barbecue

Linkdown: 8/13/14

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– This is my nightmare: the Lone Star Tick (named for Texas) can make you allergic to barbecue as well as burgers

– The 2014 NC Whole Hog Barbecue State Championship will be October 3/4 in Downtown Raleigh

This year, the State Championship will return to Downtown Raleigh as part of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival. After the judging is complete, the mouth-watering barbecue will be chopped and sold in sandwiches to festival attendees on Saturday, October 4.

– Another article from the Mooresville Tribune on The Great NC BBQ Map; it was also listed this week as one of the 5 things you need to know in the South right now from Southern Living

– Barbecue on other lists, pt. 1: Garden and Gun named their top breakfast joints in the South and Southern Soul Barbeque in St. Simons Island, GA made the list

– Barbecue on other lists, pt. 2: in addition to legendary barbecue, Skylight Inn in Ayden apparently has one of the NC’s best burgers

– Thrillist’s list of The 15 Best New BBQ Joints in America

– A letter to the president regarding NC barbecue, plus a pork butt recipe

Dear President Obama,

It seems you like barbecue. You broke in line at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, but I guess the headaches of being president allow you some leeway. You had a cold Bud Light when you hit Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, even if they had run out of slaw, but you stood in line there, so between the beer and waiting your turn, you showed your humanity and touch with the common man.

I know you’ve been to North Carolina many times, but I’ve yet to hear about you stopping at one of our well-smoked, traditional barbecue joints. They really are your kind of places. I’m not talking about the newfangled ones, where the emphasis is on selling you a liquor drink. No, we have some time-honored places where wood smoke meets the meat.

– 12 Bones Smokehouse makes this list of places to eat from The Telegraph’s (UK) guide to Asheville as well as Culture Trip’s 10 “must-try” local restaurants in Asheville

– How I Built A Barbecue Restaurant in Brookyln: A Lease Safari, from Tyson Ho of Arrogant Swine – you remember, Arrogant Swine is the Carolina style whole hog joint who is using Heritage Cheshire hogs that I want to go to next time I’m in NYC (via)

– A shot of the space where Buxton Hall will be housed

– Pat Martin, pitmaster of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, cooked the annual barbecue dinner at the James Beard House last Thursday and here was the draft menu

Kepley’s Barbecue – High Point, NC

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Name: Kepley’s Pit-Cooked Barbecue
Date: 7/10/14
Address: 1304 N Main St., High Point, NC
Order: Chopped plate with fries, slaw, hush puppies (link to menu)
Price: $7.20

Speedy: I was recently in the home place of High Point during a work day, just working from my parent’s house. This seemed like as good a time as any to go back to my roots and grab some ‘cue from Kepley’s for lunch. It has been a long time since I had eaten at Kepley’s, as I generally make the drive to Lexington in lieu of eating High Point ‘cue, but after this meal, I think I’ll opt for Kepley’s more often.

Monk: You know, it’s sad to say that I’ve only eaten at Kepley’s once, and it was just 4 years ago. Sounds like I’ve been missing out on quality barbecue all these years.

Rudy: I’m the same, it was a couple of miles away from my house and I rarely went, however I always enjoyed it when I did go.

Speedy: The restaurant itself isn’t much more than a trailer – I’d be surprised if it could fit more than 30 people. But it is quaint and is exactly what you think of when you think of a traditional ‘cue joint. They do have a separate small smokehouse for smoking the pork shoulders and there was a large wood pile sitting outside the smokehouse – always a great sign.

Monk: So I’ve been missing out on wood smoked barbecue in my backyard all these years! And not 2 miles from our high school. Man, I feel like an idiot.

Speedy: One thing I love about these restaurants is the order process. As the menu at most Lexington style joints is pretty consistent, all I have to say is “chopped tray with hush puppies and a Cheerwine” and I’m good to go. The food is then served quickly and you’re ready to eat.

The pork at Kepley’s is really, really good. There’s just the right amount of smoke and bark. It’s clear these guys know what they’re doing. My serving was just a tad dry, but adding some extra dip provided on the table cleared that up immediately.

The sides are also very good. The slaw could use a little more tang (I add more dip here too, as well as some Texas Pete) and the fries are just your standard crinkle fries, but both are good. I’m not a huge fan of the pickle slices that come on top of the slaw, but they don’t really affect the flavor of the slaw once removed, so no harm done. The hush puppies at Kepley’s are perfect – definitely among the best you’ll find anywhere.

Monk: Well that’s settled. I’m definitely heading to Kepley’s next time I make it home.

Speedy: All in all, Kepley’s is a very good barbecue restaurant. If you moved it to the middle of Lexington, it would stack up well with the other joints in town. If you find yourself in downtown High Point, I’d say Kepley’s Barbecue is definitely the place to go to check out some ‘cue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 4 Hogs
Kepley's Barbecue on Urbanspoon
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Photo Gallery: The Barbecue Bros vs. the soccer tailgate

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Parking lot at 8am
Smoker’s going
The pork butt after resting and pre-chopping
Taking out the bone
Speedy begins the chopping
Breaking down the shoulder
Monk gets in on the chopping action
Chopping continued
Almost there…
The final chop

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…

Linkdown: 8/6/14

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– Congrats to @BBQSnob and fellow NC barbecue blogger @BBQJew for being named to Beef Magazine’s list of 10 great barbecue bloggers

– La Barbecue has relocated to GoodLife Food Park as of today

– A couple more Austin barbecue notes in this “Food-o-File” column from the Austin Chronicle, including this tidbit on the Austin location of Black’s Barbecue

Speaking of barbecue, fourth-generation Lockhart pit boss Barrett Black says the family expects to have the new Black’s Barbecue (3110 Guadalupe) retail outlet open in August and is still on the lookout for the perfect parking spot for the Black’s food truck.

– A West Village outpost of Mighty Quinn’s had a soft opening this past weekend and officially opened on Monday night

– Speaking of Mighty Quinn’s, it is among the 8 Best Urban Barbecue Pits In New York City according to Food Republic

– Review of Okie Dokie Smokehouse in Swannanoa from Asheville’s Citizen-Times

– Barbecue Rankings apparently found some great ‘cue at Salvage BBQ in Portland, Maine

– The Great NC BBQ Map is now officially on sale to the public at the newly redesigned site as well as several restaurants including Sauceman’s (below); they also got nice write ups by the Charlotte Observer and Salisbury Post as well