NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX (KTRE) -
Every Texan knows barbecue is
big in the Lone Star State. So are the
barbecues themselves.
A mobile rotisserie smoker is parked on
U.S.59 in Nacogdoches County. Its designer and builder Harold Rapsilver would
love for someone to stop and buy it.
"This particular cooker has
three separate compartments," Rapsilver said. "They're, all three, identical.
Each one has six trays in it."
The 40-foot metal monster pit is
a converted water tank. The Angelina County Sheriff's Office lieutenant bartered
for the essential part.
"They had one on the other side
of town that the tank was twice this big, and they were like, thank goodness
you didn't ask to tear that one down because you would have had a bigger pit."
Rapsilver said.
Rapsilver worked for two years
welding the unique pit, complete with a second set of doors for the smoke to
escape, an air conditioned room, a roof, and the capacity to cook enough for
seconds.
"It will hold about 100
briskets," Rapsilver said. "It was designed with these hooks in here where you
can actually double stack the trays so you could almost double that."
Just by looking at it you can
tell this isn't your usual backyard barbeque pit. It's obvious that Rapsilver needed
a unique marketing plan.
One day, Rapsilver's dad convinced
him to place a call to Cajun Pawn stars. He never heard back until they called
him "out of the blue."
"Out of the blue they called
me, 'hey we would like to have your pit on the show,'" Rapsilver said. "Kinda
went from there."
Sale or no sale, this East Texan
is proud of his work and his roots.
"That's why it's painted like
Texas; I mean, I'm proud of where I'm from," Rapsilver said.
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