Pickett's PitDown east, N.C.
Whole hog, ribs & cheap cuts, the old Carolina way.
Forty-eight years on one pit at a crossroads in Pitt County, written down for your backyard.
How to burn wood down to coals that cook, which cheap cuts eat like the expensive ones, the picnic shoulder that tastes like whole hog, two dips for three dollars, and how to feed a church crowd without going broke. Big print, plain steps, a checklist at the end of every chapter.
Instant download · Large print · PDF + EPUB · 7-day money-back guarantee
“Carry the coals from there to there,” Uncle Lonnie said. “Don't spill none.”
Hollis's first lesson, age eleven
What makes it different
Not a pile of recipe cards
The why behind every step
Why the coals go where they go, why you leave the lid alone, why a cheap shoulder needs time more than money.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Dry ribs, bitter smoke, the long stall: every chapter ends with the mistakes I saw most.
Plain gear
A kettle grill, a chimney starter and a thermometer. No fancy smoker, no gadgets, no secret rub to buy.
Cheap cuts first
Picnic shoulder, spare ribs, chicken quarters, shanks and sausage: the cuts that still feed a family for less.
The arithmetic
Smoke it yourself, and the same pound costs a fraction
Example numbers only. Your store, your region and the season will change them.
Pulled pork, bought cooked
Smoked at home
Assumptions: raw pork shoulder about $2–$3 a pound; cooked weight about half the raw weight; restaurant pulled pork $15–$20 a pound. A typical example, not a promise.
What's inside
Ten chapters, from the first coal to the last plate
Each opens with a memory from Pickett's Pit, then the steps, the safe temperatures and a checklist.
Chapter 1 · pages 8–18
Coals, Not Flames: Building a Fire That Cooks
- Why Coals Cook and Flames Burn
- Hickory, Oak and the Wood You Leave Alone
- Setting Up a Kettle Grill for Barbecue
- Holding 225–275°F with the Vents
- Fire and Carbon Monoxide Safety
Chapter 2 · pages 19–30
The Meat Counter: Cheap Cuts and How to Ask for Them
- Pig People First: Picnic, Butt and Brisket
- Ribs: Spares, Baby Backs and the St. Louis Trim
- The Pot Cuts: Shanks, Neck Bones, Hocks and Leg Quarters
- At the Counter: What to Look For and What to Ask
- Getting It Home and Keeping It Safe
Chapter 3 · pages 31–43
The Picnic Shoulder: Whole Hog Taste in a Backyard
- Why the Picnic Is Your Whole Hog
- Salt It the Night Before
- The Long Cook, Skin Side Up
- Rest, Crisp, Chop: Lonnie's Block Trick
- When It Rains: The Oven Picnic
Chapter 4 · pages 44–55
Whole Hog: How We Did It, and the Honest Truth About You Doing It
- The Block Pit and the Hog
- The Honest Truth: It's a Crew Job
- Renting a Cooker and the Cooler Plan
- The Night the Hog Caught Fire
- Scaling It Down for Your Backyard
Chapter 5 · pages 56–67
Ribs Without Foil, and the One Thing I Quit
- Trimming Spare Ribs St. Louis Style
- Salt, Pepper and a Steady Fire
- How to Tell When Ribs Are Done
- Why I Quit Foil, and the Rainy Saturday I Didn't
- Sauce Late, Thin Coats
Chapter 6 · pages 68–79
Chicken, Sausage and the Other Cheap Meats
- Saturday Chicken: Halves and Leg Quarters
- Sausage: Smoked Rings and Fresh Links
- Shanks and Hocks for the Bean Pot and Greens
- Cheap and Good When Pork Prices Jump
Chapter 7 · pages 80–90
Two Dips, Three Dollars: Vinegar Sauce and Its Cousins
- The Clear Sauce: Vinegar and Pepper
- A Little Red and a Big Argument
- Mustard Sauce for a Neighbor
- Mop or Dip?
- Why Vinegar Sauce Keeps, and Why I Fridge It Anyway
Chapter 8 · pages 91–102
Slaw, Hushpuppies and the Rest of the Plate
- Slaw: Stretching the Meat the Carolina Way
- Hushpuppies and Hot Oil
- Pit Beans and Boiled Potatoes
- Banana Pudding and the Cold Table
Chapter 9 · pages 103–114
Church Plates: Feeding a Crowd Without Going Broke
- Plate Math: Pounds In, Plates Out
- Arlene's Ledger: What a Plate Costs
- The Cook Day, Hour by Hour
- Getting It There Hot
- The Serving Line and the Leftovers
Chapter 10 · pages 115–126
Safe Temps, Smart Leftovers and the Pit Cook's Monday
- The Thermometer and the Numbers
- Cooling Fast and Storing Right
- Thawing and Reheating
- Cleaning the Grate and the Ash Can
- Monday at the Stove
At the back: the cheap-cut counter card, Hollis's pit tool list and an index.
