02] Sure.

[00:25:03] That's nice to have a little side benefit there.

[00:25:06] Yeah.

[00:25:07] Processing the meat.

[00:25:08] That's great.

[00:25:09] Congratulations.

[00:25:09] Okay.

[00:25:10] So, let's talk turkey, Gus.

[00:25:11] I've been talking about it since the start of the show.

[00:25:13] We talked a little bit about, you know, the Thanksgiving and what it means to us.

[00:25:17] But, you know, if Gus is sitting down and this is for you now, you're having the meal.

[00:25:21] It's your Thanksgiving meal.

[00:25:23] You're there with all your family.

[00:25:25] What are two things on the menu that you've got to have?

[00:25:29] Turkey breast and sausage stuffing.

[00:25:33] Sausage stuffing.

[00:25:34] Oh, sweet.

[00:25:34] That's one of my favorites.

[00:25:37] Yeah.

[00:25:37] And if I can add the third one, I would add collard greens with the smoked bacon that I make myself on the spot.

[00:25:46] Yeah.

[00:25:46] So, that's the perfect combination.

[00:25:49] And I'm going to see this when I'm fixing my plate tomorrow.

[00:25:53] I'm going to see slices of turkey breast, collard greens, and sausage stuffing.

[00:26:00] Oh, man.

[00:26:01] Oh, that sounds so good.

[00:26:02] All right.

[00:26:03] So, in turkey tips, that's something that I want you to talk about because I know that everybody's got a little bit of a different process.

[00:26:09] So, I want you to walk us through what your turkey preparation process starts.

[00:26:14] But before you kind of at the start of that process, first, maybe give an overlooked piece of advice for somebody that's smoking a turkey.

[00:26:21] What's something that somebody doesn't always remember, but they should?

[00:26:24] And then kind of walk us through what your general smoking turkey process looks like.

[00:26:29] Yeah.

[00:26:30] Yeah.

[00:26:30] Always, like, we go and, like, smoking any kind of meat, we need to go low and slow, you know.

[00:26:36] And, like, seasoning-wise, I always say, like, go for your preference.

[00:26:45] It's not like that my seasoning is the best one or someone else's seasoning is the best, like, that rub is fantastic.

[00:26:52] No.

[00:26:53] Do what you want.

[00:26:54] That's your meat.

[00:26:55] You know, there's nothing wrong with that.

[00:26:58] So, what I like to do when I'm preparing the turkey is, like, always I put them on, like, a marinated bath, you know.

[00:27:08] And for the minimum, like, 72 hours, that's me doing this.

[00:27:13] This is the way how I like to do.

[00:27:14] And then, like, the day that I'm going to start, like, preparing them, taking out of the bath, you know, and start the seasoning, I like to do my own injection things.

[00:27:28] So, I inject them.

[00:27:30] There's a little bit of butter together.

[00:27:33] So, I make sure that I inject the muscles in the right way.

[00:27:37] So, when you cut the breast, for example, you don't want to see, like, a spot of the things that you injected in one area.

[00:27:45] And then, in the other areas, you don't see anything, you know.

[00:27:48] Mm-hmm.

[00:27:48] I try to have the thing, like, all the way through the muscle.

[00:27:53] So, then I season it, and then I put it into the smoker.

[00:27:57] So, the smoker needs to run between 250 to 75, and then I control the temp of the bird all the time.

[00:28:08] Spritz a little bit with apple cider vinegar and apple juice, combine it with water.

[00:28:15] That's easy, simple.

[00:28:16] So, and then I check the temp on the thickest parts of the muscles of the, like, turkey breast.

[00:28:23] One tip that I would like to share, and this is one of the things that I do.

[00:28:28] So, between, like, the tight in the leg, which is tied to the breast, I say, like, that's the thickest part.

[00:28:37] You need to go with your thermometer in between that thing.

[00:28:40] Because sometimes, when you check the breast and then, like, okay, it's 165, it's ready to take out and then put this to rest.

[00:28:47] Maybe in that part is 150 or maybe less than this.

[00:28:53] So, you have that part uncooked.

[00:28:55] And I learned this thing with my mistakes, you know.

[00:29:00] So, this is where I go with my probe, and I say, let me poke here.

[00:29:04] Make sure that, like, I don't care the temp here.

[00:29:07] I care about the temp right down here, you know.

[00:29:10] And then, like, 165, it's like, you've got to remove that guy, let him to rest, and then you're going to retain all the moisture inside of the muscle, the meat.

