Cooks come in many different sizes and shapes, but few among us would guess that John Snedden — who looks more like a prosperous surgeon than a barbecue whiz — is just that, a barbecue whiz. Founder, owner and chief smoke-and-grill guy at D.C. favorite Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company, Snedden concedes to a lifelong passion for all things cooked over wood.
“There was no ‘Aha’ moment,” he says, reflecting on his childhood grilling antics.
“I did my first pig roast when I was in the 10th grade,” he adds, recounting how he used to shop in the Italian market in Philadelphia where active slaughterhouses still existed.
“I became fascinated with grilling,” he says. “The first pig I roasted I cooked on a window grate.”
Hailing from a family of good cooks — “My mom and grandmother were good cooks,” he says, “they were farmers from Ohio” — Snedden distinguished himself as the only one in his clan who wanted to barbecue, remembering that it was he at family gatherings who got the grill fires blazing.
“No one else in the family had this interest,” he says. “I don’t know where it came from.”
But Snedden’s great barbecue adventures began in earnest while he was in college at Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Va., studying pre-med.
“I rented a farm when I was in college,” he says, and as a hobby and a break from his studies, he threw pig roasts.
“I entered pig roast contests here and there,” he says. “And I would cook loins and hams as holiday gifts.”
And because he attended a Southern school, Snedden made a point of visiting and eating at local barbecue joints, gaining firsthand understanding of old-fashioned barbecue.
As fate would have it, during his second year in medical school, however, Snedden received an invitation to come to D.C. for an international barbecue cook-off.
“The guy next to me at the event, Brian Watson, told me he was going to open a restaurant in Alexandria [Bugsy’s in Old Town] and he offered me a job,” he says. “That was so exciting for me. I had always wanted a restaurant job … I left medical school, which was not a passion in life. Barbecue is what really excited me.”
That was in 1984. By 1990, Snedden had opened his first Rocklands, the one on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park that sends out such delicious smoky aromas. He concedes that getting it started was something of a struggle, but with the signed bank loan in hand, he and a small crew worked to build out the space and incorporate his own specially designed barbecue pit. It’s this and his traditional techniques that distinguish Snedden’s barbecued meats from his competitors, he says.
“Most companies use Southern Pride cookers or a carousel cooker with a separate fire chamber heated with gas or electricity. Logs add smoke.”
But for Snedden’s cooking the proof is in the wood fire.
“We use red oak and hickory woods for cooking,” he says. “We use traditional barbecuing methods, not a Memphis or Texas style. … These are time-tested methods … and it’s not a sauce brushed over a protein.”
As an adjunct to his heavenly, smoky meats, Snedden has developed a line of side dishes that extend beyond the typical baked beans: Think MacLeod family Texas corn pudding, a Southwestern black bean salad, jalapeño poppers, a coleslaw from Snedden’s grandmother with green peas added and his mom’s potato salad recipe.
You’d really get it — Snedden’s passion for wood-fire cooking — if you’ve ever driven or strolled along upper Wisconsin Avenue, and suddenly sniffed what seems suspiciously like an outdoor campfire.
“I love the sensory side of food … this smells so good,” he says.
If you go
Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
2418 Wisconsin Ave. NW
202-333-2558
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays until 9 p.m.
For other locations, visit www.rocklands.com
Q&A with Chef John Snedden
Do you cook at home?
I do. On Sunday nights, it’s chicken, beef ribs and pork tenderloins.
What is your comfort food?
For me, it’s ribs, brisket and pulled pork — great pork sandwich with grilled onions and coleslaw.
What is your cooking philosophy?
Really traditional. If you have good ingredients and don’t touch them too much, it’s hard to beat a great pork butt or brisket when it comes out of the oven.
What’s in your fridge?
Fresh bacon, pork tenderloins, whole raw chicken, a fresh rack of lamb chops, cream of cauliflower soup, quesadillas from leftover chicken. Green beans. Eggs. No soda.
Where do you eat out?
You know, we don’t eat out nearly as much as we did two years ago. But we do enjoy Obelisk, 2 Amys, Amsterdam Felafel, Jaleo, Cafe Atlantico, Rio Grande, Joe’s Noodle House and Taqueria Poblano.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Texas Corn Pudding
Serves 10
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
5 eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp. seeded and minced jalapenos
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup minced yellow onion
10 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
7 cups creamed corn
Preheat the oven (preferably convection) to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients except creamed corn, and mix well. Add creamed corn and mix well again. Pour into a 9-by-13 baking dish.
Bake for 45 minutes or until firm.
