Because the more you know: a short 4-minute explainer on NC barbecue from North Carolina’s own “barbecue man” himself, Bob Garner. For more from Garner, you can check out NC Weekend’s YouTube Channel.
Bob Garner
The Barbecue Bros Holiday Gift Guide 2018
Note: a version of this post was posted in December 2017. It has been updated as of December 2018.
Monk: For those last minute shoppers (whoops, should have posted this a few weeks earlier), here’s some gift ideas for the barbecue lover in your life. Or perhaps you if you want to treat yo’ self. The bolded items are the ones I can personally recommend.
Books
Cookbooks, from pitmasters and food writers alike
- Whole Hog BBQ: The Gospel of Carolina Barbecue with Recipes from Skylight Inn and Sam Jones BBQ by Sam Jones and Daniel Vaughn (pre-order) new
- Southern Smoke: Barbecue, Traditions, and Treasured Recipes Reimagined for Today by Matthew Register (pre-order) new
- Hardcore Carnivore by Jess Pryles (signed) new
- Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques, and Barbecue Wisdom by Andy Husbands and Chris Hart
- The South’s Best Butts: Pitmaster Secrets for Barbecue Perfection by Matt Moore
- Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades by Steve Raichlen
- Praise the Lard: Recipes and Revelations from a Legendary Life in Barbecue by Mike Mills and Amy Mills
- Buxton Hall Barbecue’s Book of Smoke: Wood-Smoked Meats, Sides, and More by Elliott Moss
- Barbecue: a Savor the South cookbook by John Shelton Reed
- Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue by Mike Mills
- Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin
- Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ: The Complete Year-Round Guide to Grilling and Smoking by The Editors of Southern Living
Food History, Cultural Writing, and Photography
- The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael Twitty new
- The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South by John T. Edge new
- Texas BBQ by Wyatt McSpadden new
- Texas BBQ, Small Town to Downtown by Wyatt McSpadden new
- Virginia Barbecue: A History by Joseph R. Haynes
- Brunswick Stew: A Virginia Tradition by Joseph R. Haynes
- The One True Barbecue: Fire, Smoke, and the Pitmasters Who Cook Whole Hog by Rien Fertel
- The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America by Johnny Fugitt
- Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed
- Bob Garner’s Book of Barbecue: North Carolina’s Favorite Food by Bob Garner
- The Best Tar Heel Barbecue: From Manteo to Murphy by Jim Early
- Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey by Robb Walsh
- Barbecue: The History of an American Institution by Robert Moss
- North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries by D.G. Martin
- Carolina ‘Cue by Our State Magazine (or directly from Our State)
- The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue by Daniel Vaughn
- Barbecue Lover’s the Carolinas: Restaurants, Markets, Recipes & Traditions by Robert Moss
- Foods that Make You Say Mmm-mmm by Bob Garner
Hats, T-Shirts, Apparel
- Skylight Inn “Patch” T-Shirt new
- Sweet Lew’s BBQ mesh back trucker hat new
- “Smoked While you Sleep” Buxton Hall Barbecue T-Shirt (above) new
- Lone Star BBQ T-shirt from Hardcore Carnivore new
- Lewis Barbecue Hats, T-shirts (above) new
- Bull Shirt Hoodie from Meat Church new
- Brisket Commander T-shirt from Meat Church new
- Sam Jones BBQ Hats, T-shirts (above)
- Our State NC BBQ T-shirt
- House of Swank North Carolina BBQ Shirt
- Cheshire Pork socks, shirts, onesies
- Carolina ‘Cuer Shirt
Accessories, Stocking Stuffers, etc.
- Smoky Lard from Buxton Hall new
- Lard Soap from Buxton Hall new
- Sauces from Buxton Hall – red, vinegar, mustard new
- Barbecue Sauce Set from Lewis Barbecue new
- Pig of the Month BBQ of the Month Subscription
- Four Rub Sampler Set from Hardcore Carnivore new
- Butcher Paper from Hardcore Carnivore new
- BRISKETBOSS knife from Hardcore Carnivore new
- Meat carving fork from Hardcore Carnivore new
- Smathers and Branson NC Pig Flag Belt new
- Smathers and Branson NC Pig Flag Needlepoint Flask new
- The Road Tripper Set: NC BBQ from EDIA Maps new
- The Ocho Black Friday Pack from Meat Church new
- Pig of the Month BBQ of the Month Subscription
- Sam Jones BBQ Eastern NC BBQ Set
- Go Pig or Go Home koozie
- House of Swank NC BBQ Can Koozie
- The Great NC BBQ Map, 2nd Edition
- NC BBQ Traditions Print from EDIA Maps
- The Road Tripper Set: NC BBQ from EDIA Maps new
- Pork Chart Print
- Butcher’s Coasters
- Carolina Cue Tote Bag (plus more in the Gift Shop at the site)
- Carolina Cue Gift Packs and Gift Certificates
Happy Shopping!
Friday Find: Bob Garner visits The Redneck BBQ Lab in Benson, NC
The folks at Redneck BBQ Lab in Benson, NC – Jerry Stephenson and his sister Roxanne Manley – don’t strictly adhere to eastern or western NC barbecue disciplines and instead pull from all barbecue cultures. Bob Garner visited for North Carolina Weekend on UNC-TV.
Barbecue Bros Book Club: Foods That Make You Say Mmm-mmm by Bob Garner
Not that we’re anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books.
Monk: Bob Garner’s latest book, published in 2014, isn’t strictly a barbecue book per se. Instead it focuses on various favorite foods and drinks of North Carolina, though naturally barbecue is featured being that it is the state’s most popular food.
The barbecue chapter of the book covers the basics in terms of the history of barbecue in the state and how the two dominant styles of barbecue came to be. Where it does cover some new territory compared with previous barbecue books from Garner is the introduction of different styles of smokers into NC, comparing offset and rotisserie smokers imported from the midwest and Texas to the traditional NC brick barbecue pits with its direct heat method. Instead of an exhaustive list of all barbecue restaurants (which Garner previously covered in his Big Book of Barbecue), he instead showcases just four restaurants – one from the east (Skylight Inn), one from the piedmont (Lexington Barbecue), a new-style joint that serves beer while still smoking over wood (Hillsborough BBQ Company), and a regional chain (Smithfield’s Chicken and BBQ).
The book does contain recipes as well, and I particularly like that the recipe for “charcoal cooked pulled pork” is for a Lexington-style barbecue recipe smoked on a Weber charcoal grill.
The subsequent chapters of the book cover foods often eaten with barbecue like brunswick stew and collards as well as desserts such as banana pudding and peach cobbler. This is smartly done by Garner.
As for other barbecue-related items, the book also has later chapters on barbecue sauces found in stores, Texas Pete hot sauce, as well as soft drinks created in NC. Longtime readers and followers will note how much I love Cheerwine or Sun Drop with barbecue, and of course the history of those are featured.
“Foods That Make You Say Mmm-mmm” lovingly explores the food and drinks of North Carolina in a way that only a native North Carolinian can. It is very much a Bob Garner book – and that’s a very good thing.
