Meet Your Meat: Smokey Sundays at Lindy & Grundy

By Betty Hallock

Feb. 25, 2013 12 AM PT

A new occasional series that explores all things meaty and fatty.

Smokey Sundays take place each week (that would be on Sundays) at Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura’s Hollywood butcher shop Lindy & Grundy. Between 4 and 5 p.m., when the store closes, customers can pick up specialty meats that general manager Melissa Cortina has been smoking since that morning: ribs, turkey legs, sausages and more. Of its nascence, Nakamura says: “It kind of happened on accident. We just started to play around with the smoker. It’s good for a lot more than just bacon. And it turned into an institution on its own.”

The cut: Before Smokey Sundays, Nakamura says the shop was primarily smoking bacon and sometimes ham hocks. Now it’s (on a rotating basis) full or half racks of pork ribs, whole chickens, chicken legs, lamb spare ribs, turkey legs, house-made sausages and occasionally, smoked pulled pork, chicken wings or whole porchetta. There is a limited supply of each item.

How it’s cooked: “We were fairly ambitious at first and were doing briskets and pork butts, but that required overnight smoking and myself and a couple other employees to drop by the shop at 2 a.m., 4 a.m., etc.” Now Cortina fires up the Southern Pride smoker in the morning, with woods including cherry, pecan or mesquite. “Sometimes we soak the wood chips in ginger beer or apple cider,” Nakamura says. All the barbecue sauces are made from scratch. For example, a chipotle barbecue sauce, a Chinese five-spice rub, and “we’re experimenting with an Old Bay chicken,” Nakamura says. Occasionally, smoked pork loin is stuffed with seasonal fruits such as persimmon, figs and caramelized onion in the fall. Also, fresh potato salad is available by the pint.

What else you should know: Smoked items might be available throughout the day, depending on smoking times. Call ahead if there’s something you know you’d like to pick up and it will be reserved for you. Special requests must be ordered in advance. Rubs and sauces also can be custom blended.

What it will cost you: Prices vary. Ribs are $14.99 per pound; smoked chicken is $25; and smoked hot links are $5 each.

Lindy & Grundy, 801 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 951-0804, www.lindyandgrundy.com.

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