[00:29:21] And then, it's like, wait for 30 minutes or so, and then you can start slicing and serving like your family.

[00:29:28] Wonderful.

[00:29:29] Oh, boy, that sounds good.

[00:29:30] My mouth is watering for Thanksgiving dinner.

[00:29:33] That's for sure good.

[00:29:34] One thing I wanted to kind of circle back to before we wrap it up here is your rig.

[00:29:40] The thing that I saw you with, or I guess our friend Edgemar Samoa has had out at the Carolina Barbecue Festival, and I think I've actually seen you dragging it down the road here around Charlotte before somewhere.

[00:29:52] So, tell me about that thing and, you know, what all is included on it, because you're not just smoking on it.

[00:29:57] You've got a lot of different things you can do with it.

[00:29:59] So, take a quick minute and tell us about that before we wrap it up.

[00:30:02] Yeah, we got a reverse flow smoker, you know.

[00:30:07] So, in the back, we have like a smoke tower.

[00:30:10] So, with four shelves right on top of the firebox.

[00:30:14] And then, you've got the chamber here with two shelves.

[00:30:17] So, in the front of this area, we've got a Santa Maria grill in one side.

[00:30:22] And on the other side, I've got a stove that I pull from the trailer thing.

[00:30:29] And I connect a propane tank.

[00:30:32] So, if I need to fry something, and then I can put like a casting iron plate grill.

[00:30:38] And then, I can do burgers there.

[00:30:41] I can do the Santa Maria grill with the Argentinian and Brazilian style cookout, along with the smoking thing.

[00:30:49] So, we got a combination in one piece of equipment.

[00:30:54] And then, Kerry from Monroe and myself, we went through this thing.

[00:30:58] And I go like, hey, buddy, can you change this?

[00:31:01] And he'll go, this.

[00:31:02] You're changing this thing like many times.

[00:31:04] My mind is going through the roof with this thing.

[00:31:07] And then, we are going through the same thing with the next one that we are building right now.

[00:31:11] And then, like – and I told him, like – and he said, Gus, I'm about to start this thing this coming week after Thanksgiving.

[00:31:18] And I said, like, I'm going to the shop.

[00:31:21] And he said, yeah, it's better you to come because we need to review everything that we discussed.

[00:31:25] And I said, because he's been sending me pictures and pictures.

[00:31:28] Can you add this?

[00:31:29] Like, I am an ad zone guy.

[00:31:31] You know?

[00:31:32] Like, the mom needs to go, like, stop.

[00:31:36] At some point, it turns into Frankenstein.

[00:31:39] You got Frankenstein with everything on there.

[00:31:41] But I would say that what you're operating now is short of Frankenstein.

[00:31:45] And as someone like you, I was born in 1976.

[00:31:49] I think it's a cool-looking ride going downtown.

[00:31:52] You guys look cool when you're cooking on it with the live fire and the smoking going at the same time.

[00:31:57] Yeah.

[00:31:58] 1976 all over it.

[00:31:59] So, really cool-looking thing you got there.

[00:32:01] Yeah.

[00:32:01] So, I've definitely enjoyed spending some time with you here.

[00:32:06] How do people keep track of you?

[00:32:08] Where can they keep coming out and finding you when you're out serving publicly?

[00:32:12] And then, obviously, you mentioned how to get you online.

[00:32:17] Yeah.

[00:32:17] So, there is an event company.

[00:32:22] And Greg is the owner of the Drink, Eat, and Relax.

[00:32:26] They do events like live fire cooking and whiskey wine and fire all the way from Baltimore, Maryland, down to Florida or Georgia or something like this.

[00:32:38] And we did some events with them that was very cool.

[00:32:45] It was fantastic.

[00:32:47] Greg is a great guy.

[00:32:48] And he loves the cooking.

[00:32:51] He loves to connect people.

[00:32:53] He has, like, a big heart.

[00:32:55] You know.

[00:32:55] So, in the Ballantyne backyard when we have those types of events from Drink, Eat, and Relax, in most of them, we are there.

[00:33:07] We are planning to go this coming year in 2025.

[00:33:10] So, if you are watching this podcast, make sure that, like, you stay on, like, with eyes out on those events because they are really cool.

[00:33:21] Good people.

[00:33:23] Family friends.

[00:33:25] You know.

