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This post is a littled dated but I wanted to share this photo from my Thanksgiving in Merced in the lovely and bountiful central valley. Pictured is a “deep pit” barbecue, which consists of a 6-foot section of sewer pipe dug into the ground like a well. Into the pit goes burning tree branches and kindling, which are allowed to burn down to hot embers. Then goes the meat. Oh-ho-ho, the meat. Huge pieces of anything meaty–whole turkeys, sides of beef, whole pigs, what have you. The meat is wrapped in plastic and towels or burlap, bound with wire, and put in the pit overnight. The pit is sealed and actually covered with a few feet of dirt. The result is hot, juicy, earthy, and if you plan it right, ready just in time to spoil turkey dinner.
In addition to the deep pit I got to see the new UC Merced campus, which looks like a set out of a video game–a slowing rendering blank landscape of earth-toned polygons and then suddenly a futuristic building pops up out of the fog. Only instead of infiltrating some sort of zombie-infested research lab gone haywire you get a … college dorm, okay that’s pretty much the same thing.
The Sac Rag 
Why? Why did they build a UC in Merced? What a stupid freaking concept. Hey smart kids, what UC do you want to go to? Berkeley? LA? Santa Cruz? Nah, I think I’ll hang in butthole Merced. But outback California was “underserved” by UC. Yeah right. Like the valedictorian at Fresno high had never heard of UC until they put one in Merced. They’re gonna seriously dilute the value of a UC degree with the students they get out there. No young person with any sense wants to live in Merced.
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Mmmm… Pit meat.
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for an indication of how cooked it gets: my cousin failed a taste test of Turkey vs. Beef
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