BBQ Pit Boys
Barbecue’s Most Wanted
They are the outdoor, outlaw grillers, who have built the largest community of live-fire enthusiasts in the world. RUPERT BATES talks flame and fame with the BBQ Pit Boys
When you meet Bob Ahlgren, even through a transatlantic video lens transporting you from the English south coast to New England, USA, you wonder if you have the name of the business he founded correct.
As we discussed their Chapters emerging around the world, including the UK, and Bob stroked his white beard, I was thinking more Grandpas of Anarchy than BBQ Pit Boys. They even bill themselves as ‘outlaw grillers’.
Bob is indeed a proud grandfather. His grandchildren have appeared in their hugely popular YouTube videos and son Jesse is a key part of BBQ Pit Boys, joining us on the call from Connecticut. But watch the videos; absorb the authenticity. The smoke from the pits signals brotherhood – ‘bikers’ rocking up to rev the barbecues, chew the fat and drink the beer and the bourbon. Whatever your age, you immediately want to be in their gang – and eat their food.
First a few numbers. BBQ Pit Boys are YouTube sensations and have over five million subscribers and followers across multiple social media platforms. More than 1,000 instructional videos have had over 400 million views and there are 18,000 registered Chapters of fans in more than 100 countries.
As an antiques dealer, Bob took an early interest in the internet and how to scale his business online and reach a wider audience. But this was back in the day of Who?Tube, when the only content being uploaded was cats looking cute, rather than the global colossus that is the platform today.
Bob had always been a keen outdoor cook; it was in his genes as an American grilling in the backyard for family and friends. But it was a series of sliding doors moments in 2007 that kickstarted the BBQ Pit Boys phenomenon.
First there was the dump run – a Saturday institution where the trash was taken out and locals shared their week. Bob spied a kettle grill, threw it on his truck and took it home; and with his friend, Jack ,over from California, they cooked up a few recipes.
“I’d bought a video camera when Jesse got married thinking a great present would be to shoot his wedding. But my ulterior motive was to make YouTube videos for the online antiques business,” laughs Bob.
A call from Jack when back in California changed Ahlgren’s life.
“He called me to ask how I’d cooked the chicken on the kettle. I said: ‘Tell you what, I’ll cook it again and try and send you a video.’ It took ages to upload and I had no idea about editing, but put it on YouTube for Jack to see.”
A few weeks later Bob got a call from YouTube, who were now taking advertising on the platform, saying how much they liked the video and would he be interested in partnering.
“Then, a month later, there was a cheque in the mail for 32 bucks. What the heck? Somebody was watching my videos and I was being paid for it!”
The rest is history, posting more and more videos, appearing on the YouTube homepage, servers crashing, fighting for bandwidth and often uploading in the middle of the night just to get a connection.
A few more numbers to digest: the BBQ Pit Boys channel is registered as the number one BBQ show on both Facebook and YouTube and ranked in the top 5% of all YouTube channels – essentially it is the biggest barbecue community in the world.
The fame and following may have rocketed, with advertisers and fans flocking to their channel to inhale their smoky aura, but the boys haven’t changed and neither has their ethos.
“The growth of our platform has been entirely organic. We don’t have professional cooks at the pit – we’re just regular guys hanging out, grilling and shooting videos, with a side of comedy, intentional or not! We appeal to the everyday griller, who loves to be outside, but might otherwise be intimidated by the process,” says Jesse Ahlgren.
“I think that is part of the charm. We’ll never be or want to be a slick, professional, polished cooking show on the food and travel channels. People are drawn to the blue-collar nature of the Pit Boys. We’ll take shortcuts too, realising not everybody has the time for a 12-hour brisket. We might cook something we have no idea if it will work, but will give it a go.”
Bob found himself on television shows and invited to big international festivals as the star attraction in front of thousands of BBQ fans, cheering his name.
“Boy, this is getting serious, I thought,” says Bob, as the likes of Microsoft, Walmart, Budweiser and Jack Daniel’s took advertising space on his channel and website, recognising the increasing reach and influence of social media.
You sense, no matter the size of the following or the blue-chip companies knocking at his door, that every video still carries the camaraderie and spirit of the very first one uploaded to help his mate cook chicken in California.
“I have no professional background in food whatsoever. I learned about the fire as a cub scout and have become a bit better by learning from lots of mistakes, often having no idea what I’m doing.”
Son Jesse begs to differ. “Dad is being far too modest; he’s a great cook, as is my mum.” The third generation is grilling too, with Jesse’s children to be seen with plastic barbecues – chocolate and bananas often the preferred ingredients.
“It’s been a big change to move from corporate life in HR to full-time griller,” says Jesse.
Friends regularly join the family too and nobody arrives at the pit without a contribution, be it a duck from a hunt, or a new idea for a steak.
“We experiment and we have fun.”
The pit – or the Mother Pit as it is affectionately dubbed – is actually a huge collection of over 20 barbecues gathered over the years, but the Weber kettle remains the preferred weapon of choice in the backyard.
A lot of products and samples are sent for review, but BBQ Pit Boys are very particular about what they promote. “We say no a lot. We won’t work with anything we don’t believe in.”
They are rarely short of ideas, or ribs. Bob might wake up in the middle of the night and jot down an idea for a fish recipe. “Whatever we might yearn for at the time, we’ll think about doing a video of it. We shoot, or cook, from the hip.”
When Jeff Goldblum joined them at the pit for the Disney channel, it had to be a tomahawk rebadged as a Jurassic steak in honour of one of the actor’s biggest films.
For their last BBQ on earth – and they’ve had a few – Jesse would probably go for ribs, and Bob a burger. “There isn’t a better sandwich on the planet.”
There is plenty of merchandise to amplify the BBQ Pit Boys brand, with Chapters gathering in T-shirts in countries all around the world.
“They do the same thing as us. Get together round the grills, hang out, cook from our videos and have a beer, wearing our bling,” says Bob.
“We love how BBQ is growing in the UK and are proud to have a lot of British fans. You guys could just do with a little less rain. Most of the images I get sent from UK chapters you’re grilling under a tent!” Angus & Oink can testify to the international reach, with BBQ Pit Boys rubs flying off their UK shelves.
We end by talking ‘pitmaster privilege’. No matter where you are in the world and what you cook, says Bob, if you don’t have the same ingredients to hand to follow somebody else’s recipe, come up with something else, be creative.
“That’s pitmaster privilege.”
Pitmasters, BBQ Pit Boys, it’s been a privilege.
