B.T.'s Smokehouse
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B.T.'s Smokehouse is a restaurant that specializes in dry-rubbed and slow-smoked
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
and is located in the downtown section of
Sturbridge, Massachusetts Sturbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to Old Sturbridge Village living museum, living history museum and other sites of historical interest such as Tantiusques. The pop ...
. The restaurant smokes about of meat per week, with
brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the Pectoralis major, superficial ...
being to of that total. On a typical weekend, the smokehouse will serve 1,200 and 1,500 people in its 38-seat location. The restaurant uses a J&R Oyler Pit, named "Black Betty", salvaged from a KC Masterpiece restaurant. The smoker can cook 1,400 pounds of meat at a time, using a mix of
apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...
, and black cherry wood.


Introduction

B.T.'s Smokehouse is a barbeque restaurant in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Brian Treitman founded the restaurant in April 2007 in a roadside trailer next to the Brimfield Antiques Fair. After achieving initial success, B.T.'s was later expanded to occupy the 40-seat establishment that serves as the current location in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. B.T.'s has been credited in ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' as one of the "10 places to bask in barbecue". B.T.'s started offering catering services for weddings and events in 2008.


Management

Brian Treitman graduated from
The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...
in
Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...
and had his internship with Ming Tsai's restaurant, Blue Ginger, in
Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...
. Later, he worked as a chef in various
Napa County, California Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...
restaurants for more than ten years. Treitman also worked as a chef in Ken Oringer's KO Prime in Boston before starting B.T.'s. Treitman lists Jacques Pépin and
Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...
as the chefs who were his primary influencers. The Worcester Business Journal selected Treitman as one of their "40 Under Forty" young business professionals for 2016.


Menu

Focusing on Southern-style cuisine, the menu offers natural grass-fed beef, chicken, pork, and other meats that have been dry-rubbed and slow-smoked for up to 14 hours with local apple and hickory woods. Treitman makes his sauces and his own
ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...
from scratch. In addition to standard barbecue fare, the restaurant also offers more unusual entrees such as smoked salmon, chili made with brisket meat, and smoked turkey and chicken.


Awards and accolades

B.T.'s Smokehouse has earned numerous awards and prizes since 2007.


Food awards

In the fall of 2015, the British chef and restaurateur
Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...
stopped by the smokehouse for a brisket sandwich. Ramsay said he had heard about the restaurant while filming an episode of
Hotel Hell ''Hotel Hell'' is an American reality television series created, hosted and narrated by Gordon Ramsay, which ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network for three seasons from 2012 to 2016. It aired on Monday nights at 8 pm ET/PT. It was Ra ...
in nearby
Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. History The area was i ...
, and it was recommended he stop by for a visit. Ramsay said the brisket was "perfect".


Environmentalism and sustainability

The restaurant obtains much of its produce from local farms and the Pioneer Valley Growers Association. The smokehouse recycles all meat grease and vegetable oil used in the restaurant by sending the refuse to a local rendering plant. The grease from the meat is rendered into industrial soaps and cleaners, and the vegetable oil is turned into bio-diesel fuel. All of the take-out materials and cups, plates, and utensils are
biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...
. The cups are made from corn, most of the utensils are made from potato starch, and the take-out materials are made from bamboo rather than the foam material used in most barbecue restaurants.


See also

* List of barbecue restaurants


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:B.T.'s Smokehouse Restaurants in Massachusetts Barbecue restaurants in the United States Restaurants established in 2007 Buildings and structures in Sturbridge, Massachusetts