Belmont native is smoking his way to the top

Although he was an executive chef making complicated dishes, Josh Davis became intrigued by a food item that was quite simple but produced a satisfaction that haute cuisine never could. He started smoking pork in his backyard, and within a short period of time he was selling pulled pork sandwiches by the tens of thousands.

Davis, a native of Belmont, took the next step in his barbecue empire with last month's opening of the Smoke Shack restaurant located right at the top of the Weirs Beach boardwalk. It's his second restaurant — the first is in Boscawen — but the majority of his sandwiches are sold through stands set up at NASCAR events or country fairs.

Before he was co-owner of a large and growing barbecue business, Davis was working as the executive chef for the computer company Compaq in Massachusetts. "It was a cushy job," he said. Whereas most people in the restaurant industry work late and weekend hours, his Compaq gig gave him the luxury of a nine to five schedule. That all came to an end, though, when his job was among the thousands of positions eliminated when that company was bought out by Hewlett-Packard in 2001.

"That was kind of our time to make a decision," he said.

Davis, a member of the Belmont High School class of '92, had already started tinkering with his pork recipe and technique. His wife Tammy — who graduated from Gilford High School in 1993 — had her own career in information technology. "We put our efforts in a different direction," he said, and the two of them founded the Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue.

Neither of them is from the land of barbecue, but that didn't discourage Davis. After all, he was able to become an executive chef without ever attending culinary school. He learned his craft by doing. His first job was in the kitchen at Steele Hill Resort; next he was in Patrick's Pub. At both places he worked under the tutelage of chef and entrepreneur Jeff Beetle. "Jeff spent a lot of time with me through my youth, showing me the right ways."

By the time he lost his job with Compaq, Davis had developed a product that was ready for prime time, and he quickly learned how right he was.

His big break came at one of his first events, which was located at Opechee Park in Laconia if his memory is correct. Bruce Stone, who was then an executive with the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, happened to buy one of Davis's signature pulled-pork sandwiches.

Davis recalls how the man walked up to him and asked, "Would you like to make some money?" Davis's answer was the obvious one, and soon he was selling his sandwiches inside the gates of New England's largest sporting event. "From that point on, we just grew."

From his initial success came further success. Executives from other racetracks, in attendance for the Loudon race, sought him out after trying his product, and now Davis and his crew feed race fans at tracks up and down the eastern seaboard. He'll feed 20,000 customers at the New Hampshire NASCAR race weekend alone. For that event, he sets up 15 stands throughout the facility to be able to meet demand.

But that's not even his biggest event. Even busier is the Deerfield Fair. Davis purchased a building there, where he can seat 375 people at one time — far more seating capacity than at both of his restaurants. If the weather's good at the Deerfield Fair, Davis will sell 7,000 pounds of pulled pork.

In addition to the Boscawen and Weirs restaurants, the country fairs and the NASCAR events, Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue also does a lot of catering. Over the course of a year, the business will sell about 40,000 pounds of pork butt and 11,000 racks of ribs.

All of that meat, as well as all of the beef brisket, chicken and sausage, is smoked in a giant wood-fired smoker in Boscawen. The smoker is cooking 24 hours of the day, every day of the week for most of the year. It can fit 880 pounds of pork butt (which is actually shoulder meat) at one time. All the meat for the entire operation is cooked at the Boscawen smoker and transported to its point of sale.

The key to perfect pulled pork is in the process.

"The key is to set it at a low temp — 250 degrees — and keep it there," Davis said. Cook it lower and the connective tissues won't soften and the meat will be tough, cook it hotter and it will dry the meat out. The pork smokes at that precise temperature for 12 hours.

Choice of fuel is also important. Davis started using exclusively seasoned hickory wood, but the recent spikes in fuel prices made him mix in some locally-sourced apple wood. The introduction of the relatively sweeter applewood smoke improved the flavor, and now the Smoke Shack uses a 60/40 blend of the two woods.

Where he once was challenged by making dishes with hard-to-pronounce names, Davis now finds his challenge by offering a basic product on an increasingly large scale, all while maintaining quality.

"You're getting real food — comfort food. It's not a processed piece of meat." He said he sees more smiles from his pulled pork than he ever got as a chef serving filet mignon and stuffed lobster tails. "It's a feel-good type of food."

The restaurant at The Weirs seats 140, including 80 in the renovated second floor. The Boscawen store has indoor seating for 55 but it can seat 175 outside. As part of the leasing of the Weirs building, the business is also managing a nearby general store The Smoke Shack employs about 54 year-round employees and 100 seasonal employees.

The Smoke Shack at The Weirs opened on May 15. Davis plans to have the restaurant open through Labor Day, and will be open on weekends during September before it closes for the season.