Every Monday evening, the barbecue joint serves home-cooked, hearty meals on a rotating menu by the White Salmon River. Owned and founded by Stan Pratnicki, the restaurant reflects his deep love for cooking and bringing together the community he lives in.
Having been in operation since June 2022, the restaurant features an outdoor kitchen and seating arrangement adjacent to rafting outfitter Rivers Drifters on the Highway 141 corridor. The grassy knoll has picnic tables, a rain-proof awning, cornhole and a mini disc golf set-up. The name is a play on words from the legendary Husum Falls, a minute’s walk from the location and the biggest rapid in a rafting trip on the White Salmon River.
Dry rubbed barbecue pork spareribs with house-made pickled cabbage.
Stan Pratnicki photo
In order to craft the menu, Pratnicki incorporated cooking techniques from all over the world.
“Everyone asks, what kind of barbecue? And I tell them I do Husum barbecue,” Pratnicki said. “Taking after Polish influences, we make our own Euro-influenced sausages called kielbasa. I worked at a Mexican place and we’d make curtido, which is a pickled cabbage we use for the side here. We dry-rub the pork ribs with a Carolina seasoning.”
Pratnicki is no stranger to the restaurant industry — he grew up in New York City and began working at his first restaurant at 14. He then attended and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and moved to Portland in 1997. There, he cooked at various restaurants, including his own Polish-inspired place called Bar Dobre.
After living in Portland 15 years, Pratnicki and his wife moved to Husum in 2015 for a change in scenery. Already, the location was a special place for them.
A pile of slow-cooked pulled pork sits, ready for sandwiches.
Stan Pratnicki photo
“The first rapid I ever paddled was Rattlesnake on the White Salmon River,” Pratnicki said. “This was maybe in ‘99. Now I can see the rapid from my home and place of work.”
Pratnicki began working at River Drifters in 2017 with the title of lunch cook, though he wore many hats at the company such as photographer, office manager, guide wrangler and shuttle driver.
The original catering menu he set up for clients on full-day trips featured chicken wings and pulled pork. Not long after, River Drifters invested in a smoker, which slow-cooks meat at a low temperature to give it a smoky barbecue flavor. It became the start of what is now known as Get Hu’sum BBQ.
Everything Pratnicki creates is made from scratch, from the bratwurst sausages to the barbecue sauces. The ingredients are sourced locally to the best of his ability, including apple, oak and cherry wood for the smoker from nearby orchards.
House-made sausages cook on the smoker.
Get Hu’sum BBQ photo
Get Hu’sum BBQ serves dinner Monday night from 5-8 p.m. with an option to order to-go plates online. This is a recent change to the operating hours that reflect the challenging economy in a rural area.
“I’ve worked in the restaurant industry all my life and the business is tough,” Pratnicki said, noting that the setbacks came from the rising cost of goods and limited housing options for employees.
Despite the snags, Pratnicki remains passionate about continuing Get Hu’sum BBQ. The restaurant is one of the only food locations on Highway 141, which runs from Underwood to Trout Lake parallel to the White Salmon River.
Plates of chicken are ready to be served.
Stan Pratnicki photo
“There’s been a lot of new people moving here the last couple of years. I want to get locals down here to meet the new neighbors to build a sense of community,” Pratnicki said. “A way I can give back to the community with my love of food and flavor.”
The dinners have been successful. On their first night of operating on Mondays, Get Hu’sum BBQ sold out of food in 90 minutes. On the second night of the series, they prepped even more food and noted there were 10 pre-orders online before they had even opened.
Pratnicki is optimistic about the change going forward. “I can be creative with this new format and change the menu every week.”
He noted he prefers the food to do the talking. So far, the Monday night menus have included classic barbecue tastes with a worldly twist. He’s created dishes from the southern-inspired sweet tea brined buttermilk fried chicken to the Indian-inspired smoked lollipop chicken legs. The side dishes continue to be made from scratch, including classics such as smashed roasted garlic potatoes, a green salad with chimichurri vinaigrette and house-made coleslaw.
A slice of the catering spread for a wedding event in Underwood.
Stan Pratnicki photo
“This is an amazing place to live and work — I want it to continue being that,” Pratnicki said.
While the Monday night dinners at Get Hu’sum BBQ will end around the end of September to early October, the catering business will be open all year. Pratnicki noted that he has gotten special events catering business through positive word-of-mouth from community members.
To stay up to date on all things Get Hu’sum BBQ visit the website gethusumbbq.com, follow along on Facebook or reach out for any inquiries at chefstan@gethusumbbq.com.
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