PitMaster BBQ House

So I’m a Texas gal, born and lived there most of my life, and been trying to find a place in Utah that I can finally rave about to my friends down south. Did PitMaster BBQ meet my expectation? The answer is sadly no.
Even in the terms of Utah BBQ I was really disappointed with my meal. I ordered a Brisket Sandwich with BBQ Sauce and my group I was with ordered various other foods which I took little bites just to try out.
Let me start off with the sandwich. The meat inside was okay, nice and hearty and something you would look for in a good stew. I’m a brisket snob but even I would eat nothing but the brisket if I came here again. Sadly this is ruined by the bun. Yes a straight out of the back of the pantry and been around for weeks hoagie bun. You get more bread then meat and the bread is not even good. Another person at my table plate ended up looking like mine; meat eaten but over ⁴⁄₅ of the bun remains. Suggestion PitMaster get a soft round bun, grill the underside in a bit of grease and you’ll be good to go.
The second issue is the lack of BBQ sauce. At least 98% of BBQ places I go to will have extra sauces on the table, but not here. You will order your meal and get a small thing of sauce. The sauce I got was the house sauce and it was actually good, like really good and a reason why I rated this place as high as I did. Love the sweet and heat combo I just wish there was more.
My side was BBQ Potato Salad. How can you ruin potato salad? I love the crunch of the celery but that is really all I can taste, no flavor at all. I ended up using the little remaining sauces in side to make it edible. The same goes with my friend mac and cheese which was barely touched.
The one real bright side was the staff and I wish I caught both of the girls’ names so I could give them some personal praise. Both were extremely friendly and easy to joke around with, as well made our table feel welcome. So no matter what Pitmaster keep your awesome staff.
TL;DR
PRO
Good sauces
Friendly staff
Decent meat
CON
Not enough sauce
Side dishes are very bland
Really bad bread.
I want to give this place 2 ½ stars. But since the side were practically inedible I’ll round it down to two.

Delicious food! The endless cornbread it’s to die for! It’s very well priced too.

After reading the recent reviews I decided to give PitMaster a try. I picked up the wife from work and we tried it out for lunch. Despite the high hopes the food fell flat. It wasn’t bad, but it was pretty bland.
I got the daily special (Philly Steak Sandwich), and the wife got the burnt ends. We both got a single side (Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mac and Cheese). While we waited for our lunch the server brought us out some corn bread. The corn bread may have been the best part of the entire meal! He also brought out some honey butter that was lack luster at best.
My steak sandwich was ok, but lacked flavor. The meat was tender and the veggies were fresh, but there was just no flavor. The garlic mashed potatoes were the same, not bad but no flavor.
The wife’s burnt ends were over cooked and chewy with little flavor. The mac and cheese was the same story, ok but lacking in flavor.
When we were close to done the server came out and asked us if we needed anything else. We requested some BBQ sauce to try and add some flavor. I find it odd that we had to request BBQ sauce at a BBQ joint. It’s not out on the table or available up front, they keep it in the back and you have to request it. Hmmm, odd. Also, why not offer it when you make your order!!! The BBQ sauce did help, but it was too little too late.
Overall we didn’t hate the place, but we won’t be back. I wish the place the best!

Very Impressed with PitMaster BBQ House!
PitMaster handled my group of 30 – 40 for our company picnic at the last minute. I work in our corporate office in South Bend, IN and was trying to plan a picnic in Draper, UT. Justin was awesome. Justin dealt with me via text/email/phone…whatever was convenient. He also took my credit card at the pavilion site. He made it so extremely simple for us! We also forgot buns for our meal and Justin went back to get it for us and brought them back.
I highly recommend PitMaster and will continue to use them for our catering needs!

We visited PitMaster a few times awhile back, the place has a decent cafeteria size dining area, but the place was always near emptied. The staffs all had a bored and sad face on for unknown reasons.
I tried the pull pork sandwich with okra, and another time some ribs. Everything had one thing in common: dried. The pork, the ribs, the okra, and the bread, good thing they got decent varieties of sauces to remediate this problem. Widow Maker is the best of all, and Spicy Wasatch is my second pick. Other than the sauces, there was not much to the food.
Convenience is the only reason I can think of visiting these guys, especially for us «SLC Southerners». They are not as pricey as restaurants, but the portions are small here.

