House-made details that make Pig in a Pickle BBQ extraordinary

 Everything is made in house. Everything. 

At Pig in a Pickle BBQ, the commitment to crafting everything from scratch runs deeper than their celebrated smoked meats and award-winning sauces. While diners marvel at the Brandt Family Farm’s beef and their ten regional sauce collection, an entire universe of attention to detail happens behind the scenes—from two-week fermented pickles to hand-rolled Parker House rolls, each detail reflecting a true dedication to authentic craft.

Bread and Butter pickles, just one example of the high attention to detail at Pig in a Pickle, photo by Nader Khouri photography

This is the result of Chef Damon Stainbrook’s impressive culinary pedigree, with a distinguished background that includes Lark Creek Inn, One Market and as Sous Chef at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry. 

What drew Damon to the world of BBQ was the science behind complex recipes and the accessibility that BBQ naturally lends itself while expanding the true art form of the craft.  

The combination is about honoring the fundamental principle that exceptional barbecue experiences are built on exceptional ingredients at every level—including the ones you might never think to ask about.

The Art of Fermentation: Where Time Creates Flavor

Dill Pickles: A Two-Week Journey to Perfection

In the back kitchen of Pig in a Pickle, time moves differently. Their Sour Dill Pickles spend two full weeks fermenting in traditional crocks, developing the complex, tangy depth that only true fermentation can achieve. This ancient preservation technique creates probiotics naturally while developing flavors impossible to replicate with quick-pickle methods.

Dill Crocks that are in the back of the kitchen at Pig in a Pickle, photo by owners

The process requires patience, attention, and understanding of fermentation science—monitoring temperature, salt levels, and timing to achieve that perfect balance of sour and crunch that complements their rich, smoky meats.

Bread & Butter Pickles: The Sweet Alternative

For those preferring sweeter profiles, their B&B Pickles follow a different path—three to four days in the walk-in cooler with vinegar, sugar, and carefully selected pickling spices. These "quick pickles" offer immediate gratification while maintaining the house-made quality that sets them apart from industrial alternatives.

Bread & Butter pickles, photo by Nader Khouri photography

From Dough to Table: Parker House Rolls

Every morning bread for the day’s consumption is made- not just the buns for the sandwiches but the Parker Rolls as well. Just as German immigrants brought mustard sauce traditions to South Carolina barbecue, Pig in a Pickle's Parker House Rolls represent the continuation of European baking traditions in American dining. Made from the same milk dough used for all their buns, these rolls are brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt, offering one of the menu's few half-portion options at just $2 for two rolls. This versatility demonstrates how serious scratch cooking maximizes ingredients while maintaining distinct menu experiences.

Croutons: Completing the Circle

Even their Seasonal Mixed Green Salad features croutons made from house-made buns, demonstrating the zero-waste philosophy that defines exceptional scratch kitchens. Nothing gets discarded when everything serves a purpose in creating the complete dining experience.

Kettle Tallow Chips: Old-World Technique Meets Modern Flavor

Their Kettle Tallow Chips—Kennebec potatoes fried in house-rendered beef tallow, then seasoned with the same BBQ spice blend used for their smoked chicken. This technique predates modern vegetable oil frying by centuries, creating flavors and textures impossible to achieve with contemporary shortcuts.

The beef tallow is rendered from trimmings from their own Brand Family Farm’s beef & it isn't just a cooking fat—it's a flavor delivery system that connects these chips to the broader barbecue experience while honoring traditional cooking methods that modern industrial food has largely abandoned. Pig in a Pickle is even bottling the tallow and selling it- be quick though, only while supplies last.

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese: The Art of Sauce-Making

Combining New York Sharp white cheddar with seven-year aged Wisconsin white cheddar, their mac and cheese represents serious cheese sauce craft. The only component not made in-house? The pasta itself—and only because their dedicated pasta maker retired, proving that even exceptions have stories worth telling.

This cheese sauce technique requires understanding temperature control, emulsification, and the unique melting characteristics of different aged cheddars—knowledge that separates artisan cooking from simply combining ingredients.

Collard Greens: Stock-Making as Foundation

Their collard greens showcase how serious barbecue operations approach every component. Slow-cooked in house-made stock created from Meyer’s Duroc pork smoked ham hocks, these greens represent the intersection of smoking expertise and traditional Southern cooking techniques.

The stock-making process transforms what could be waste (ham hock bones) into the foundation for exceptional vegetables, demonstrating how this method of cooking creates flavor layers impossible to achieve with commercial shortcuts.

Chow Chow Relish

Their Chow Chow Relish—featuring cabbage, cauliflower, red pepper, onions, celery, mustard seed, and turmeric—represents the Southern tradition of preserving seasonal vegetables while creating the perfect pulled pork accompaniment.

Expanding the BBQ Universe: Street Tacos and Taquitos:

Pig in a Pickle’s Street Tacos—small corn tortillas topped with pulled pork, onion, and cilantro—and Taquitos—featuring pulled pork, white cheddar, onions, and spices in pan-fried corn tortillas with house-made cheese sauce—demonstrate how scratch cooking enables menu innovation without compromising core identity.

These items use the same exceptional pulled pork and house-made sauces that define their barbecue identity while expanding into complementary flavor territories.

Dessert to Complete the Experience

Bread Pudding

Made from their house-made bread with vanilla custard and house-made caramel sauce, their bread pudding exemplifies how exceptional scratch kitchens think cyclically. Yesterday's bread becomes today's dessert, ensuring nothing valuable gets wasted while creating something entirely new and delicious.

Butterscotch Pudding

Created from milk, brown cane sugar, egg yolks, butter, and salt, their butterscotch pudding demonstrates the pastry science that turns simple ingredients into complex dessert experiences. This is all about understanding how heat, fat, and sugar interact to create textures and flavors.

The Philosophy Behind the Practice: Why Everything Matters

At Pig in a Pickle BBQ, making everything from scratch isn't about checking boxes or claiming authenticity points. It's about understanding that exceptional dining experiences emerge from the accumulation of thoughtful details—from the two-week fermented pickles that provide acidic contrast to rich meats, to the house-rendered tallow that makes their chips impossibly crispy and flavorful.

When restaurants control every component, they control every variable that affects your dining experience. There are no weak links, no compromises, no wondering whether this side dish or that sauce meets the same standards as the celebrated main attractions.

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Ready to discover all the house-made details that make Pig in a Pickle BBQ extraordinary? Visit their Corte Madera or Emeryville locations to experience the difference that complete scratch cooking makes. Planning an event? Contact their catering team to bring this level of artisanal craft to your next gathering.

Written by KP@ KPCopy