23 – The Clyde Cooper Anniversary Edition

January 18, 2023January 11, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

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North Carolina’s oldest barbecue restaurant will celebrate its 85th anniversary on February 11. That’s right, 85 years! Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue has seemingly been invigorated by the “BBQ Karen” controversy from late last year and will take its newfound energy into its 86th year in existence. A big congrats to them!

Native News

Eater has released an updated restaurant list for the Triangle

11 exceptional barbecue spots in the Triangle https://t.co/SmUn28RrUr pic.twitter.com/SVo4AJbkZj
— Eater Carolinas (@EaterCarolinas) January 4, 2023

A construction update of the Raleigh location of Midwood Smokehouse

Ray Nathan’s recently celebrated their 4th anniversary earlier this month

Meet Cece of Lincolnton’s Bar-B-Q King

Cece has been such a blessing to us! She helps prep every morning. I’m sure she is tired of slicing onions because we go thru A LOT. But she always does it with a smile on her face. Glad to have you here🙏 pic.twitter.com/GTdndlzPO9
— BBQ King (@barbqkingnc) January 9, 2023

Jon G’s has rolled out a separate “Carolina chopped barbecue” service out of their trailer at Barbecue Saturdays in Peachland

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Non-Native News

Have you tried the foil boat method?

Hill East Burgers in DC cold smokes their burgers with brisket trimmings for their take on smoked smash burgers

There is a reason, I suspect, that smoked burgers became a trend among Texas pitmasters only in recent years. The owners of Hill East Burgers and I dig into the subject in my latest column.https://t.co/dNojjM6kET
— Tim Carman (@timcarman) January 9, 2023

John Lewis’s Rancho Lewis makes the Charleston Hot List from Eater Carolinas

From seafood towers to New York-style bagels, here's what's hot in Charleston this month. https://t.co/clHH0Ax6lJ pic.twitter.com/RxTgytFTfz
— Eater Carolinas (@EaterCarolinas) January 3, 2023

Brett’s Barbecue Shop opened their Katy location this recently and it sure seems the city embraced them

Adrian Miller dropping some Colorado barbecue knowledge

How A Pitmaster Has Been Making Lamb Barbacoa Outside Of LA For Over 40 Years

January 13, 2023January 4, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: Lamb barbacoa is primarily thought of as a dish along the southern Texas border, but Gonzalo Ramirez has been making authentic barbacoa in Arleta outside of Los Angeles for the past 40 years.

Description: Gonzalo Ramirez is one of the only barbacoyeros in the U.S. who raises and butchers his own lambs. He cooks the barbacoa in a pit, during a process that takes 24 hours. Ramirez sells his traditional Hidalgo-style barbacoa, moronga (blood sausage), consomé, and more on the corner of Canterbury Ave. and Hoyt Street off Van Nuys Blvd. in Arleta, California.

Charlotte Barbecue News from the Final Months of 2022

January 11, 2023January 4, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: The biggest news from a mostly quiet past three months was the reopening of Bubba’s Barbecue in north Charlotte after 2+ years closure due to the pandemic. It technically opened over the summer, but that was a quiet reopening and it wasn’t publicized until October.

As noted in the article linked below, the restaurant first opened in 1963 as Jackson and Spoon’s Barbecue (later just Spoon’s Barbecue) on South Boulevard. In 1987, owner Ralph Miller purchased the restaurant and the original recipes. He later renamed the restaurant Bubba’s Barbecue and moved it to Sunset Road, where it has been serving Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue since 1994.

I’ll have a report back in a few weeks, but in the meantime it’s good to have a classic barbecue restaurant back in operation.

October

10/7 Bubba’s Barbecue quietly reopened over the summer, reports the Charlotte Observer

Bubba’s Barbecue closed at the beginning of the pandemic. It serves slow-cooked Eastern NC-style barbecue, with brisket, ribs and sides. https://t.co/kd8Dd1BPfP
— CharlotteFive (@CharlotteFive) October 5, 2022

10/9 Jon G’s Barbecue collaborates with Lawrence Barbecue on a taco pop-up in Raleigh at Trophy Brewing

10/11 Mac’s Speed Shop’s latest location in Concord will also feature live music

Mac’s Speed Shop is all about Beer, Bikes and BBQ, but this spot adds on another focus — live music. https://t.co/zMjVjAjCAE
— CharlotteFive (@CharlotteFive) October 11, 2022

10/18 Local coverage from WSOC TV on Phar Mill Brewing & BBQ‘s expansion into Concord

10/23 Courtney’s BBQ in nearby Clover opened a brewery that is open every day the restaurant is

November

11/7 The Smoke Pit wins Best Soup for its Smoked Chicken and Dumplings in the 17th Annual Soup Sampling by Cabarrus County’s Meals on Wheels

11/17 Jon G’s Barbecue collaborated with Virtuoso Bread in Waxhaw by smoking a bag of rye berries for 4 hours “in a way that the flavor would come out gentle and not too intrusive”

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A post shared by Virtuoso Breadworks (@virtuosobread)

11/30 The NC F&B Podcast publishes its podcast visit to Jon G’s Barbecue

December

12/19 Midwood Smokehouse’s Raleigh location (opening this month) will have some different items than their current stores, including what looks to be a crunchwrap-type item

12/28 Mac’s Speed Shop has new menu items until the end of February, including this beef rib

The 8 Best Barbecue Meals Monk Ate in 2022

January 9, 2023December 26, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: 2022 was yet another year of great barbecue. In addition to finally getting to spend some time in the eastern part of the state for whole hog (although still not nearly enough), I tried two of the best new school barbecue at Palmira Barbecue in Charleston and Lawrence Barbecue in Durham. In terms of North Carolina, in the last weeks of the year I ate at two of the best joints in Buxton Hall Barbecue and Stamey’s. Here are the meals in photos listed in alphabetical order.

Whole hog barbecue dinner from B’s Barbecue, Greenville, NC (link)