Friday Find

Season 5 of Tales from the Pit signals a new beginning

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Monk: Over the past 7 years, Bryan and Andrew from Tales from the Pits has been churning out content on the barbecue scene in Texas and across the US. And that will continue in their fifth season starting in the coming weeks.

But! They are expanding into video with their new Cookfire Tales video series that broadens out into other food and live fire cooking outside of barbecue. Currently on Twitter and Instagram and soon on YouTube, they are starting in the near future with content from a trip to Oregon. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Description: Season 5 of Tales from the Pits is finally underway! More episodes from the best and brightest in the barbecue world are headed your way, and tune in to this episode for details on our new project, Cookfire Tales.

A video series focused on the passionate people from all avenues of the food world who play a role in the food that ends up on your plate, with Cookfire Tales we’re going to give you wide ranging behind the scenes views of different types of cuisine and the role fire plays in so many of them. The dedicated farmers, forgers, harvesters, chefs, and artisans carrying on and evolving traditions inspires us and we know will fascinate you too.

The Smoke Sheet and friends meet for Barbecue Saturday

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Monk: Earlier this month, Ryan (aka BBQ Tourist) and Sean (aka NYC BBQ) of The Smoke Sheet invited myself, Ronald Simmons of Master Blend Family Farms, Michael “Chigger” Willard of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, and Paige Hogan of Barbecued_ to meet up at Jon G’s Barbecue for a Barbecue Saturday while they were in town from Omaha and New Jersey, respectively.

Not to be outdone, Ronald invited his friend and videographer Paul to video the experience, and this is how it turned out. Enjoy!

Description: The floodgates have opened in Peachland, NC. The Master Blend Gang, The Smoke Sheet, Barbecue Bros, Big Chigger, and Barbecued’s Paige all at Jon G’s, maxing out on a barbecue kick. Sean & Ryan, thank you so much for the honor! Tommy, Paige, and Will, it was incredible meeting you guys! Chigger, you are the man!! Thank you to the Jon G Pit crew for showing us such warm hospitality! Let’s get ready to bring the house down at 2024’s Carolina BBQ Festival. All Gas No Brakes 365!!

Daniel Vaughn trains David Farrier how to be a barbecue reviewer on the Flightless Bird Podcast

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Monk: Flightless Bird is a podcast where journalist David Farrier, the New Zealand-born host the podcast is named after, explores various American customs through the lens of a curious outsider.

In this episode from March 2023, David meets up with Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn to live a day in the life of a barbecue reviewer. That means a barbecue road trip to 4 of Vaughn’s favorite barbecue joints. Starting in Austin, David and Daniel visit Micklethwait Craft Meats before heading on to City Market in Luling, Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, and finally Distant Relatives back in Austin.

Along the way, David gets a primer on American (and specifically Texas) barbecue, learns what it means to be a pitmaster, and even dispels the myth that Texas don’t like barbecue sauce. And after a full day of barbecue where he experiences profuse meat sweats and almost gets sick, he ultimately earns the respect of Vaughn due to his “intestinal fortitude.” Which is just about the highest of praise coming from a professional barbecue eater.

Note: the barbecue part of the episode starts at 27:00 after some introductory discussion on New Zealand food customs.

Description: In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier travels to Austin, Texas to investigate America’s love of BBQ. Why do 7 out of 10 adults in America own some kind of BBQ device, and why is there so much BBQ in Texas? David meets up with the BBQ editor of Texas Monthly, Daniel Vaughn. David discovers that Daniel has eaten at over 2,000 barbecue spots all over the planet… 2,119 to be precise – many of them in Texas. Daniel agrees to take David on a day of BBQ eating, from Austin to Lockhart to Luling – shoving brisket and sides town their gullets in a feeding frenzy of epic proportions.

Pitmaster Brandon Shepard on the Low & Slow Barbecue Show

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Monk: I had the good fortune to meet Low and Slow Barbecue Show host Michael “Chigger” Willard earlier this month at Jon G’s alongside The Smoke Sheet guys as well as Master Blend Family Farms pitmaster Ronald Simmons. Sadly, I had not yet taken the time to listen to his podcast, which is a shame since he’s doing great work to showcase North Carolina pitmasters through interviews. After this listen, I can’t wait to dig into the archives.

In this episode, Chigger sits down with Brandon Shepard of Shepard Barbecue in Emerald Isle, NC to discuss his origin story with barbecue and how he’s become friendly with the mayor himself of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, Guy Fieri (Shepard recently met back up with Fieri at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami). He also touches on current restaurant fan favorite brisket and whether he will be adding whole hog to the menu in the near future.

Description:  Pitmaster Brandon Shepard joins The Low & Slow Barbecue Show to talk about his business on Emerald Isle, his barbecue experience, and the national spotlight from Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. Listen to this Carolina Pitmasters episode to hear about Brandon’s Eastern-style influence and his experience as the only game in town in a coastal Carolina community where seafood is usually the first choice. Don’t miss Brandon’s tips for preparing a great brisket – perfect for any backyard barbecue enthusiast. Brandon also hints at some outside-the-box thinking that fuels Shepard Barbecue menu items that aren’t your ordinary barbecue fare.