David Berman/Journal Scene

Lorne Gunter (left) watches as a cooking teammate seasons a rack of ribs March 6 during the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School. Gunter flew down from Canada to attend the two-day event.

David Berman/Journal Scene

Russ Cornette, who has won statewide accolades for his barbecue, teaches a lesson on ribs.

Lorne Gunter remembers how he first discovered American barbecue in his native Canada.

Gunter, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, was at a family cottage in Saskatchewan about 15 years ago when his aunt discovered a stack of old Southern Living magazines. Leafing through one of them, he came upon recipes from the storied barbecue stomping grounds of Tennessee, Texas and the Carolinas. He was instantly hooked.

“When you say barbecue in Western Canada, you mean a grill with a steak on it,” Gunter said.

Barbecue in the American South generally means pork that’s been slow-cooked with indirect heat. Smoke is the signature flavor.

“I’m the only person I know who has a backyard smoker,” he said. “It’s not hard to be the best barbecue cooker in Alberta when you’re the only one.”

Nevertheless, Gunter traveled to Summerville to take part in the second annual Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School so he could learn the “techniques, tricks and flavors I’m not getting on my own,” he said.

The two-day school, held March 6 and 7 at the Dorchester Shrine Club, was a chance for the Carolina Pit Masters to practice their dual mission of preserving barbecue’s heritage and giving back to the community. This year the school yielded 240 pounds of pork that helped the Shriners raise $4,000 to $5,000, said Russ Cornette, a member of Carolina Pit Masters.

Cornette, who is a champion barbecue cook by hobby and Summerville’s town engineer by trade, kicked off the school with an inside look at how he readies his winning spare ribs. He taught the pupils to season the underside of the rib rack, because that’s the first part to hit the judge’s tongue. He uses spare ribs, he said, because they’re more forgiving than the “baby back” variety.

Cornette’s lesson was one of four to span the two days. The others were on whole hogs, Boston Butt and chicken. Another member of the Carolina Pit Masters “faculty” is Jack Waiboer, who lives in the Oakbrook community.

“I’m in awe of the crew we were able to put together,” Waiboer said. “These are the top barbecue minds in South Carolina. If you didn’t learn anything here, it’s because you didn’t want to.”

Phil Wingo drove from Chicago to learn as much as he could. Like most Midwesterners, he knows his way around a grill. But barbecue, in the Southern tradition at least, is harder to find in Illinois, he said. It was Wingo’s recent foray into barbecue judging that got him interested in the “low and slow” technique and that prompted him to buy his bullet-shaped backyard smoker.

Wingo saw an advertisement for the Carolina Pit Masters school in a national barbecue publication. Compared to other barbecue schools, the $300 fee was a bargain, he said.

“Some of these classes, they wanted to charge $1,500,” he said.

Wingo is looking to start a catering business that will work in tandem with the tailgate charter operation he owns. His company already drives fans to sporting events and concerts. He wants to cook for them too.

“I figured I would learn what they’re doing different here (in South Carolina) than everybody else,” he said.

Contact David Berman at 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com

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