Continuing my quest to find the best local BBQ, I stopped here with a date (more on her later) and got a 3-​meat combo tonight. Spoiler alert: 3 out of 5 stars… pretty good, nothing to write home about, but I don’t regret going. Summary at bottom if you want to skip my deliciously detailed review.
We arrived about 7pm (on a Friday) and the place was less than half-​full. I thought it’d be more busy, but they’re right up the road from Goodwood, and with all the other BBQ places popping up like weeds, I guess it’s a tough market.
So here we go!
BUILDING: Easy access, plentiful parking. The restaurant is very neat & clean with ESPN on a big TV and apropos decorations.
SERVICE: Pretty friendly staff who were all quite pleasant. Our food took longer than I expected, but to be fair, I sort of expected them to just have to chop, scoop, & serve … maybe they had to make more of the sides while we waited? My date has a terribly short attention span, so she probably made it seem longer than it was.
SELECTION: A good variety of choices, especially for a BBQ restaurant. All the standards and more. I wish I would’ve had (I’d’ve’d?) room to try one of the desserts.
PRICE: I think it was $ 13 for the pork, brisket & ribs + 2 sides and a bunch of cornbread. Less than I expected! A great bang for the buck.
And now, for the main event! Let’s start with the sides, then the sauces, and then the meat, shall we?
MAC & CHEESE: better than Kraft, but nothing too special. Big al dente noodles with cheese were good but lacked uniqueness. My cute date loved the mac & cheese. ⁵⁄₁₀
MASHED POTATOES: my least favorite part of the meal. Over-​whipped (pasty), not enough butter or salt, heavy on the herbs… right ingredients, wrong amounts? Anyway, I recommend avoiding them. My otherwise voracious date (she’s tiny but has a huge appetite!) tried a bit then wouldn’t touch them. ²⁄₁₀
CORNBREAD (aka corncake): Great cornbread. It’s like Roadhouse rolls — way more sweet than I like, but sweet enough that 90% of people will think it’s the best thing ever. My date called it «cake.» I told her over and over, it’s bread! but she kept calling it cake. She loved it. Talked about it all night. «Cake! Cake!» Wanted more when it was gone. Cried when she couldn’t have more. Got completely unreasonable about it. Finally, I had to sit her down and say, «Listen. I’m sorry, but you’re not even 2 years old yet, and as your dad, I’m teaching you what this is: it’s bread. Say ‘bread,’ ok?» «Bread. .. cake.» Silly girl. She probably thinks chocolate-​chocolate-​chip muffins are cake too, and not the healthy breakfast food we all know they are. ⁸⁄₁₀
Where was I? Oh yeah:
SAUCES: So, they don’t let you squirt your own — you pick what sauces you want when you order, and they bring them out with your food in little cups. Weird, but I’m sure they have their reasons. Anyway, I’m not sure which 4 I had or which was which. They all shared a common flavor, and were pretty ok, but nothing I’d want to buy a bottle of — you know? The sweet one was like barbecue-​flavored corn syrup (sugar overload!!), the «watch out, this one’s hot!» wasn’t very spicy, and the one I think was the house sauce … well, it was fine, but again, nothing to write home about. ⁵⁄₁₀
Ok, meat time!
RIBS: my favorite of the 3-​meat platter. Pretty tender; ⁷⁄₁₀ on falling off the bone. ⁶⁄₁₀ on flavor. The dry rub looked heavier than it tasted, and they were less smokey than I like. I think they expect you to eat the meat with the sauces, not alone. I like more flavorful meat so the sauce is optional. ⁷⁄₁₀
«Cake?» «It’s gone, kiddo. No more cake — bread! I mean bread!»
PULLED PORK: Like the ribs (& brisket) the pork wasn’t very flavorful. It was a touch on the dry side for my liking. Just kind of standard pulled pork that lacked a deep smoked flavor. Again, seems like it’s made to be drenched in sauce. My date loved it, though. ⁵⁄₁₀
BRISKET: I’ve had much worse brisket, but I’ve also had much better. That Heirloom place in Atlanta ruined me for brisket … I still daydream about that place! Mmm… Anyway, yeah, the meat again didn’t seem smoked or flavored enough but lent itself well to the sauces. ⁶⁄₁₀
COMPARISONS: Though it’s not the best I’ve had, it’s one of the best I’ve been to in the Sandy/​Draper area. Slightly better food than Joe Morley’s, better value than Sonny Bryan’s, much better overall than the fast-​food at Dickey’s, quieter & friendlier than Texas Roadhouse & Famous Dave’s. I’m going to expand my search perimeter now and see what else I can find farther north & south, but this is a nice place for a non-​chain type of restaurant.
SUMMARY: Pretty good BBQ, a nice & friendly place, and a good value. It’s not food you’ll be raving about for weeks, but you definitely won’t regret coming. ⁶⁄₁₀
And yes, my cutie-​pie date is still asking for more of that «cake.»

