barbeque

McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon – Charlotte, NC

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Name: McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon
Date: 7/5/22
Location: 4630 Old Pineville Road, Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: BBQ pork sandwich with fried squash and double-grilled smokehouse wings (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon is a Charlotte joint that I tend to forget or overlook since my first and thus far only visit in 2013. On that visit, perhaps I judged it too harshly which may have tended to be the M.O. in the early days of this blog when expectations were sky high and readership was quite low. I have slowly started to revisit Charlotte joints in recent years, or at least the ones that haven’t closed, so McKoy’s was next up on the list.

Just like on that first visit, I was greeted by the smell of wood smoke in the air as I exited the car and walked into the restaurant. The interior really embraces the “saloon” aspect of the name, and there are plenty of TV’s with sports on. McKoy’s has been around since 2006 and while I don’t want to speak too prematurely, it appears they have hung on beyond the pandemic, perhaps just barely.

For my appetizer, I decided to try their smokehouse wings, opting for barbalo and upgraded to their “double grilled” to get them nice and crispy. While they do utilize a “full roid” wing (I mean, these drumettes were huge), they were nicely cooked and quite tasty. Would order again.

McKoy’s pork has a mild smokiness to it – partially due to the use of the milder pecan wood as well as utilizing a gas-assisted smoker. The pork barbecue sandwich comes on a butter-grilled bun and that mildly smokey pork is topped with a mayo-based slaw. Add some dashes of Texas Pete and it makes for a very good sammie. While I was trying not to overeat, I still managed to finish off the whole thing.

Coming off the back end of a long July 4th weekend, I tried to go a little healthier for my side but fried squash was as close as I got. I had never seen it on a barbecue menu before, but I thought it worked really well and would order again. That makes three for three if you’re keeping track at home.

I still wouldn’t include McKoy’s Smokehouse and Saloon in the top tier of Charlotte barbecue but it is much better than I previously gave them credit for. I might go back and try the Living the Dream (LTD) platter some day to try their ribs, pot roast, and chicken, and it’ll be sooner than the nine years between my first and second visit.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 Hogs
Pork – 3 Hogs
Sides – 3.5 Hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs

Friday Find: Aaron Franklin Welds a Rotisserie from an Old Schwinn

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Monk: Aaron Franklin takes Huckberry on a trip down memory lane at his salvage yard before he turns his attention towards welding an old Schwinn to a rotisserie smoker for this year’s Hot Luck Festival, which took place earlier this year in Austin.

Description: Who do you call when you need a rotisserie made from an old bicycle? Apparently, Aaron Franklin…

We caught up with the BBQ Chef and self-proclaimed “tinker-er” a week ahead of Hot Luck, a food festival he founded, while in the middle of a project for the festival: a peddle-powered rotisserie, fashioned from an old Schwinn Bicycle.

Along the way Aaron gives a tour of his workshop and personal salvage yard where he works on welding projects for Hot Luck and beyond. In Aaron’s words: he started welding “out of necessity” because to make a good cooker you “have to be someone who cooks.”

More from Aaron Franklin on The Journal: https://bit.ly/3bGFXFt

Linkdown: 7/6/22

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Monk: After a 2 month break to recap season 3 of “BBQ Brawl,” we’re back with a roundup of the latest barbecue news in North Carolina and beyond.

Featured

Catching up on some of the NC barbecue posts the past couple of months from Friend of the Blog John Tanner, he was making the rounds in eastern NC during the spring starting with a return trip to Parker’s Barbecue in Wilson where he enjoyed the barbecue but particularly the fried chicken

He then headed to Marty’s BBQ across town and did a head-to-head comparison with his meal at Parker’s

He followed up those meals with another return trip to Grady’s BBQ which, despite John’s near persistent drum beating, is still not a UNESCO world heritage site

John also visited Southport Smokehouse and Leland Smokehouse in the Wilmington-area and came away resolved to eating seafood at the beach in the future

But that was followed by the best pork of his trip (and contender for best in eastern NC according to him) at Stephenson’s Bar-B-Q in Willow Springs

John then swing through the Piedmont and hit up Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro which, while he had a fine meal, he was surprised to learn that hush puppies didn’t come with the meal

When news of Richard’s Bar-B-Q in Salisbury closing later this month, he also spun some words reflecting on the pending loss of yet another True ‘Cue joint

Native News

Congrats to Grady’s BBQ on 36 years open

Elliot Moss has parted ways with Buxton Hall Barbecue, according to his Instagram post, but will be staying in Asheville and has another restaurant in the works; as for barbecue: “I’m NOT done with BBQ. My passion for BBQ will live on forever. I’ll be doing some bbq traveling & cooking. Stay tuned”

ICYMI, our latest Lexington (NC) Barbecue Rankings

Charlotte Barbecue News from the Second Quarter of 2022

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Monk: The biggest barbecue news in Charlotte from April to June was surely the inaugural edition of the Carolina BBQ Festival held in late May. You can revisit my recap of the memorable day here:

The festival sold out of all tickets for this year’s edition and Lewis Donald has some big plans for next year. More news on that front should be coming in the next few days or weeks according to a recent Instagram post. Follow them on Instagram to find out as soon as its posted.

The rest of the Charlotte barbecue news from the past 3 months:

April

4/4 In news you don’t like to see, Noble Smoke and a neighboring business The Good Life got involved in a parking dispute

4/5 The owners of Seoul Food Meat Co open a fast casual wing-focused restaurant in South Park

4/25 Axios Charlotte names The Smoke Pit as one of the recommended places to eat when in Concord just north of Charlotte

May

5/10 The inaugural Carolina BBQ Festival officially sells out weeks ahead of its debut

5/24 The Carolina BBQ Festival in photos

5/25 Sweet Lew’s BBQ makes this list from Thrillist on the “57 American barbecue joints to visit right now”

June

6/1 We collaborate with our friends at The Smoke Sheet to recap the Carolina BBQ Festival

6/3 The fan favorite G’s Burger is taken off the Jon G’s Barbecue menu for a “short hiatus”

6/5 Midwood Smokehouse and Jon G’s Barbecue are two of the 13 barbecue restaurants included in Cheerwine’s Carolina ‘Cue Tour

6/5 Not to be outdone, Gaston County launches a barbecue trail of their own. The Gaston County Cue Trail has 7 barbecue restaurants on the list, the oldest of which even opened back in 1946

6/25 Sweet Lew’s BBQ collaborates with Chef Corey Siegel on a sandwich pop-up

6/26 Jon G’s Barbecue headed to Charleston for a pop-up with Palmira BBQ at Hobcaw Brewing

6/30 The Charlotte Observer posts their latest list of Charlotte-area barbecue joints; some good, some not so good on the list but that’s a reflection of Charlotte barbecue more than anything else.