Typical morning

The morning of a pit boss.

Alarm goes off at 6:30. Smack clock radio off the nightstand, yell at dog to lay back down, bury head under pillow and curse.

6:39. Repeat process.

6:48. Repeat process.

Sometime after 7--roll out of bed, hit floor, stare at alarm clock. Wonder how it got there. Tell dog to stop licking face.

Shower, dress in Hog Wild black T and work camos. Head to Bilo for lettuce, tomatoes and other stuff for today's lunch prep. Get call from Jose, who is equally happy to be up this early in the morning.

Get to world headquarters. Check emails. Print out the day's prep list. Light fire in firebox. Make giant pot of coffee. Wish for IV bag to inject coffee straight into veins. Tim "Mr. Scott" Carlson is busy working on the prerinse sprayer on the sink, which sprung a leak on Saturday. And by leak, I mean a geyser. We need full power, Scotty, by 1 p.m. or we're dead!!!!  Or doing dishes in the utility sink. One or the other...

9:30. Fully awake, firing on all cylinders. 50 lbs. of brisket on the smoker for a catering job for the Boy Scouts tomorrow night. Jose and Kurtis are in full prep mode, getting lunches ready for pickup and delivery today. Working on Friday's lunch menu. Smoked brisket cheesesteaks? Absolutely! What else? Got some ahi tuna in the freezer. A slab of cured salmon.Toy with cranking out 40 lbs. of dry cured Spanish chorizo this afternoon, which gets hung for 20+days to cure. Freaking wonderful. In a sidenote, going to try to touch base with an up and coming charcuterie student at Penn State to discuss techniques and share what we are doing at Hog Wild World Headquarters.

10:25. Printed out orders, planned delivery times and routes. Procrastinating by writing a blog. Getting ugly looks from Jose, who is putting wrap together. Time for another cup of coffee and get back to work.