barbecue

Linkdown: 12/9/15

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– Robert Moss follows the mustard line from SC down through Georgia and into Florida

– If you are looking for a gift for the NC barbecue or beer lover in your life:

– Daniel Vaughn explores the greaseballs of Southwest Texas at Patillo’s Bar-B-Q

-Johnny Fugitt profiles Smokee Mo’s BBQ for St. Louis Magazine

– Marie, Let’s Eat! revisits the 50 year old Hickory Hut BBQ in Dallas, GA

– NPR’s The Salt food blog profiles Sam Jones’ new barbecue joint, Sam Jones BBQ

To understand the significance of Sam Jones BBQ, you have to understand the place in the barbecue firmament. And you have to start with barbecue’s place in the Tar Heel state. Aficionados regard North Carolina not only as a capital of barbecue, but a cradle of the cuisine. It is as central as basketball to the state’s identity.

But so many barbecue joints have replaced wood with gas that some folks feared the impending death of all-wood pit cooking. The North Carolina Barbecue Society estimated a few years ago that only 30 wood-pit barbecue restaurants were left in the state. To diehards, the demise of traditional wood-smoked barbecue in North Carolina would be tantamount to a death in the family. Maybe worse.

Troutman’s Bar-B-Que – Denton, NC

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IMG_3906
Name: Troutman’s Barbecue
Date: 11/28/15
Address: 18466 NC-109, Denton, NC 27239
Order: Medium chopped pork plate with bbq slaw, fries, hush puppies, and Cheerwine
Price: $8.65

Monk: Much like Rudy I am a father of a toddler and similar to how Mrs. Rudy lured him to a pumpkin patch with the promise of barbecue, Mrs. Monk promised me barbecue if we went to a Christmas Train (yes, this is actually a thing). Located in a modest brick building off highway 109 in the small town of Denton, Troutman’s Barbecue is a 40+ year old joint that is True Cue certified, which means that it smokes pork shoulders over wood (unlike the disappointing but similarly named Troutman’s in Concord).

Denton is a little over 20 miles southeast of Lexington #1 and Troutman’s styles its barbecue accordingly. Beverage options include Cheerwine from the fountain and barbecue is served in either a tray (with slaw and hush puppies) or a plate (with slaw, hush puppies, and fries) – both keeping in line with the Lexington way of doing things.

Even at the dinner hour, Troutman’s served a pork that was moist and not at all dried out. I found it to be a decent version of Lexington-style barbecue, and it paired nicely with the excellent red slaw as well as the Texas Pete found on the table. The hush puppies were perfectly cooked orbs served in a basket hot out of the fryer with just the right amount of sweetness.

Rudy: I’ve eaten at Troutman’s several times going to Badin Lake outside of Denton. I’ve always had a good meal there. The most important thing is that I have found consistency with them. Every time I go, I know it’s going to be a good meal. It may not be the best barbecue you’ll ever eat, but I’ve never been disappointed.

Monk: So Troutman’s Barbecue turned out to be a nice find, and all in all I was pretty satisfied with the meal which was solid but not spectacular. And based on Rudy’s account, if I were to head there again I would likely find it to be of similar quality which is kind of a nice, reassuring thought. While I was appreciative that Mrs. Monk threw me a bone by getting barbecue after the Christmas Train, thankfully after this we should be good for a few months until Spring and strawberry picking season.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Troutmans Barbecue Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Friday Find: Central Texas Barbecue

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Via TMBBQ’s barbecue news from the week of 11/20, here is a short film on Central Texas barbecue from filmmakers Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker.

In Central Texas, Barbecue is more than a way to cook meat. It’s a way of life, and a path to salvation.
A Film by Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker.

We are currently shooting a new feature doc, ‘Barbecue’, that looks at barbecue culture in more than a dozen countries around the world. Follow it at facebook.com/barbecuefilm

–Monk

Linkdown: 12/2/15

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– Yahoo Travel goes on the hunt for barbecue in South Carolina

– The Infatuation’s list of best barbecue in New York

– The latest reviews from Marie, Let’s Eat!: Barbecue Kitchen, Mickey Pigg’s BBQ, and Tomlin’s BBQ

– Stubb’s Bottled Barbecue Sauce is suing Stubb’s Bar-B-Q

– TMBBQ explores the many briskets of Texas

– Attention Rudy: Eater’s got a map of where to get the best pulled pork in Austin

– Grayson Currin of The Independent says that Calvin Trillin’s recent New Yorker piece missed out on the best eastern NC “barbecue” in the form of  soy recreated to mimic the dish; I can’t say that I disagree with Calvin Trillin not trying it out while in NC

In fact, to my mind, he missed some of the best barbecue in the state, even if it’s not barbecue at all: soy, smoked low and slow, pulled apart by hand and drenched with a vinegar-based sauce. It is a regional delicacy, reinvented for reasons beyond upscale dining.