[00:33:25] And then, like, it's a good place to go to enjoy great food, live fire cooking here in Charlotte.

[00:33:34] Yeah.

[00:33:35] Yeah.

[00:33:35] We'll keep our eyes peeled for that, too.

[00:33:37] And, of course, look at you on Instagram.

[00:33:39] And I mentioned Instagram a couple times, but I also saw your Facebook stuff.

[00:33:43] And, again, great pictures over there.

[00:33:45] So, you can follow Gus the Butcher on Facebook or 1976 BBQ on Instagram.

[00:33:51] He's also Gus.TheButcher at Instagram as well.

[00:33:55] So, Gus, we're going to wrap it up here with our low and slow showdown.

[00:33:59] And we're going to kind of abbreviate it here for our Thanksgiving edition.

[00:34:03] So, before we get to Thanksgiving, you know, if there is a barbecue-type place that you grew up on in Brazil, what you might call barbecue, what was it that you grew up on?

[00:34:14] What did you enjoy most growing up on in the barbecue-type world?

[00:34:21] In Brazil, always, like, as, like, brisket or pork here is the big thing.

[00:34:28] Mm-hmm.

[00:34:29] In Brazil, it's, like, the top city line with the cap on that we call picanha.

[00:34:34] Mm-hmm.

[00:34:35] Mm-hmm.

[00:34:35] That's the meat.

[00:34:38] Like, when you go to a Brazilian barbecue, you got to look after that.

[00:34:43] And then if the picanha is cooked to the doneness, to the perfection, you know that the guy who is running the grill, that instead of us calling pitmaster, we call churrasqueiro.

[00:35:01] That's the guy that you have to go, like, you're doing a great job, buddy.

[00:35:06] Yeah, say that again.

[00:35:07] What is it?

[00:35:09] Churrasqueiro, which is, instead of saying, like, Brazilian barbecue, we say Brazilian churrasco.

[00:35:17] Okay, all right.

[00:35:18] Okay.

[00:35:19] And the guy who is running the grill, we call him churrasqueiro.

[00:35:25] Okay.

[00:35:26] That makes sense.

[00:35:27] And then you have to go to the guy who is the churrasqueiro and say, like, you're doing an awesome job, buddy.

[00:35:34] Thanks for that.

[00:35:35] Picanha was, like, right on the spot.

[00:35:40] Good.

[00:35:41] So that's a good memory you'll look after that guy.

[00:35:43] And I know who I'm going to go see for the picanha is going to be Gus or Edgemar, somewhere out there in the Charlotte area anyway.

[00:35:50] So what about your local, your current barbecue go-to?

[00:35:54] When Gus is in town, it's not Gus's stuff, but if you're having barbecue around the Queen City or anywhere around the Carolinas, where are you going to go?

[00:36:02] I go to, like, in the Carolinas, I have to mention the guy that you're using the hat, you know, John G's Barbecue.

[00:36:10] He is phenomenal.

[00:36:12] Oh, yeah.

[00:36:13] For sure.

[00:36:13] Beyond his barbecue, but him and his wife, they are, like, awesome people.

[00:36:21] And then, like, you don't need to – if you start talking to him, you know that you're going to have great food.

[00:36:31] That's it.

[00:36:32] So – but also, like, here in uptown Charlotte, I always refer to Noble because Noble opened the doors for me.

[00:36:39] Sure.

[00:36:40] When I started, like, going to – I want to learn about the barbecue, you know.

[00:36:45] When I did the thing in the mountains, when I went to Black Mountains to give barbecue to the families that was affected by the hurricane, you know, my rig, my capacity is limited at the moment.

[00:36:59] And then they let me use their rig.

[00:37:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:03] So I brought all the meat, and then I used the rig to prepare all the food that I was bringing over to the mountains the next day.

[00:37:10] So I'm so grateful and thankful for that, you know.

[00:37:17] And I'm always going to refer to the guys who is running the smokehouse over there and the managers that are running that place.

[00:37:28] They do that thing with their heart.

[00:37:30] And, like, Edmire was one of the guys running those feeds over there.

[00:37:34] You've probably been there.

[00:37:36] You know what I'm talking about.

[00:37:38] And Edmire is like a – he's my buddy, you know.

[00:37:42] He's my brother.

[00:37:45] So that's it.

[00:37:46] Yeah.

[00:37:47] Yeah, good.

[00:37:48] Okay.

[00:37:48] So what is your favorite protein to eat?

