The Pit Master

A Southern chef shows Texas-style brisket who’s boss.

- Renee Morgan

I grew up in south Alabama, where we raised our own vegetables, pigs and cows; hung out the laundry to dry because Daddy said the electricity was too expensive; and then rescued that laundry from the goats trying to chew it off the lines. I learned to can jams and jellies, gather and crack the pecans that fell in the fall, and shell ladyfinger peas with my great-grandma until my fingers hurt. So when I found myself transplanted to the Hill Country of Texas—due to the love of a sixth generation Texan—I felt I could hold my own.