We’ll all been caught watching Diners, Drive ins and Dives late at night. All that tasty American comfort food (although I admit the amount of powered vegetables they use is a bit daunting!), often cooked for hours on end. We have our own comfort food in South Africa, but little gets me drooling like pulled pork, brisket and smoked meats, American style!
While we may chuckle at the term ‘barbeque’ in America, it’s actually quite different. Often, hours and hours are spend smoking meat at BBQ competitions and for restaurants, South Africa can’t say that we’re the best at that no matter how good we are at braaiing. But now there’s a Cape Town couple who are bringing the American awesomeness to our doorstep – PitMasters.
This August I was lucky enough to visit Deleen and Wouter at their home in Atlantic Beach. I dragged along Mr Love, 4 friends and a baby to their home, where they literally welcomed us with open arms. Their kids, cats and home had to welcome an entourage of bloggers, DJs and food lovers and they did so without blinking an eye.
Who r dez ppl?
I’m outta here!
Wouter gave us a quick tour of their smokers – PROPER, legitimate smokers where they house meats to slowly cook over hours and hours. While boiling of meat gives a beautiful texture, this can also be achieved by very slow roasting. PitMasters has been operating from a food truck for the last few years, you’ve probably seen them at the Cape Town Food Truck festival or at a number of other outdoor events. When I found them at the Food Truck Food Festival last year, they were sold out so I didn’t even get to taste their food then.
To start, Wouter offered us some dry rub ribs, which we cheered with Dragon Beer: spicey on the (what feels like) one winter’s day this year. The ribs were absolutely sublime. Think more intense kesslar chops, HMMMM!
Deleen set a table that made me feel like Christmas time. Home made meats, salads and carbs, packed with all the warm fuzzy and cheerful feelings that come along with Christmas.
The 8 of us tucked into their ribs, pulled meats and brisket – holey shmoley, delicious.
My favourite was still the dry rub ribs. The brisket was wonderful too but I needed to add a touch of salt. The saucy ribs were ok, same rib taste, but I’m not a big sauce person. I’m sure most South Africans will go nuts for them though!
It was wonderful to relax in their home and learn about their adventures of living overseas and where they got their passion for food from. They’ve lived overseas and traveled to many locations, always studying and taking in food influences. Because of this, they offered us some coffee from Saudi, it tasted like hay tea!
I can’t thank Deleen and Wouter enough for having us in their home. Their hospitality was wonderful, their food delicious, my friend Phill was practically trying to move in 😉 HAHA!
The good news is that PitMasters will be opening their very first restaurant on the 5th of September. We can’t WAIT to visit and taste their food. Keep an eye on the Pit Masters South Africa Facebook Page for more updates!
