Linkdown

Linkdown: 11/26/14

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– The Pit beats out NC State University in The Triangle Business Journal’s Battle of the Brands for Reader’s Choice

– Downtown Charleston is getting yet another barbecue joint, this time with Irish pub Egan & Sons coming back as a barbecue restaurant (under a new name) complete with a new smokehouse to be built out back

– I missed this back in the summer, but Home Team BBQ (currently with Sullivan’s Island and West Ashley locations) is also expanding to downtown Charleston

– Billy Durney, pitmaster of Hometown Barbecue in New York, to consult on a Los Angeles barbecue restaurant for Mendocino Farms

– Boone’s Bar-B-Que sauces are now available at Savory Spice Shop in Charlotte

– Ohio-based barbecue chain City Barbeque plans to open another triangle location; in addition to their Cary location they are opening a location at Southpoint Mall in Durham

– Jim ‘N Nicks and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que are forming a partnership for the purest of barbecue ideals – “to leverage their buying power, consolidate labor costs and grow both companies”

– A flattering review of the Flat Rock Wood Room, just outside of Asheville

As for what comes out of that 250-degree wood-fired pit, well, I can only gush. Ordering a half rack of their St. Louis style ribs, I carefully narrowed my sides down to wood-smoked mac and cheese and collard greens. While the mac and cheese was plenty cheesy, it proved to be fairly standard with minimal wood smoke. The collards, on the other hand, had plenty of flavor and a slight sweetness.

– Barbecue Rankings recounts his “barbecue odyssey” in Feast Magazine

I began my barbecue odyssey on October 22, 2013, at Pappy’s Smokehouse in St. Louis.  I was nervous as I met owner Mike Emerson and tried to act as if I knew something about barbecue.  I have always considered myself a casual barbecue fan, but the truth is that I knew very little about regional nuances, barbecue history, smoking practices and the way restaurants work before setting out on this project.  I didn’t prepare much before setting off on my journey – I wanted to learn from the people working the pits day in and day out, not the so-called experts.

– Christmas is right around the corner

Linkdown: 11/19/14

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– Charleston-based food writer Robert Moss (who has written two books on barbecue) is named barbecue editor for Southern Living magazine

SL: How about a little preview. Where are the best places to grab barbecue in the Carolinas?

RM: There are so many great places to eat barbecue in the Carolinas [note, folks in “the Carolinas” always say “the Carolinas” and not “Carolina,” because to us they are two distinct places, just like the Dakotas] that it’s hard to narrow it down. But, here are a few can’t-miss places that should be on everybody’s list: Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, SC; Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC; Allen & Son in Chapel Hill (the one on Millhouse Road, north of town); Stamey’s in Greensboro, NC; Jackie Hite’s in Leesville, SC; and, just about any of the dozen joints in Lexington, North Carolina, that still cook with wood, like Barbecue Center, Lexington Barbecue, and Cook’s Barbecue.

– Speaking of which, here is his first blog post on Southern Living’s The Daily South blog on John Lewis and his upcoming Charleston barbecue restaurant

“I’ve been looking for another city to go open a barbecue place,” he says. He considered Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, but decided the soil wasn’t fertile enough there. “South Carolina is deeply rooted in the barbecue tradition,” Lewis says. “People here [in Charleston] have been very receptive to what I make.”

– Belmont-based competition team Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ took home a grand championship at last weekend’s When Pigs Fly Barbecue Festival in Fayetteville, the latest NC BBQ Association event

– Interesting question posed by Burger Mary: Are you eating bad BBQ or just being served by bad staff? (via)

– Mac’s Speed Shop here in Charlotte is the latest to get the Our State barbecue profile treatment, though I think the writer goes a little too far in his praise of the joint

– More coverage on Carolina ‘Cue and its creator Elizabeth Karmel, who is coming to next month’s Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival

– The Great NC BBQ Map team stops by WNCN in Raleigh to have an east vs. west barbecue tasting

– They also have some map signings coming up around North Carolina, starting on November 28 in Belmont

– Pro tip: Don’t forget to rest your brisket

– Midwood Smokehouse is taking orders for smoked turkey (and other meats and sides) until next Monday, November 24th

– Elliott Moss (of the forthcoming Buxton Hall) is doing an eastern style barbecued heritage turkey as part of a pick-up dinner for Thanksgiving; details here
Buxton-Hall-Thanksgiving-Splash

Linkdown: 11/12/14

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– The Guardian: “Pulled Pork: why we’re pigging out on US barbecue food”

As punters went wild for barbecue in general, and pulled pork in particular, restaurant chains and supermarkets jumped on the porcine bandwagon. There has been a 35% increase in the amount of US barbecue dishes served in UK restaurants since 2010, according to thefoodpeople, and a rash of smokehouses and diner pastiches have opened in London, Manchester, Leeds, Brighton and beyond. “We are in the midst of a meat-centric tsunami,” says Richard Turner, the director at Pitt Cue Co and the co-founder of rare-breed butchers Turner and George.

