CARLOS J. ORTIZ/Courier-Post Tony Daggett shows off a plate of barbecued ribs at his Deptford restaurant, Coyote Grill.

Every summer weekend, smoke wafts from the blackened barrel of Tony Daggett's roadside grill. If the lid is open, drivers might be able to catch a glimpse of slabs of dry-rubbed pork ribs basking in the heat.

Customers lured by the smell pull into the stone parking lot of Coyote Grill at Daggett's Catering, off Route 41 in Deptford. They walk out with takeout trays stuffed with pork ribs, barbecued chicken and slow-roasted pulled pork sandwiches.

And that doesn't even include Coyote Grill's eclectic mix of side dishes, like Southern gospel greens or the Tex-Mex black and white beans with roasted corn barbecue.

The 43-year-old owner doesn't like to call himself a chef, even though he's usually the guy with the apron by the grill. He prefers the title "caterer," someone who can cook for two or 2,000, in his own kitchen or in a field.

"I'm self-taught," said Daggett, who majored in advertising and English at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University. "I don't know everything."

What he doesn't know, he learns from cookbooks, recipe-swapping and trial and error.

There's his barbecue, for instance. When he first got into the catering business 18 years ago, he decided he wanted to make the best barbecue around.

He won't share the recipe he worked so many years to perfect, but he will tell you the work that goes into it.

The ribs are dry-rubbed with seasonings and rest overnight. The next day, they are baked slowly before they even touch the grill.

Once on the grill, they are smoked for a couple of hours before they are dipped in Daggett's own barbecue sauce. Then, they're put over hot coals to roast.

The pulled pork starts off as fresh hams that are boned, rolled and tied, seasoned and slow-roasted for 20 hours before the meat is shredded and gently sauced. Daggett piles the pork onto sandwiches and serves it with a few sides, for just $5.

The Washington Township resident will share his dad's recipe for coleslaw, however. It's one Daggett still uses today, but in even greater quantities. The amount of dressing needed depends on how big your cabbages are, so add the dressing in a little at a time. Too much dressing will make it watery, Daggett warns.

Confetti Coleslaw

Vegetables:

1 green pepper, shredded

1 carrot, shredded

1 small onion, chopped

1 head red cabbage, shredded

1 head green cabbage, shredded

Dressing:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Toss shredded vegetables together in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients together in a separate small bowl. Toss vegetables with a little of the dressing at a time, until coleslaw reaches desired consistency. Can be refrigerated or served immediately.

Yield: A lot of coleslaw.

If you go
Coyote Grill at Daggett's Catering is at 1640 Hurffville Road (Route 41) in Deptford, about a mile north of the Five-Points Intersection. The roadside barbecue grill offers take-out on Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 7 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 until 5 p.m. Call-ahead orders are also accepted. For more information, call (856) 374-7800 or visit www.daggetts.com.