Brothers Dave and Tom Hamilton lit the coals in the outside barbecue pit at Bond Head United Church shortly after noon on Friday.
It would be another four hours before they would set the first rack of smoked pork chops on the grill. That’s how long it took the charcoal bricquets and hardwood logs – “a little bit of maple, a little bit of applewood,” said Dave Hamilton – to burn down and reach jut the right temperature.
The Hamilton brothers carry on a family tradition at the church, which has been holding the Pork Chop Barbecue for decades. “My father was the original cook,” said Dave.
“The old family tradition goes back 40 years,” agreed Tom.
While the brothers checked the heat and arranged the pork chops in iron racks that can be flipped over while on the grill, a small army of volunteers was busy downstairs in the church – preparing baked potatoes, bowls of coleslaw, sour cream and applesauce, and cutting up watermelon and pie.
It’s the home-baked pies, as much as the grilled pork chops themselves, that attract the diners.
At one time, the Bond Head Pork Chop Barbecue was so popular that people would come in by the busload, from as far away as Toronto and Kitchener. One year, the church served approximately 1,200 Pork Chop dinners.
Back in those days, said Tom, “We had six racks going” – filled with pork chops. As one rack was taken off the grill, another rack was set in its place. And rarely were there leftovers to take home.
But those days are gone. Now, the Hamilton brothers and their helpers can get away with using just four of the lighter racks. And where they used to bring two truckloads of chops directly from the packers, they now only order about 2 dozen boxes.
It's not the size of the dinner, or the funds raised that is important, say organizers. The Pork Chop Barbecue has become more of a local community event – bringing residents together to both prepare the meal, and to enjoy a barbecue dinner out-of-doors.
The first guests began arriving just at the chops were put on the grill. They were prepared to wait for their dinner, especially the home-baked pies.
