The Lane Report offers these thoughts about the barbecue found at Knockum Hill in Herndon, Kentucky.

“I’m the only guy around here who still makes barbecue the old-fashioned way,” said William “Oscar” Hill, owner of Knockum Hill Bar B Q, located just past the four-way stop and post office in the heart of tiny Herndon. “The meat has to be hickory smoked in a pit.”

“They lay the meat inside, set the thermostat, go off and let it cook,” he says. “Barbecue cooked on a gas-fired pit tastes like gas. It’s a lot more work the way we do it, and the taste is worth it.”

This is  “the home of the big chop.”

“After it’s cooked, that chop weighs over two pounds,” said Hill, “and I guarantee you can pull it apart and cut it with a plastic knife and fork. We have a few customers that can devour the whole thing; they’re just big eaters. But usually among the motorcycle groups that come from Clarksville, Nashville and Benton, a man and wife will order one chop and split it. It’s that big.”

No matter the name, Oscar says there is no secret recipe for his wildly popular meat and sauce.

“We just cook it the way it’s supposed to be cooked,” he laughs, “on a Kentucky hickory pit.”

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Knockum Hill Bar B Q

(270) 271-2957 to order
barbecue and sauce

Hours:
Fridays 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., carry out until 7 p.m.
Saturdays 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., carry out until 3 p.m.