Fire Up the Smoker: Cordwood BBQ Has the Meats

Find this food truck at The Little Fleet or on Eighth Street

Walt Lach has a pretty sweet—and savory—deal: After the launch of Cordwood BBQ 10 years ago, the 2007 Great Lakes Culinary Institute grad continues to grow his business, which remains solidly among Traverse City’s favored venues for authentic smoked eats, plus all the fixings.

Seven days a week in the summer, you can find Cordwood at The Little Fleet, where it has maintained its position since 2015. Lach says the food truck owners there are “like a family.”

In 2024, Lach followed up with a brick-and-mortar storefront, named Cordwood BBQ at Eighth, which he shares with Grand Traverse Sauce Co., the veteran-owned purveyor of small-batch hot sauce. Find them at Traverse City’s new East Side Social District, at Eighth and Garfield. The venue can seat about 25 folks both inside at tables and bar seating and at outside tables. Expect the same great menu available year around. (A license to serve adult libations might be in the future.)

In the shoulder season, Cordwood will also pop up in other locales, from the Michigan Sauna Fest to the Iceman Cometh Challenge.

No matter where the truck goes, Lach tends the main smoker, a repurposed 500-gallon propane tank, and follows a schedule which demands patience: “It’s labor intensive,” he says of the process. Lach says that a brisket takes about 12 to 14 hours, and pork between 8 and 10 hours.

Lach feeds the fire every 20 to 30 minutes with a mix of red and white oak, sourced from a supplier in Kalkaska and balanced for optimal flavor. Low temps guarantee even cooking and tenderness without drying out the finished product, and the long smoke time imparts deep, memorable flavors.

And that smoker is busy: He estimates that in one week during the busy season he might sell over 300 rice bowls, around 700 sandwiches, and over 800 sides. “It’s a lot of work,” he admits, “but everyone appreciates the food.”

Cooked Low and Slow; Eaten Hot and Fast

First, let’s talk sandwiches. The 8th Street Special is a pile of smoked pulled pork, with slaw, pickles, and pickled red onions. The Piggy Back features smoked pulled pork, topped with creamy mac and cheese. And then there’s the Castaway Chicken, combining smoked pulled chicken with mac and cheese, and the What What, which serves up smoked beef brisket, slaw, pickles, pickled red onions, and white Alabama BBQ sauce. All of the above sandwiches are served on a tender brioche bun with fresh BBQ sauce.

Yes, this is a BBQ joint, but vegetarians will love the flavors in the Bomb Diggety, complete with fried tempeh, queso blanco, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and crème fraîche on brioche.

Now, let’s mix it up a bit with your favorite BBQ side: mac and cheese. Go Hog Wild for a combo of creamy mac and cheese and smoked pulled pork, topped with BBQ sauce. Or try the Brisket Mac with mac and cheese, smoked beef brisket, and sweet BBQ sauce. The Chicken Run pairs mac and cheese with smoked pulled chicken, topped with BBQ sauce.

Lach also experiments with international flavors. The Korean Rice Bowl features ginger jasmine rice, house made Korean pickled cucumbers and carrots, sliced radish, jalapeno, and scallions with house made Korean BBQ sauce and a bit of Sriracha. Add a protein if you wish. “The rice bowl is a big hit this year,” Lach says.

And don’t forget about the A la Cart Meats, served by the half-pound, with Brickman’s pickles, house made pickled red onions, and BBQ sauce. (Lach says “I know something about pickles,” and Brickman’s are the best.)

Traditional Sides and Sauces

What’s BBQ without something extra? The Mac and Cheese is an obvious choice, but don’t sleep on the Cowboy Beans—shout out to the vaqueros of northern Mexico—tender baked pintos with a spicy and savory finish. There’s also a Creamy Redskin Potato Salad, with red onions, dill and parsley, mustard, mayo and a splash of vinaigrette; and Sweet Vinaigrette Coleslaw with cabbage carrots, radish, scallions, and cilantro in a sweet lemon/vinegar dressing.

Oh, and don’t leave without fresh corn bread, sweet or jalapeño style.

As for the sauces, there’s the House Sweet and the Hot Honey, along with two others that might not be as well known in these parts. Carolina Gold is a blend of yellow mustard, cider vinegar, honey or brown sugar, and cayenne. And the White Alabama is mayonnaise-based with cider vinegar, brown mustard, and horseradish.

Wash it all down with a classic soda or one of Lach’s homemade flavored lemonades.

What Else to Know

At the moment, visitors will see a couple of temporary changes to the truck: The enormous longhorn steer horns normally rest atop the Cordwood sign, but they are in the shop, and the rustic frieze of log discs, arranged to resemble stacked wood, which run along the side of the truck, is being refurbished. It’s a really cool truck, but you’re not here for the décor, so dig right in.

As summer flies by, watch for specials like holiday smoked hams and turkeys heading into November. And don’t forget that Cordwood BBQ has a full-service catering business for weddings and gatherings of all sorts.

Last but not least, if you need a meal on the go, you can order online or via the Clover app for in-store pick-up, DoorDash, Postmates, or UberEats.

Find Cordwood BBQ at The Little Fleet, 448 E. Front St. or at 1125 E. Eighth St. in Traverse City. cordwoodbbq.com

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