Where is your SPECIAL barbecue spot?

I know most folks hit the porch, deck or back yard when it comes to outdoor cooking. No shame there. You work with your environment.

But, if you have a some mileage on you, then you probably remember some of the more rustic outdoor fun. Maybe it was some fire cooking with Scouts or maybe with family off the beaten tracks. There was a time when "leave no trace" was not a thought or concern. You just struck the match and stuck the meat on a stick. It was all good in the best sense of it.

I revisited one of my favorite spots for that sort of old time fun this week. After a hard day of clearing brush, it was just natural to burn off the excess and make it a party. Hot dogs were rather the meat of choice, since it's hard to keep most other meats on a stick (or coat hanger--the metal type).

Actually, I made sandwiches and carried in this time. But, I remembered all those nights after working hard when the reward was meat on a stick and going to bed drop dead tired and full.

It's mostly a different world now. My town still asks that we burn off brush, but I expect that to change in the near future. Coat hangers are mostly plastic now. That sure won't work for a brush barbeque. And, trees are not so plentiful these days, so a quick green stick is harder and harder to find.

All that doesn't change the memories. I can always go back to the family farm even with sandwiches and drift off in time to when work and food were connected and when it wasn't a sin to stick a weiner over a fire on your own land and skip the kitchen altogether.