Linkdown

Linkdown: 12/24/14

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– Robert Moss goes deep on chicken mull, “the rarest stew in barbecue”

– To sauce or not to sauce: well that just depends on whatcha like

– Mission BBQ in Virginia Beach is the most patriotic bbq joint in America (h/t reader Robert Evans)

– Crown Town Living checks out The Improper Pig

– “Denver’s barbecue is atrocious” (via)

– Grant from Marie, Let’s Eat! finished up his NC/SC circumnavigation reviews last week, but checked out Praise the Lard BBQ in Buford, GA recently

– Johnny Fugitt of Barbecue Rankings is interviewed by the salad restaurant Chop’t after his 365 joints in 365 days sojourn ended

– ICYMI, here’s our holiday 2015 gift guide we posted last week for your (extremely) last minute gift ideas

Linkdown: 12/17/14

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– The Raleigh News & Observer is doing a multi-part story on a four-way crossbreed of pigs called silky pork created by two brothers in eastern North Carolina that are craved by consumers in Tokyo

The Iveys are part of a weekly race against time and circumstance to deliver the pork fresh – never frozen – from barns east of Raleigh to the world’s largest metropolis. It has become an unyielding effort to penetrate the demanding Japanese marketplace, where pork is consumed with a passion akin to North Carolinians and their barbecue.

– We don’t use the word “joint” here to describe just any restaurant, and this story is about how pitmasters consider it a badge of honor

Due to its working-class reputation and association with rowdiness, “joint” came to be applied to other establishments considered uncultured or cheap. The terms “beer joint” and “burger joint” started appearing in newspaper articles in the 1940s and ’50s. It was about this time that the word “joint” started transitioning from meaning a disreputable establishment to one that is, more accurately, inexpensive and informal.

– Four Star BBQ in Wichita “focuses on Carolina-style meats that have been marinated in apple juice and rubbed with brown sugar”…hmmm

– Virgie’s Bar-B-Que, which Rudy visited a few months back, gets a write-up on its nearly 50-year history

– Billy’s Bar-B-Q in Gaston County was damaged by a fire in April and is now planning to reopen for lunch and dinner in January

– The reviews from the latter part of the barbecue circumnavigation by Marie, Let’s Eat!: Skylight Inn in Ayden (which he absolutely raves about), Grady’s in Dudley, Shuler’s in Latta, SC, and BBQ Barn in North Augusta, SC

– Look who stopped by Buz and Ned’s in Richmond this past weekend!

– If you need smoked meats or sides for Christmas lunch or dinner, you have until next Monday to place an order with Midwood Smokehouse

Linkdown: 12/10/14

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– Charlotte gets a new barbecue spot in Improper Pig, located in Cotswold, and it looks like they will be doing a little bit of everything

Here, they’re doing ‘cue, in what they’re calling a “portal to the barbecue explorer’s world.” That means it’s got St. Louis-style ribs in addition to the pulled pork and chicken and brisket, plus Southern egg rolls (sweet potato hash mixed with collards, with spicy mustard), Korean barbecue salmon, a “no pig” portobello sandwich…

– Speaking of new barbecue restaurants, Asheville is getting a new one in Bonfire Barbecue next spring that will be using a wood-assisted Southern Pride gas smoker (the article conflates the two, but to me, a Southern Pride is a gasser at heart)

– For the brisket lover on your Christmas gift list, here’s some leather butcher’s coasters

– A Wilson, NC man with ALS is planning to go to Franklin Barbecue as part of his bucket list and will be ordering the brisket and ribs (via)

– Daniel Vaughn of TMBBQ has an interview with Adam Perry Lang, who is currently working on a barbecue project in Los Angeles

– The latest stops on Marie, Let’s Eat!’s “circumnavigation” through eastern NC: Jack Cobb & Son Bar-B-Q in Farmville, Bum’s Restaurant in Ayden, Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro, and B’s Barbecue in Greenville

– Our State profiles Chapel Hill’s The Pig in their latest issue

The Pig belongs to Sam Suchoff, who is a 33-year-old California dude — pertinent facts, both of these. California dude is pertinent because seriously? California? And 33 because I’ve eaten barbecue older than that. He is, by far, the youngest cook I’ve met on this expedition. It’s fitting, though, and necessary, because if our children’s children’s children are going to be eating barbecue in the year 2525, someone from Generation Y is going to have to keep the pit fires burning.

– Robert Moss’ latest blog post is how to spot a wood burner; spoiler alert: the woodpile (and size thereof) gives it away

– Looks like the Buxton Hall crew was doing some research in eastern NC last week:

– If you are in Charlotte Thursday, The Great NC BBQ Map will be at the All Arts Market in NoDa

Linkdown: 12/3/14

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– How Do You Spell Barbecue? Personally, I go with “barbecue”

Back in the 18th century, there were almost as many ways to spell barbecue as there were people cooking it: barbacue, barbicu, borbecue. In his diary entry for September 18, 1773, George Washington recorded that he attended, “a Barbicue of my own giving at Accotink.”

He may have been the Father of our Country, but Washington’s spelling didn’t stick. By the time of the Civil War, Americans had settled on two primary versions—barbecue and barbeque—and that’s as close as we’ve come to consensus. The North Carolina Barbecue Society has come down on the side of the “c”, but their neighbors in the Palmetto State, home of the South Carolina Barbeque Association, are more prone to go with the “q,” as are the folks out in Missouri in the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

– Southport has a new barbecue restaurant in Terry’s North Carolina Bar-B-Que & Ribs

– Zagat: Arrogant Swine brings Carolina ‘Cue to Brooklyn

– Speaking of Arrogant Swine, I haven’t linked to a Tyson Ho blog entry on SeriousEats in a few weeks, but here’s a link to his latest, on changing his menu and taking feedback; if you haven’t read the whole series, do yourself a favor and catch up asap

We’ve already cut two items from the menu: turkey legs and corn pone. There’s a certain amount of market efficiency when it comes to a barbecue menu. Certain items appear everywhere because they’re guaranteed hits: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and chicken are time-tested and reliable. Sometimes you win big when you go against the grain, but for the most part one would do well to heed the wisdom of crowds.

– The SC Barbecue Trail marketing campaign (specifically the web series) wins some accolades by highlighting the state’s barbecue tradition

– An Army veteran has opened a NC barbecue restaurant in Tampa, Three Brothers BBQ Smokehouse

– Austin writer Matthew Odam picks apart a recent WSJ article on Austin barbecue that just plain got some things wrong

– Marie, Let’s Eat! begins their 12 chapter (!!) circumnavigation of barbecue restaurants in South Carolina and eastern North Carolina with Maurice’s in Columbia, some less than great places around Florence, and Parker’s in Wilson