[00:37:50] Now, I know you mentioned the picanha, but is it that or is it going to be pork or chicken or turkey or something else?

[00:37:57] You started on fish.

[00:37:58] What's your favorite protein?

[00:38:03] You know what?

[00:38:04] I love a lot the tri-tip.

[00:38:07] Yeah.

[00:38:08] Tri-tip is one of my favorites.

[00:38:09] And I went to Richmond, Virginia to one of Tuffy Stone's class.

[00:38:17] And then when I got there, Tuffy was joking with me and saying, like, hey, I know that we got a debaucher here in the house.

[00:38:27] And I was in his, like, cooking class thing.

[00:38:29] And then so I knew that was about me.

[00:38:32] And Tuffy, he went to Brazil a couple times for the churrascada in the south of the country.

[00:38:40] And then he said, we know how to smoke a good tri-tip that you guys call tri-tip in Brazil like mamiha.

[00:38:50] So that's the name that we call tri-tip in Portuguese in Brazil.

[00:38:56] We call it mamiha.

[00:38:57] Okay.

[00:38:58] So that's the same cut.

[00:39:00] And what I like doing with this is, like, put on a smoker for about 40 minutes just to give a little smoke and then move to the grill with hot fire.

[00:39:11] Yeah.

[00:39:12] Then, like, when you got the temp, 130, 135 max, put them out, put your ass, and slice it.

[00:39:22] That's phenomenal.

[00:39:24] That's my go-to if I need to pick one.

[00:39:27] Oh, wow.

[00:39:28] That's fantastic.

[00:39:29] Fantastic tips.

[00:39:30] Okay.

[00:39:30] We're bringing it back to Thanksgiving here, Gus.

[00:39:33] You talked about your favorite sides and what you're going to see on your plate.

[00:39:37] What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

[00:39:44] The Brazilian pudding.

[00:39:47] What is that?

[00:39:48] Looks like a flan.

[00:39:50] Okay.

[00:39:51] That's a flan.

[00:39:52] Yeah.

[00:39:52] That's a flan.

[00:39:53] And then, but, like, this is my wife's main thing when she does the dessert and I love the things.

[00:40:00] I love the banana pudding.

[00:40:01] I love the cobblers and all the things.

[00:40:05] But, like, her flan is my favorite.

[00:40:08] You know, like, sometimes I joke with her.

[00:40:10] I'm like, you look like you're preparing this like my grandma.

[00:40:13] You know, my grandma was preparing that thing.

[00:40:16] Oh, yeah.

[00:40:17] So, that's the Brazilian flan.

[00:40:19] Okay.

[00:40:19] Which is the one they like the most.

[00:40:22] Yeah.

[00:40:22] Brazilian flan.

[00:40:23] Nice.

[00:40:23] So, I hate to take it this way, but what about your least favorite dish?

[00:40:28] What's the dish you're always going to skip at the Thanksgiving table?

[00:40:33] Um, it's difficult because I like pretty much everything.

[00:40:39] Yeah, it's hard not to like something.

[00:40:41] I go to the Argentinian styles when, like, they put, like, intestines on the grill and things like this.

[00:40:48] I do this thing.

[00:40:49] I do.

[00:40:49] I like to eat, like, livers on the grill.

[00:40:52] I do that thing as well.

[00:40:53] Kind of weird for some people, you know.

[00:40:57] So, like, what I would skip for Thanksgiving, Italian food.

[00:41:02] Like, Italian food is, like, normal for me during the week, you know.

[00:41:07] Yeah.

[00:41:08] But, like, I wouldn't do, like, a lasagna in the Thanksgiving day, you know.

[00:41:13] That's it.

[00:41:13] Makes sense.

[00:41:14] Makes sense.

[00:41:15] Good answer.

[00:41:15] I love lasagna.

[00:41:16] Yeah, but not on Thanksgiving.

[00:41:19] Not on Thanksgiving.

[00:41:20] Yeah.

[00:41:20] It doesn't match for me.

[00:41:22] No, not at all.

[00:41:23] Okay, so if you look at all the states in the United States, and you've already talked about one and two of them, really.

[00:41:29] Which state has the best barbecue?

[00:41:32] Which state is the best for barbecue?

[00:41:36] You know, between Texans and the Catalinas, they're a different style.

[00:41:41] So, it depends on where my mind is going to that day.

[00:41:46] Yeah.

[00:41:47] That's it.

