Great that you found my blog. My name is Pim, living in The Netherlands, in a small town called Voorschoten. I am father of two girls, married to my lovely wife, and BBQ is my hobby. After having lived in the United States for 5 years, in Charlotte, NC (area code 704, hence the name), I cannot imagine a life without BBQ. And, if you’re mentioning states such as North or South Carolina, a lot of people will automatically think about Pulled Pork – this is also how I got introduced to the world of “low and slow bbq”.
Soon after settling in the US, we bought an Akorn Grill, by Chargriller Grills, for the backyard. We started to experiment with Boston Butt for Pulled Pork, but also with low-and-slow Ribs and Brisket. And of course, every now and then we did typical Dutch BBQ as well (consisting of chicken satays), but low-and-slow quickly became my true passion.
Whether it is pork-shoulder (Boston Butt), or brisket – traditionally these were the cheaper cuts of meat. But, if you take these cuts of meat, and smoke then for 6, 8, 12 or sometimes even 18 hours on a low temperature, something magical happens, with juicy meat as a result.
After a few years in the US, it was time for us to move back to The Netherlands. Here in The Netherlands, we added a Traeger grill to the collection, specifically for the low-and-slow cooks. Nothing is easier than “set it and forget it”; add some wood pellets, turn it on, put the meat in, and all you have to do is wait for a wood-fired dinner. We also added a Weber Go Anywhere, to bring along on trips. And, last but not least, we also added an Ooni pizza oven, for family pizza night.
I started documenting my BBQ experience on my personal Instagram account, but soon there were more BBQ posts than non-BBQ, and I decided it would be good to start a seperate account, dedicated to BBQ, with the name BBQ704. The name was inspired by the area code (704) of Charlotte NC. This site is an addition to that Instagram account, with the goal of putting some recipes and experiences here as well – targeted at European readers. There is also a Dutch site, specifically for readers in The Netherlands (http://www.bbq704.nl).
Cheers from The Netherlands!
Pim
