Black Powder Smokehouse – Jamestown, NC

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Name: Black Powder Smokehouse
Address: 302 E. Main St., Jamestown, NC 27282
Order: Three meat plate (brisket, pork, and sausage) with mac and cheese and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: A little over a year ago, Jamestown got a wood-fired barbecue joint of its own in Black Powder Smokehouse. Jamestown is the small town between the Barbecue Bros’ hometown of High Point and the larger city of Greensboro, and also where the Monks-in-Law (Monk In-Laws?) happen to live. Black Powder Smokehouse took over an old service station on Main Street and they’ve incorporated the service station details into their decor.

As is the case with a lot of new barbecue restaurants these days, it serves a little bit of everything but definitely has a Texas lean to it. While I wasn’t able to put my eyes on the smoker they use, I did visually confirm there was wood used in the smoking process. Now whether that was in a gas assisted or a full stick burner is to be confirmed at a later time. However, what they are putting out is pretty legit as evidenced by the above nice little platter shared by Mrs. Monk and me.

I forgot to ask for the pork chopped at the register so it came pulled instead. Not a big deal – and it was still smoky and had nice chunks of a peppery bark mixed in. Certainly not a NC-style pork (either region) but they of course do have a variety of sauces on the side to approximate it.

On this day, unfortunately the brisket was a bit overdone and also sliced a little too thin. This gave it a texture of roast beef but I will note that my mother-in-law stated that its been better on previous visits. Based on these brisket slices, I would definitely come back to give them another shot.

The jalapeno sausage had good taste and wasn’t too spicy. Not the standout of the meal, but solid. I’d love to come back and try the ribs. Both of our scratch-made sides of collards and mac and cheese passed muster.

Black Powder Smokehouse one-ups Sweet Old Bill’s in nearby High Point, which opened about a year before, in just about every way for best new-school barbecue. For barbecue in the greater High Point area, they are more than worth seeking out if you don’t want to make the trek to Stamey’s in Greensboro.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Friday Find: Garren and Kelly from Jon G’s Barbecue on the Man Meat BBQ Podcast

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Monk: In what I believe is their first podcast appearance, Garren and Kelli from Jon G’s appeared in a recent episode of the Man Meat BBQ podcast to discuss how they transitioned from the tailgate tent to the food truck to the restaurant. Though the host Mikey has this slightly annoying habit of talking about himself and his business instead of asking questions of his guest and he still needs a cough button (like when he interviewed The Smoke Sheet). Still, glad that Garren and Kelly knocked out their first podcast appearance and hopefully there is lots more to come.

Linkdown: 1/12/21

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Featured

A couple of big barbecue books are now available for pre-order. “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie will be released on March 16 and Adrian Miller’s “Black Smoke” from UNC Press will be out on April 27. Both are available for preorder now here and here, and I can’t wait to read both of them to get different perspectives on barbecue. I strongly encourage you to do the same. -Monk

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Monk’s Favorite Barbecue Meals of 2020

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Monk: Our last piece of business before we close the door on 2020, here are my favorite barbecue meals of 2020. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d get to a full list of 10 like I did for 2019, but even with everything going on I still had some great meals.

10. Beef rib from Midwood Smokehouse

Midwood Smokehouse has a weekend beef rib special available every weekend for the (relatively) low price of $32 per bone. Midwood charges a flat fee and compared with what you’d pay if you had to pay by the pound, that’s a saving of at least $10-15.

9. “Bird is the word” smoked then fried chicken sandwich and smoked gulf shrimp from Leah and Louise (Charlotte)

“Bird is the Word” is a smoked then fried chicken sandwich topped with pickles and comeback sauce from Leah and Louise from James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier and his wife Sabrina. It was also one of the best sandwiches I ate all year, even if it was technically not at a barbecue joint. The other smoked item I enjoyed on that visit was the “On My Way Home” which was “big a$$ smoked gulf shrimp” in a lemon, butter, and worcestershire sauce with cornmeal brioche.

If you are anywhere near Charlotte, get yourself too Leah and Louise at Camp Northend.

8. Smoked beef tenderloin from my backyard

My big Christmas smoke this year was both a smoked turkey breast but most importantly, a smoked beef tenderloin. I dry rubbed the tenderloin with kosher salt earlier that day before rubbing it with Billy Twang’s Old No. 3 Rub (review here) as I got my Oklahoma Joe’s offset up to temp. Two hours later, I had a perfectly medium tenderloin that sliced into perfect medallions. Yet another winner to file away for future smokes.

7. Chopped pork from Rick’s Smokehouse (review)

Rick’s was the favorite of my new Lexington discoveries as part of last year’s Lexington barbecue quest, landing just below my co-favorites Lexington Barbecue and Bar-B-Q Center and the re-review of Smiley’s (see below). Nonetheless, Rick’s is a winner that carries on the Lexington tradition for a relatively new restaurant (opened in 2009).

6. Tres Amigos platter (brisket, pork, and ribs) with smoked turkey and jalapeno cheddar sausage from The Smoke Pit

Mine and Speedy’s full review is forthcoming, but we enjoyed our visit to the newest location of the expanding local restaurant chain, which started in Concord and has grown to 4 locations. Charlotte-area folks: don’t sleep on The Smoke Pit.

5. Texas Trinity and beef rib from Prime BBQ (story)

At last February’s media event for Prime BBQ (in before times), after an extensive tour of the then-in construction Prime BBQ, the group was treated to a lovely meal of brisket, ribs, and sausage (aka the Texas Trinity) and a small beef rib. Eventually I will make it back to Knightdale for an official review, but this was quite the meal.

4. Pork belly burnt ends and sliced pork belly from my backyard (story)

While I still haven’t quite lived up to my promise that I would smoke pork belly again very soon, it is very much on my to-do list for upcoming backyard smokes in 2021. I still dream about those pork belly burnt ends from time to time.

3. Chopped barbecue sandwich with hush puppies and a Cheerwine from Smiley’s Lexington Barbecue (review)

Eight years after my first and only visit to Smiley’s, I wanted to get another visit end in case it truly does end up closing due to road expansion. And what I found was a 5 hog joint in limbo, unsure of the timing when it will be forced to close. Nevertheless, the sandwich I got on that day was the perfect Lexington barbecue sandwich.

2. Beef rib, brisket, ribs, and cheddar bossa sausage from Jon G’s Barbecue (review)

You guys all know how I feel about Jon G’s by now, so not too much more needs to be written here except that you should make the trip out to Peachland, particularly if they have a beef rib on special (but be prepared to pay for it). One of my barbecue new year’s resolution is to make the trip more often and continue to spread the word of Jon G’s.

1. Pork, ribs, and chicken from Southern Smoke BBQ (review)

Southern Smoke was my favorite barbecue at the midpoint of last year and that carried on through to the end of 2020. Matthew Register and team are doing great things in Garland, and I urge folks to make the trip like I did.