I don’t know what happened to this place but it’s circling the drain now. Wall of sauces? Gone. Delicious pit beef shank? Gone. Beer? Gone. Half the sides are gone. Drinks are now down to the small soft drink machine and the one I had didn’t even have the syrup mixed right. Kids meal portions wouldn’t feed a 4 year old. Pile of random car parts piled up in the entryway? Oh that’s new, just the thing that makes me think of good BBQ. Not sure if this place got sold but it’s clear they are at the point of scraping every penny trying to stay open which is shame, I liked this place.

Their sauce is good and the atmosphere is old school BBQ. The service is spotty, but overall a good spot for BBQ.

I’m very glad I didn’t write a review of Pit Master after the first time I went there. These guys have upped their game recently and are producing some seriously tasty BBQ in an increasingly crowded BBQ space.
The Good: Incredible brisket, insanely good BBQ chicken, bottomless cornbread, dang good spicy French fries, delicious sides.
The Bad: They are chincy with the BBQ sauce. The house BBQ should be in a squeeze bottle on the table. Not in a tiny cup that is not even close to being enough for a meal. While they are very nice people, they seem to be a bit understaffed. It can be difficult to get ketchup for your fries or extra BBQ sauce which they do not automatically give to you and again is not out out for the customer.
Idea here guys… Put some ketchup and BBQ sauce out and it will save you some time and make me much happier. In fact, this would probably be a 5 star rating if not for some of these small issues.
If you’ve been here before and left unsatisfied, give Pit Master another shot. They have made some big changes and are putting some of the best fast BBQ out in the valley. You must, must try their new BBQ chicken, it is deadly good.

I was nervous to try it out due to all the negative reviews but it is close to home and I am really lazy. I am so glad I gave it a shot!
Went here last night with my sister and I have to say I was impressed. I had the 2 meat plate (9.95 I think), with ribs and burnt ends. She just had a 1 meat plate. We ordered then sat down and were promptly given a basket of delicious cornbread. The food was really good, the ribs were cooked right on the edge of «fall off the bone» just how I like them, and the burnt ends were smoky and full of flavor. They offer a variety of sauces, but I liked the main house sauce the best, my sister liked the sweet sauce but it was a bit too sweet for me. The mac-​and-​cheese was creamy and delicious, fries were fresh cut and hot. I got a french dip to go for my wife and the meat was really good.
UPDATE: I returned over the weekend and had a chance to meet the owner. He was really nice and comped our drinks. I guess he had some problems with his first manager, and all reviews prior to 6 months ago prove that. The change seems to have been for the best cause this place is really good now!

I’m a huge fan of all things BBQ and this restaurant has certainly encouraged that craving. Most recently, I visited with a fairly large group was pleased to find they had a large dish of some very delicious cornbread on the table in no time while we waited for the rest of our food. I’ve been there a few times in the past and have left pleased with the food each time. I’m a big fan of their tender brisket, the philly sandwich (the prime pit meat is delightful), and even the beef smokin’ salad. The first time I tried the salad I was delighted with the tangy house dressing and didn’t expect to be so stuffed afterwards! Of the sides I sampled I really enjoy the garlic mash potatoes and fried okra.
I do have a few small gripes. While the sauces are interesting and tasty I feel it would much more convenient if bottles were available in the dining area or perhaps at each table. Along the same lines, there were no napkins on the table which would have been very handy as BBQ can get messy.
All my encounters with the staff have been pleasant and accommodating. The servers and owner have been friendly, enthusiastic and more than willing to keep the cornbread coming! Overall PitMaster is a great local restaurant that I certainly plan to visit again.

Overpriced food, careless service (don’t list bottomless cornbread on your menu and not even bring a piece with the order), wedge salad that has watery veggies, first time and last time here. Only good thing was the sweet potato fries

Food-​good, service-​horrible

Although it’s tough to compare it to authentic Southeast Texas BBQ, Pitmaster is probably the closest thing in these parts. So if you know and appreciate good BBQ, this place is probably your best bet in UT. I’ve tried several others and prefer Pitmaster up here.
I thought the Brisket was excellent! I wanted to try the pit beef, but they were out of it at the time. Our young boys loved the bbq chicken as well. And just like others have mentioned, go for the Macaroni and Cheese… excellent!

