Friend of the blog Doug (who just so happens to be the father of Speedy) submitted these photos from last weekend’s East West BBQ Fest. And from the looks of it, it was a good time in downtown Greensboro.
–Monk
Monk: As we like to do, Speedy and I used a sporting event as an excuse to test out our barbecue skills. This time, it was the Liverpool FC vs. AC Milan exhibition match at Bank of America Stadium last Saturday. Seeing as how the match started at 6:30, that gave us plenty of time to smoke a pork butt. We got to the parking lot at 7:15 and besides the Hooligans owner setting up temporary bars for the day, we were the first ones there for a few hours. Plenty of time to get the smoker going and get the meat on. And Speedy even bought a new smoker specifically to try out at the tailgate!
Speedy: I bought a Dyna-Glo offset charcoal vertical smoker. I’ve wanted an offset smoker for a while and this one is reasonably priced with good reviews. I was really pleased with how well it was constructed – it didn’t have much trouble holding temp and is very sturdy. I think it was a great purchase.
Monk: Considering it was our first time using it, we were both very pleased with how the pork came out. In fact, we both agreed that it was the best pork shoulder we have done to date. I can’t wait to smoke more meat in it again, because I really think the smoker made a huge difference in the quality of the product.
Speedy: We also bought a couple of cleavers and a large chopping board from Ikea, so we were able to chop the pork in more of a Lexington style instead of just pulling it. I think this actually helped as we mixed in the dip. I agree with Monk that it was the best pork butt we’ve ever smoked and I legitimately think it was good enough to rival many quality joints. We may not be able to take down Lexington #1 quite yet, but we’re heading in the right direction…
While I did back The Great NC BBQ Map‘s Kickstarter campaign a few months back, I didn’t back them at the level to get you to the launch party. So when I was picked randomly as the lucky winner of their Instagram contest to gain entry into the party, I was thrilled.
The launch party took place at NoDa Brewing Company this past Sunday, and the main event of the party was a barbecue showdown between Midwood Smokehouse (representing eastern NC barbecue) and Sauceman’s (representing the west) with the party attendees voting to decide their favorite. In addition to the food, Paul (one of the map co-creators) also brewed a small batch of “Brew-B-Que,” a red ale brewed with smoked serrano and chipotle peppers to mimic the spiciness of eastern NC barbecue.
There were also fun activities like a “cake walk” contest that was kind of like musical chairs, but with cake, as well as a hush puppy eating contest, Coney Island style, and a raffle.
For those of you who backed the Kickstarter, you should be pretty close to getting your map in the mail (if you haven’t gotten them already) and I think you will be very happy with it. It is on high quality, heavy paper and is well designed with a ton of information for each of the 434 joints (!) in the state – location, hours, whole hog vs shoulder, flame source, sauce type. Not to mention it has a definitive history of barbecue in the US, a comprehensive listing of NC barbecue festivals, and a breakdown of NC barbecue traditions. I’m telling you, this thing is packed to the gills with information. They will be taking additional orders for the map soon, so be sure to sign up for the mailing list on their (soon to be now redesigned) website if you didn’t get in on the Kickstarter.
I briefly spoke with both Amanda and Paul (both super nice, btw), co-creators of the map, and their excitement was evident that night at the unveiling of their labor of love to the world. A big congrats to them on their hard work finally coming to fruition!
–Monk
Full plate of food.