[00:41:49] I'm not going to pick one.

[00:41:50] There's no choice.

[00:41:51] I love the Carolinas.

[00:41:52] You know, that's my place.

[00:41:54] Yeah.

[00:41:54] You know, I love the people here, and I love pork, but I love, like, beef as well.

[00:42:03] Sure, sure.

[00:42:04] Okay, well, I'm going to make you pick another one, or at least try to.

[00:42:07] Here in the Carolinas, what is the best barbecue style?

[00:42:10] The Eastern, Lexington, or the South Carolina mustard?

[00:42:15] Lexington.

[00:42:16] Lexington.

[00:42:17] You're very assertive with that.

[00:42:18] So, why so bold in that?

[00:42:21] Because, like, when you go to Lexington, you go this way, and I think that you can get some mix between Western and Eastern.

[00:42:29] Yeah.

[00:42:30] In Lexington, you know?

[00:42:31] And when I went to Lexington barbecue to have a dinner with my family one day, their co's law is fantastic.

[00:42:42] Oh, yeah.

[00:42:43] Fantastic.

[00:42:45] And, like, very simple.

[00:42:47] The combination with the pulled pork and the co's law, but, like, that co's law, for me, is something that, like, still here on my mind since those days.

[00:42:56] I love it.

[00:42:58] I love it.

[00:42:59] Yes.

[00:42:59] And I try to replicate the recipe here, you know?

[00:43:04] And that's always my reference.

[00:43:06] When we are making the co's law, I needed to get close to the taste that I had when I went to Lexington barbecue, you know?

[00:43:15] Gotcha.

[00:43:15] Well, I'm not going to reveal too many secrets, but I got the sauce and slaw recipe on my blog from my wife's grandmother from Davidson County.

[00:43:23] And she knew some of those people.

[00:43:26] So, again, not going to say anything.

[00:43:27] It's no secret.

[00:43:28] You just do it.

[00:43:30] But it's great.

[00:43:31] I'm right there with you.

[00:43:32] I love some Lexington slaw.

[00:43:33] So, you mentioned that, but if you're having your barbecue, do you want it with sauce or without?

[00:43:40] It depends.

[00:43:41] I always go first bite without sauce.

[00:43:44] And then the second one I try with the sauce and then to make some comparisons, like, on my taste.

[00:43:51] But I like to go plain first and then try with the sauces and everything else.

[00:43:59] Gotcha.

[00:43:59] Okay, last question.

[00:44:00] Curveball time.

[00:44:02] Is barbecue a verb or a noun?

[00:44:08] Is it a combination of both, maybe?

[00:44:11] It's like when you're barbecuing, you're in the cooking thing, making barbecue.

[00:44:19] But, like, what you're doing is barbecue, which is a noun for me.

[00:44:26] It's not a wrong answer.

[00:44:28] That's the name of what you're doing.

[00:44:30] You're cooking it as a verb and you're eating it as a noun.

[00:44:34] Not a wrong answer.

[00:44:36] Barbecue is both.

[00:44:38] And that, my friends, is the lowdown from the pitmaster of 1976, barbecue, Gus the Butcher.

[00:44:44] Gus, thanks so much for joining us today.

[00:44:46] Absolutely.

[00:44:46] Yeah, my pleasure.

[00:44:47] Thanks for having me here.

[00:44:48] Yeah, had a great time.

[00:44:51] You've been listening to the Low and Slow Barbecue Show on the Mesh.TV network of podcasts.

[00:44:56] Please take a moment and visit us online at LowSlowBBQShow.com to subscribe to our newsletter today.

[00:45:02] We'll send you Carolina barbecue news, events, podcasts, links, blogs, other stuff, all that directly to your inbox on Tuesday mornings.

[00:45:11] And a quick reminder, be on the lookout for our next holiday season episode of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show.

[00:45:16] I'll be with our friends from Three Beers Down.

[00:45:19] We'll have some barbecue.

[00:45:20] We'll have some blindfolds and some bold declarations about the best barbecue around these parts.

[00:45:29] That's coming up in December.

[00:45:30] Until then, for this Thanksgiving edition of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, I want to say thank you to our producer, Andrew Moose, and the whole team at the Mesh.TV network of podcasts.

[00:45:40] Most especially, thank you for listening to the Low and Slow Barbecue Show.

[00:45:44] Remember, for the best barbecue and the best barbecue podcast, make it low and slow.

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