What's The Deal With Pit Beef?

By Aaron Henkin

Published May 16, 2022 at 1:17 PM EDT

Pit beef sandwich, medium rare, with Tiger Sauce, barbecue sauce, horseradish, and pickles, a side of mac n cheese, and a side of gravy fries, at Chaps Pit Beef on Pulaski Highway (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

This week’s listener grew up in Maryland, and he always just assumed there were roadside pit beef stands across the whole country. Not so! Pit beef is a hyper-regional food tradition rooted in Baltimore’s industrial past, and we head out to explore the origins and permutations of this local delicacy.

Courtney has been working the window at Chaps for five months. She's been a customer her since she was a kid. (Photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Charm City Table food blogger Simone Phillips at Chaps Pit Beef. Simone says the food tradition dates back to when Baltimore steelworkers used to fire up a grill in the parking lot during their lunch breaks. (Photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR) — Baltimore Banner Creative-in-Residence, Simone Phillips, at Chaps Pit Beef. Simone says the food tradition dates back to when Baltimore steelworkers used to fire up a grill in the parking lot during their lunch breaks. (Photo credit: Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

In this episode, we hear from:

Simone Phillips, Creative in Residence at The Baltimore Banner

Allison Robicelli, who wrote the Washington Post article, Here are 11 of the best places to enjoy pit beef – Maryland’s answer to barbecue

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Aaron Henkin

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

See stories by Aaron Henkin