A labor we love

I pause today to thank all of the people who give us the Texas BBQ we eat, talk about, write about, take pictures of. We show up at BBQ joints, order, & eat. No work required. But work is definitely required to get the food to our plates, particularly at the joints that don't mechanize the cooking. If you've spent time with a pitmaster, you have an idea of how much time and energy and sweat goes into cooking BBQ in a pit/smoker. Eyes stinging from the smoke. Temperatures far above the already triple-digit temps outside of the pits. Clothes soaked in sweat and saturated with smoke. Day in. Day out. It's exhausting. It's not for the weak. To all of them & to everyone else who works at Texas BBQ joints: Thank you. Thank you for your hard work & dedication. We appreciate it so much. On this Labor Day, cheers to you.