PUTNEY — For decades, from April to October each year, Curtis Tuff has stood over his three barbecue pits, wreathed in wood smoke as he tended the fire, and grilled tens of thousands of chicken halves and racks of pork ribs.
Unlike other barbecue cooks who use a smoker, Tuff has always cooked his meats over an open fire. It takes about 80 minutes to grill a rack of ribs, which get mopped with his barbecue sauce about 10 minutes before they come off the grill.
Chicken takes a little longer, about 90 minutes, as the birds are turned frequently to keep from getting dried out.
He has also grilled potatoes, wrapped in aluminum foil, in the same pit as his chicken and ribs. The side dishes - baked beans, greens, and yams - were cooked in pots at the edge of the pit.
Tuff has gone through 20 or so cords of wood a year. Cooking with hardwoods - maple, cherry, birch, and ash - slowly over a raised, open grill is the only way he believes barbecue should be done. This method keeps the meat moist while giving it a gently smoked flavor.
Then there's the sauce. Barbecue fans often get into arguments over the merits of different sauces, and each region of the country has its own variations.
Tuff's sauce is laced with vinegar, a recipe that is popular in parts of the Carolinas and not often found outside the South.
The secret recipe comes from his grandfather, and it was based on the necessity of making a sauce that wouldn't easily spoil in the heat of a Southern summer. It's tangier than the sweet sauces of Kansas City, not quite as hot as Texas sauces and, combined with his open-pit grilling, it gives his barbecue a very distinctive flavor.
Sarah Tuff, Curtis's daughter, has carried on these traditions as her father started cutting back on his time running the grill.
It's hard to mess with success, and the many accolades Curtis Tuff has received over the years is a testament to the philosophy behind his barbecue that he shared with The Boston Globe back in 2013.
“You have to love your job and you have to start with good ribs,” he said. “You have to be nice to people. Then you are making good ribs and people come back to see you again.”