– A NC-born chef in Seattle is converting Western Washingtoners to vinegar-based pulled pork at his restaurant Bourbon and Bones

– Marie, Let’s Eat! finds some pork ladled in a “thick, mildly sweet sauce” at Hwy 58 BBQ in Chattanooga

– Speaking of whom, Grant took a badass barbecue roadtrip through SC and eastern NC last weekend, which will no doubt lead to a multi-week series of posts on his blog that I can’t wait to check out

– And finally, a “blogger spotlight” on Grant by Urbanspoon where he answered a question on his favorite barbecue

6. Barbecue seems to be one of your favorite cuisines, considering you have a very detailed section reserved for it on your blog. What are your favorite barbecue dishes and where do you go to get them?

That’s a big, fun question! We’ve written about more than 300 barbecue joints and really enjoyed a big majority of them. I like the burnt ends at Southern Soul on St Simons Island a lot, and the mustard slaw at Brooks Barbeque in Muscle Shoals AL, and the chopped pork and red slaw tray at Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington NC. I like the Brunswick stew at Turn-Around in Tallapoosa GA, and the chicken mull at Butt Hutt in Athens. Overall, my favorite barbecue is either at Old Clinton in Gray GA, or Scott’s in Hemingway SC, but that could change around the next corner.

– “North Carolina” makes Steve Raichlen’s Top 10 Meat Cities in the US (via)

North Carolina: OK—it’s not one city, but a whole state gone hog wild for pulled pork at such landmark barbecue joints as Lexington Barbecue in Lexington, Wilber’s in Goldsboro, the Skylight Inn in Ayden, the Pit in Raleigh, and the new Ed Mitchell’s in Durham.

– Mark Avalos of SLAB (Slow, Low, and Bangin’) describes his barbecue as “Memphis meets Carolina meets Texas.” (via)

– A short blog and photos about Arrogant Swine

– Elwood’s BBQ is hosting a beer dinner with new-ish Charlotte brewery Sugar Creek Brewing on November 19

– Well damn, this looks like it was amazing:

Linkdown: 11/5/14

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– Want to know what its like to judge a NC BBQ Association competition? Well, Big Wayner has the deets.

– TMBBQ interviews Sam Jones from Skylight Inn

DV: Do the people who cook it for a living have those same arguments?

SJ: I don’t think so. I don’t anyway. I’m not one of those people that’ll tell you that our way is the only way and that if you don’t do it our way you’re going to hell. Barbecue is defined by geography. In North Carolina it really changes by community. Do what you do and do it with the passion that ought to be in there, and you should be proud of the product you turn out. If you’re half-assing it you know you ought not walk to the forefront with your chest out.

– Speaking of which, some great photos from his Dias de los Puercos event with TMBBQ this past Sunday in Dallas including the one below of Sam Jones and Daniel Vaughn

– This article is subtitled “The Great Beef vs. Pork BBQ Debate” (via)

– Still more coverage on The Great NC BBQ Map

– The original list from USA Today was posted earlier in the year, but Fox 8 in High Point just got around to linking to it

– Just found this article from March of this year (as well as the blog itself), but it’s worth linking to: “The Great Gas Controversy and Pride in the Name of BBQ” 

– Pat Forde, sports columnist from Yahoo, gives Queen City Q and Birdsong Brewing a shoutout in his latest column

POINT AFTER

When hungry and thirsty in Charlotte – site of both the ACC championship game and a bowl game, so you may get there – The Dash recommends a stop at Queen City Q (39). It’s a quality barbecue joint that doubles as a de facto sports bar. Try the Carolina Classic nachos, with pulled pork and smoked chicken onboard, and then get after the brisket. There are plenty of sauces to choose from, including all the Carolina-centric choices. Combine your meal with a Higher Ground IPA (40) from Birdsong Brewery in Charlotte and thank The Dash later.

– Carolina Cue to Go, an “online barbecue shack”, is now open as of November 1