Smokin’ meat – Pitmaster Late brings the taste of Texas

EWN: How long have your been smoking meat for?
Late: Smoking meat is something I’ve done since I can recall. Grandpa’s smoked fish was a favorite of mine during the summer nights in my childhood. It was a different way of smoking fish than what I do today, but the memories are still warm.

As for becoming a professional, it was some years ago when I got fed up with a lot of friends telling me, ‘You should do that for a living.’

EWN: Have you worked in restaurants or caterers?
Late: I have experience in both the restaurant and catering industries.

EWN: In recent years, smoking has become more popular in the United States. Have you seen it much here in Spain as well?
Late: The American tradition of BBQ has been a part of American culture for centuries. Texas is more than just a religion. At the moment, I think Europe is a lot of fun. The BBQ industry is booming. Paris is home to the largest BBQ show in Europe. Every day, new BBQ restaurants and pit builders are introduced to the market. It’s madness, but in the best way. This has become a huge trend in Europe. Spain is quite quiet right now. Some people have BBQ as their passion and build their own BBQ rigs. They cook BBQ as part of their job. But these are mostly in Madrid, or the northern parts of Spain. Sevilla and Valencia have a few, but they are not many.

With American BBQ, I think Spain will bloom like crazy in the next two years.

EWN: What is your best-selling product?
Late: I’d say ribs have probably been the best seller since starting BBQ in here at the end of 2023 – I’ve cooked over 10,000 racks, and that’s a decent number, I’d say, for an area where no one really knew anything about smoked ribs before. People in this area are more familiar with the taste and appearance of Argentinian ribs.

But my personal favourite is turkey breast – it’s simply amazing how it comes out from the smoker, extremely moist and tender. Nine out of 10 people who dislike turkey will change their minds once they taste it.

EWN: Do you season or marinate with your favorite rub or do you leave it as is?
Late: I don’t like to marinate. 90% of the seasonings I use are SPG based (salt, black pepper, and garlic), with 10% being my own personal twist.

EWN: What’s your favorite wood to burn on the fire?
Late: It is made of 100% oak. It is not from the locality and it is expensive. It’s not local to the area, and it’s expensive. But I have an excellent supplier with whom I’ve worked from day one. I am very satisfied with the results. It’s fun to experiment with different woods, and to see what flavour profiles you get. However, if you look at it in another way, my barbecue is classic Texas style, which uses oak.

EWN: What types of events do you cater?
Late: This year I would like to focus on event catering. You name it: birthdays, weddings and company parties. Our climate is conducive to large-scale outside events.

Beginning of July, I will be catering for Henry IV Events in the Champagne Region of France. What a wonderful trip!

EWN: What are your neighbours’ feelings about your barbecuing habits? They run to their house to do their laundry when you see them?
Late: So far, everyone is very happy. The locals, who have never seen anything like it before, ask about it and how it operates. The first thing that happens when you pull the trailer behind a red traffic light is someone will ask what the trailer is. The feedback and the reactions that I’ve received since moving to Spain have been amazing. I’m on the right path.

Do it with passion or don’t do it at all!