We ate at PitMaster BBQ House last week for lunch and since I love BBQ I was excited to try something new. I ordered the BBQ chicken and the smoked brisket along with macaroni and cheese and applesauce. My friends both ordered pulled pork and the brisket.
The food was served up fast with cornbread on the side and with hungry tummies we dug in. From the first bite I knew we’d made a mistake. The food was just NOT very good. As far as BBQ goes it was mediocre at best. The chicken was rubbery with an unusual texture. The flavor of the BBQ was all right but not great. The brisket was pretty good but dry and without much flavor. I hate saying that and I hate giving restaurants bad reviews, but I would not recommend this place. Was the food palatable? Sure. But did I enjoy the meal? No, I did not. My friends didn’t care for it either so it wasn’t just my taste buds. The applesauce and mac and cheese were good but that alone doesn’t make a meal.
It’s a darn shame that PitMaster BBQ House wasn’t better because I was hoping for a new favorite. Darn shame indeed.

For all the BBQ joints popping up in Draper, PitMaster is as good as any. Its’ certainly a reasonable option if you’re in the area. And they serve beer!
SAUCE: YUM!
PitmMaster provides 3 very good BBQ sauces. All good. But know this, they’re keeping the gold stuff locked up in the back. The fry sauce is worth asking for. e from the counter or tables.
MEAT: YES!
BUN: NO!
The Brisket is lean and moist, but I preferred pulled pork both for flavor and quality. The portions are generous. If considering a sandwich, reconsider. Having had the sandwich here, the point of the bun is beyond me. The PitMaster buns are simply not equipped to cope with the mass of meat. Add sauce and your bun is done. Next time, I’ll go all meat and lose the intrusive bun.
FRIES: SAD!
The fries were slightly under done. So much potential, but they let me down. The low point of the meal really.
SERVICE: GOOD!
The service was friendly and accommodating. The place is clean and fairly spartan on décor, but the wood cord centerpiece is stacked with purpose. The chef may occasionally come up front to grab a chunk to feed the smoker.
~m

A few weeks after my last review, I received the sweetest invitation from the owner to come back and try them again. It took me about a month to get over there, but I’m glad I went.
Things change, and sometimes change is really hard to take. Thankfully, this was not one of those times.
The meat I had this time was not any greasier than other BBQ I’ve had. The ribs had a good flavor, which was enhanced by the new glazes I tasted. One was a raspberry chipotle and the other was a melon somethingorother. The melon was surprisingly good. I didn’t think I’d like it, but it really was nice. It added a touch of sweetness and a delicate flavor that complemented the saltiness of the ribs pretty darn well. The rasp/​chipotle was also good– not overly sweet, not coated in gloppy glaze, but simple sweetness that added a little something special to my plate.
I also had burnt ends which weren’t as barky as I care for but still had a good flavor (same rub as the ribs, I think).
The coleslaw was a whole new slaw. It was fresh and crunchy, sweet and vinegar-​y, with a nice little bite. It was one of my favorite parts of the meal.
The collard greens (which I normally abhor) were packed with flavor — onion, garlic, smoked bits o’ meat. For me the greens were a little on the salty side, but I think that’s a matter of preference. I’d say try ‘em and see for yourself.
The Southern-​style corn (with a supposed kick) didn’t have much bite at all from the jalepenos but redeemed itself with its creamy texture. It’s worth trying.
The potato salad (while homemade) was a little undercooked for me. I can’t say I’d get it again.
One of the stars of the meal was actually the cornbread. It was light and sweet (but not overly sweet). I could’ve eaten many more pieces but I had to save some for my husband.
The warm, soft bread pudding had the perfect texture — not dry, not overly wet. It is a little strong on cinnamon but delicious nevertheless (because I love cinnamon). The presentation was attractive (two dollops of whipped cream, light caramel drizzle). And a day later, I find myself wanting more (which is good for their bottom line and bad for my waistline).
Lastly, the portions were really generous. My two meat meal easily fed both my husband and myself with a little left over to share with a toddler or two.
So would I go back to Pitmaster again? Yes. It’s convenient to home, it’s really pretty decent, and I love to support a private business owner. There are still a couple of things I would personally tweak, but overall I would say that it’s not the same Pitmaster I visited last time. And for that, I am grateful and happy. Now where is the rest of that bread pudding?

