barbecue

Friday Find: The Great NC Beer Map

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The folks behind The Great NC BBQ Map have a new project and this time they turn their focus to NC beer. And it appears to be a slightly less daunting task than last time around, with only around 160 breweries across the state compared to the 434 barbecue joints they found.

EDIA Maps have returned to Kickstarter to fund this project, and as of this writing they are almost halfway to their $7,500 goal with 28 days to go. As always, there are tiers to the funding, but just $10 will get you a folded map and sticker and it goes up from there. The NC BBQ Map is a go-to resource for me and I can’t wait to see what they do with beer.

–Monk

Linkdown: 6/24/15

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– In Praise of Hushpuppies and Barbecue, by Robert Moss

– After a fire early Monday morning, Speedy Lohr’s in Lexington will be closed for a few weeks

– #Brisketgate explained, from the man who shot the original video at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party a few weekends back

– NYC’s top 20 barbecue restaurants, according to Eater – bookmarking this for our week in NYC in October

– The name of the article says it all: 11 ways BBQ is like church

These days, it seems like more and more fanatics are joining Belinda Carlisle in the belief that heaven is indeed a place on Earth. To us, it smells of burning oak, cold beer, and fatty brisket. To many, barbecue is like a religion, so much so that barbecue worship is a lot like going to church. Still a non-believer? Here are 11 reasons barbecue is like church, but with better bread. So it was written, so it was smoked.

– Queen City Q is now hiring for its upcoming Matthews location

– EDIA Maps (the folks behind The Great NC BBQ Map) create a barbecue cocktail for the summer

– The case for Santa Maria being the secret fifth major barbecue style in the US

Santa Maria barbecue is always cooked over a fire of red oak logs, using meats heavily seasoned with salt, pepper and dry spices, then marinated or basted with a mixture of vinegar and oil while cooking. Side dishes almost always include fire-grilled then buttered bread, tossed green salad, fresh tomato salsa and beans. Because the area is known for growing sweet strawberries, berry pie or strawberry shortcake is often paired with the main course as dessert.

– Charlotte’s getting a “Mediterranean smokehouse” concept in the old Sol and Tijuana Flats location from local restaurateur Martin Sprock (c0-founder of Moe’s and whose other ventures includes Leroy Fox and RuRu), and it sounds interesting while bringing up a little skepticism from this barbecue bro

The concept for the restaurant is the first of its kind for Sprock. He plans to feature barbecue menu items like pulled pork, smoked butts, chicken and lamb – all with a Mediterranean flavor.

A specialty grill that uses hickory wood will be the focal point of the restaurant, which he plans to adorn with distressed wood and copper trim. The restaurant will also have a bar and an approximately 1,000-square-foot patio

– A NC barbecue trail from the Wilmington Star-News, though curiously it includes Buxton Hall BBQ in Asheville, which isn’t open yet

– Want to win a $500 gift card to Midwood Smokehouse? Of course you do! Even though Father’s Day was last weekend, enter in Midwood Smokehouse’s #SummerofDad photo contest through the end of the month for a chance to win

Linkdown: 6/17/15

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– Of course barbecue gets a prominent mention in this Eater feature “Destination North Carolina: A Southern Food Road Trip Extravaganza”

– “From Brunswick Stew to Barbecue” is a new cookbook exhibit at UNC’s Wilson Library

– Dispelling some myths around the name and origin, here’s the real history of hush puppies

– Who won at the NC Barbecue Championships this past weekend in Tryon? Also, the big economic impact of the festival on the small mountain town of Tryon

– Shortly after being named to Southern Living’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints, B’s Cracklin Barbecue in Savannah burned to the ground; thankfully neighbors have pitched in to help rebuild

– John Lewis of La Barbecue gets profiled in Garden & Gun Magazine as well as four other “keepers of the flame” – the Monk family (of Lexington Barbecue) and Tyson Ho are also profiled

– La Barbecue, meanwhile, is no longer moving to a permanent space on South Congress in Austin and is instead expanding to dinner

– More coverage from Southern Living’s Top 50 BBQ Joints list from Greenville Online

– Apparently few places in Fayetteville serve chopped barbecue

– A short article on the 12 Bones Smokehouse cookbook

– A couple of barbecue-related gifts for dad on this coming Father’s Day

– Speaking of which, last day to order to get a Great NC BBQ Map in time

Linkdown: 6/10/15

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– The latest barbecue list, this time from Southern Living and its barbecue editor Robert Moss

– Robert Moss provides some backstory to the feature

– Moss also talks to the Wilmington Star-News about both types of NC slaw (with recipes, too)

– Moss has been a busy guy, apparently; here’s his article An Illustrated History of Barbecue which is presumably a shortened, illustrated version of his book we just reviewed

– And coverage of the list: Carolinas do OK, Three Triad Joints Make the List, Southern Mag Snubs Houston,

– Munchies: Why is Brooklyn Barbecue Taking Over the World?

…Brooklyn pitmasters tend to be less traditional than their counterparts in the South. They don’t really follow any single barbecue philosophy and aren’t so focused on beef brisket, like most of Texas tends to be. They may include items like house-cured pastrami or pork ribs or burnt ends. Most use heritage animals—free-range and hormone free—from small family farms within the region.

But now it’s spreading, very quickly and without warning, to every fucking corner of the world. The barbecue being assimilated in places like Colombia, Spain, Panama, Sweden, England, and Japan (and even other parts of the US) is not the killer ‘cue from fabled Texas BBQ cities like Lockhart or Austin. Or even the pork-centric versions with sauce in the southeast. It’s an adapted form of Southern barbecue from Brooklyn. And it all looks like it came straight out of Williamsburg.

– Franklin Barbecue clarifies its policy that line waiters cannot save spots for groups of people

– I didn’t catch wind of this event so missed it from mid May, but making a note for next year: barbecue camp at NC State

– This NPR Food article on famed pitmasters resting, or “holding”, smoked meats for hours before serving also includes tips for the home smoker

– Queen City Q won the Taster’s Choice Award for dinner entrée at this past weekend’s Taste of Charlotte