bbq

Linkdown: 9/9/15

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-Did you know? Whole hog barbecue has been a NC pastime for over 300 years

-Barbecue traditions from around the world:

– Though Labor Day has come and gone, here’s some history on the holiday and barbecue that goes back to the early 1900’s

1901 marked the first official recognition of Labor Day in North Carolina, and its celebration included barbecue, too. In Raleigh, the city’s union members and their guests gathered at the State Fairgrounds for music, speeches, and a baseball game between the printers and the pressmen-binders unions. It closed with a feast, and the Raleigh News & Observer noted that, “The tables were laden with Brunswick stew, barbecue, salads, breads, and all the little side dishes that tickle the palate.”

– In Charlotte, the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge’s Gallery Bar has their hands on two Woodford Reserve Personal Selection Bourbons and are launching them with a barbecue dinner this Friday

– Marie, Let’s Eat! revisits Barbecue Street in Kennesaw, GA and finds it to be a much better visit than his previous two trips there, particularly the newly-changed brunswick stew

– Southern Foodways Alliance previews an upcoming Gravy podcast with “Texans and a Barbecue Love Affair”

-There is a Barbecue Presbyterian Church in Sanford, NC – suck it, every other state – and they are having a barbecue dinner later this month

-Johnny Fugitt has 7 things you need to know about barbecue in America in 2015 based on his barbecue travels in 2014

Bill Spoon’s Barbecue – Charlotte, NC (RE-REVIEW)

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Bill Spoon's Barbecue
Name: Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Date: 8/14/15
Location: 5524 South Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: Combo plate – Pork and ribs; hush puppies, fried Okra, Collards (link to menu)
Bill: $24, including drink (which was not a Cheerwine, which they do not serve)

Speedy: Recently, on a Friday afternoon, my work team decided to grab some barbecue for lunch. As I hadn’t been since our last review over two years ago, I steered the team towards Bill Spoon’s. Heading in, my memory was to expect good pork, great hushpuppies, and weird slaw.

Monk:…what Speedy means here is that Bill Spoon’s has a mustard-based slaw. But hey, at least it isn’t mayo-based.

Speedy: Not sure how that’s different than what I said… Anyhow, I was expecting a pretty standard meal, but I was thrown a bit of a curveball when we arrived and found out Spoon’s added ribs to the menu.  I thought I owed it to the dear readers to give it a try. Fortunately, there was a combo plate, so I could grab some pork as well. Sides of collards and fried okra rounded out my meal.

Monk: And from the looks of it, a pretty pricey combo plate at that.

Speedy: I don’t want to go into too much detail about the pork (good), hushpuppies (great), or other sides (average), as I really don’t have anything to add to our previous review. So instead, I’ll focus on the ribs. This were big, meaty spare ribs smoked with the membrane on (boo) and served with just a bit of glaze. These ribs were the epitome of “fall off the bone ribs”, which, unfortunately is not a good thing. They were definitely overcooked and I was unable to even take a bite without all of the meat falling off. The flavor was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Monk: Interesting that they added ribs to the menu (or maybe we just missed it the first time around?). I wouldn’t have expected good ribs from a traditional-ish Eastern Carolina joint like this (thinking Allen & Son) so I wonder what the demand was that led to it. They do cook whole hog so maybe they have them leftover anyways.

Speedy: Overall, it was a disappointing experience, especially considering the hefty price tag that accompanied the ribs. Next time, I’ll stick to the pork.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Chopped Pork – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs
Bill Spoon's Barbecue Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Friday Find: Slow Burn trailer

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Slow Burn is an upcoming documentary on the barbecue scene in East Austin. Here’s the trailer.

The mega-trailer for the new #gastropunk documentary Slow Burn, a story of barbecue and urban identity in the rapidly gentrifying east side of Austin, TX.
Music by Alex Peterson / Smith + Robot
Support this film here: facebook.com/slowburnfilm
Coming in Spring 2016.

(via TMBBQ)

–Monk

Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ (food truck)

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Name: Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ (food truck)
Date: 8/10/15
Order: Pork platter with beans and cole slaw, soda (link to menu)
Price: $12

Monk: Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ is an accomplished competition team from Belmont that has two top 10 finishes at Memphis in May, two top 15 Memphis Barbecue Network (MBN) finishes, and two grand championships at the Charlotte barbecue festival (per their website). They have been catering in the Charlotte area for a while but started a barbecue food truck in the past year or so. Speedy and I had previously tried it out, albeit under different circumstances as a vendor with a limited menu at last year’s Charlotte BBQ Championship, and hadn’t been blown away. I figured I’d give it another shot during a normal lunch service at an office park in west Charlotte.

As was the case then, the pork was pulled in coarse chunks and was a bit bland. It appears that Ranucci’s forgoes a strong rub or smoke flavor on the pork and relies instead upon the three or so sauces available on the side to flavor the meat. Ranucci’s does use a Myron Mixon smoker and there were wood piles in the back of the trailer but for some reason there just wasn’t much smoke in the pork. The one positive this time, however, was that the pork was more moist whereas last fall it was a bit dry. But overall, the pork was still not all that memorable this time around.

Unfortunately, the sides were even more disappointing. The mayonnaise-based slaw was fine but average but the beans tasted as if they were poured straight from the can without any accoutrements or added flavors.

Speedy: I think this is part of the problem with competition barbecue. For competition, you’re trying to come up with one great bite. Obviously that strategy doesn’t work when you’re cooking in bulk. The flavor profile needs to be different (generally less sweet), and you can’t pick and choose just the best meat. This is why competition barbecue champions are hard to trust (unless it’s Tuffy Stone).

Monk: With such an accomplished resume, I would have hoped for more from Ranucci’s Big Butt BBQ but likely this second time I tried them will be my last.

Ratings:
Pork – 2 hogs
Sides – 1 hog
Overall – 2 hogs

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