The pulled pork sandwiches from Pitmaster are really tasty. Along with the sandwich, they give you a heaping pile of hand cut fries that are seasoned really well and give you a nice hunk of cornbread. Get a soda along with it, and it comes out to a very reasonable $ 8.
Seems as though they were off to a bit of a rough start with their recipes, but they seem to have ironed out the kinks. Things get better and better each time I visit.
BBQ is so subjective that I’m not going to try and tell you whether it’s authentic, or whether the smoke rings are up to snuff. But it’s a big, tasty pile of meat, and that’s all that matters to me.

I am a HUGE fan of BBQ. I have eaten good BBQ all over the country. I was SUPER excited to see a new BBQ place opening up nearby — and seeing that it was a locally owned place (chains, ugh!) even more stoked! Unfortunately it wasn’t good BBQ. It wasn’t even adequate. I really, really wish that we had had a better experience because we would be eating there a ton! I hate being a drag but this was our experience:
We ordered 2 adult meals and 1 kids meal. We have 2 kids that are both big eaters (although one is only 19 months old), and when we tried to order 2 kids meals the guy talked us out of it saying that their portions were huge and we’d have too much food. OK — we appreciated and took the tip.
Get the drinks and find a table. And wait. And wait. Then the guy comes out and says that they didn’t have any rice made for the red beans and rice my husband had ordered, what other side would we want. He says the potato salad is great — OK, we’ll take it.
We wait. And wait. Kids are getting restless. There is only one other table occupied at this point! Finally we get our food and my husband and I look at each other like — this is it?! I had the pulled pork sandwich and it was on the tiniest little miniature bun that I have ever seen. It was the same size if not smaller than the pulled pork sandwich that was on my sons kids plate. Plus the meat was cold. My husband had ordered a 2 meat plate with 2 sides, and only had one side come out (the potato salad). I had cornbread with mine and he didn’t. I had two tiny hush puppies. The kids meal was tiny. My poor other son was starting to look desperate that he wasn’t getting any food so I handed him my sandwich and he scarfed it down in about 2 minutes flat. I ate a hush puppy.
We asked about the missing side dish and he reminded us that they didn’t have red beans and rice. No, we got the substitute potato salad but not the other original side. Oh — OK — get that right up for you. More waiting. Husband was almost done now with what he could salvage from his meat — the ribs were gristly and dry and the other meat he had he said was only good with a lot of sauce poured on it.
I think you get the idea, so let me think of some positives: the décor was nice. They BBQ sauces were tasty (I’m a wimp and don’t like heat, so I liked the sweet one a lot). The customer service was friendly and nice, if not just a little scattered and inattentive.
I really want them to succeed, and would patron them again, but I don’t see how they could make it without stepping it up just a bit. Good luck to them!

Let’s start off with something useful, it’s by the Smashburger on the south side of 123^rd. All these suburbia stores look the same despite the photo!
The food, typical selection of bbq items as to be expected.
Pulled pork-​a little too moist which leads me to believe they keep it in some liquid before serving.
Burnt ends-​only available at certain times. Had a good ratio of crispy and meaty juicy bits.
Mac n’ Cheese-​flavorless. I’d rather have nacho cheese. The macaroni was waaay to overcooked.
Cornbread-​nothing here at all, hopefully they’ll add some real corn to it or find a better recipe.
Hushpuppies-​the star of the meal. Lighter than most hushpuppies which is a nice things. Delicate outer crust, yum! Although they weren’t high on onion flavor despite chunks of onion like ones I’ve had before, the jalapeño bits added a nice amount of kick. Another yay for flavor.
The sauces-​all pretty weak. The only spicy was the label. The sweet sauce and house were very similar but I would have to say I preferred the house out of the three.
Overall the meats needed some stronger smoking for my taste but perhaps a good foundation for saucing it up. Unfortunately their sauces are too weak for it. When it comes to the sides, the hushpuppies really shine but the mac n’ cheese and cornbread fall flat.
The customer service was knowledgeable and friendly. Great for a two or three week start up. I consider this place a quick bbq joint for times when you don’t want to sit for two hours and pay up the nose for bbq. If I wanted that, I would go across the street or to a great place closer to where I live. I give it three stars for what it is, they aren’t trying to be like the other high end bbq places. They are also working hard to dial in this business. If they don’t listen and make changes, I see their star rating dropping. I will be coming back to see if I should change my rating.