Look inside
Real pages from the book
Big print, numbered steps, and a checklist you can tick at the grill.
Swipe to see more pages.
At the pit
Keep it where the fire is.
Read it on your phone, tablet or Kindle (EPUB), or print just the page you need (PDF) and keep it by the grill. Big print either way.
The book + 4 bonuses
Everything for $37
One download. Every cut. Every season.
Everything you get
The Pickett's Pit Book135 pages · 10 chapters, from coals to church plates$47
Hollis's 30-Day Pit Quick Start39 pages · one pit job a day for thirty days$27
Pickett's Pit Checklists & Cards26 pages · temperature, meat-counter, smoke-log and plate-math cards$19
Hollis's Year at the Pit36 pages · a season-by-season pit calendar$29
Hollis's Pit Problem Fixer30 pages · when the fire or the meat won't behave$15- If bought separately$137
$37all 5 together, today
Get the bundle · $37Instant download · pay once · yours to keep
7-day money-back guarantee. Read it, try it, and if it isn't for you, email us within 7 days of buying for a full refund.
Who's talking
Hollis Pickett, Pitt County, North Carolina
I was eleven when Uncle Lonnie handed me a coal shovel. I tended that pit for forty-eight years at a crossroads in Pitt County, with tobacco fields on three sides and a gravel lot out front. We cooked whole hogs, shoulders and ribs, and sauced them with vinegar and pepper and nothing fancy.
Shorty Barnes worked the pit beside me for thirty of those years. My wife, Arlene, kept the ledger at the front counter and told me the truth about every pound and every dollar.
I'm no chef and no food scientist. I stood by a fire most of my life and wrote down what worked, what didn't, and the safe temperatures the USDA sets, so you don't learn it the hard way.
— Hollis
Honest fit
Who it's for, and who it isn't
This book is for you if…
- You want real Carolina barbecue at home without fancy gear
- You buy cheap cuts and want them to taste like the expensive ones
- You cook for family, church or neighbours and need to stretch the money
- You like to know why, not just what
- You want big, easy-to-read print
It's not for you if…
- You want competition rubs and injections
- You're shopping for a $2,000 smoker
- You want pellet-grill app recipes
- You need a printed book (it's a PDF + EPUB; print the pages you want)
My word on it
7-day money-back guarantee
Read it, cook from it, and if it isn't useful to you, email sanyal@zylvane.com within 7 days of buying and you'll get every cent back.
$37the book + 4 bonuses · $137 if bought separately
Get the bundle · $37Instant download · Large print · PDF + EPUB · 7-day money-back guarantee
QUESTIONS
Questions folks ask
What do I need to cook with?
A kettle grill, a chimney starter and a thermometer. Chapter 1 shows how to set the kettle up for low, steady heat.
How do I know the meat is safe?
Use a thermometer. The book follows USDA guidance: pork to 145°F with a rest, poultry to 165°F, and pulled pork is cooked well past that (about 195–205°F) so it pulls apart. Leftovers go in the fridge within 2 hours.
Is Hollis a real person?
Hollis is the storyteller of our channel and this book. The pit methods are traditional and real, and the food-safety numbers follow USDA guidance. The book is written and checked by the Zylvane team.
Why $37 when the parts add up to $137?
Each of the 5 items (The Pickett's Pit Book and the 4 bonuses) is also sold on its own in this shop: $47, $27, $19, $29 and $15. Bought together they're $37, paid once.
Is this a printed book?
No. You get large-print PDF and EPUB files to download right after checkout. They read on a phone, tablet, Kindle or computer, and you can print any page you like.
I'm not good with computers. Will this be hard?
If you can open an email, you can open this. You'll get a download link by email; tap it and the book opens. Stuck? Email sanyal@zylvane.com and we'll walk you through it.
What if it's not for me?
Email sanyal@zylvane.com within 7 days of buying and you'll get a full refund. No forms, no fuss.
Feed the fire small, and feed the crowd well.
The Pickett's Pit Book and its 4 bonuses, in big print.
Instant download · Large print · PDF + EPUB · 7-day money-back guarantee