FS Food Group has put up a video featuring Midwood Smokehouse pitmaster Matt Berry taking on the challenge of smoking whole hog in their Texas-built rotisserie smoker. This looks to be episode 1 of a new web video series.
Charlotte
The Mallard Creek Annual BBQ – Charlotte, NC
Name: The Mallard Creek Annual BBQ
Date: 10/27/16 (4th Thursday of every October)
Address: 11400 Mallard Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28262
Order: BBQ plate with brunswick stew, slaw, and applesauce (link to menu)
Price: $10
Monk: After going to the Mallard Creek Annual BBQ for each of the past three years, I figured it was time for an official review. Now in its 87th year, the Mallard Creek BBQ is by far the oldest barbecue institution in Charlotte (admittedly a city of very few old barbecue institutions). Its a one-day annual event on the fourth Thursday of every October where barbecue and local politics mix, though the politics won’t get in the way if you just want barbecue. My pro tip for any first-timers is to take a late lunch and go after 2pm when there is no line, otherwise you might be in the car for awhile.
Every year, literally tons of barbecue is smoked by an army of volunteers and this year was no different with 14,000 pounds of pork smoked. I’ve been both in mid and late afternoon and the coarsely chopped pork is always moist, a tribute to the whole operation. Add the table-side hot sauce, a spicy vinegar-based sauce (skip the other, ketchup-based one) and pile with slaw on a slice of the Merita bread loaf on every table and you’ve got a nice open-faced sandwich. On this recent visit, I did this twice and had ample amounts of pork left over.
Really, the Mallard Creek Annual BBQ is probably more well known for its brunswick stew though its not the typical brunswick stew. Per Kathleen Purvis, instead of potatoes it has rice. Instead of shredded chicken and beef, it has ground-up chicken, beef and pork. Instead of lima beans, it has only corn and tomatoes. I’m still no expert on the dish but I would go so far as to say its one of the best versions of the dish I’ve had. On the October days when the weather is a little more brisk, its a very welcome dish. Though it was a little on the warmer side this year.
It is my opinion that any true barbecue fan in the Charlotte area should make it a point to go to the Mallard Creek Annual BBQ at least once. Other publications have covered its history much more extensively, but in short its a great event put on by the folks of Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church. You should go.
Ratings:
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Brunswick Stew – 4 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Linkdown: 11/2/16
– This week in “that’s so NC” barbecue: a new barbecue joint called Redneck Barbecue Lab will take over a space that formerly housed a Dairy Queen attached to a BP off I-40 in McGee’s Crossroads
– NY Times’ 13 essential barbecue stops includes Lexington Barbecue
– Speaking of Lexington, the city’s marketing campaign is apparently paying off
– Photos from last week’s 87th Mallard Creek Annual BBQ
– Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew in Austin is expanding but the new location won’t simply be “Stiles Switch 2” according to its owner
– New York Times writer Ethan Hauser: I Hopped a Plane Just for a Barbecue Sandwich. I’d Do It Again.
I can tell you with complete assurance that 532 miles is not too far to travel for a sandwich. That is the distance between my home in Ridgewood, Queens, and theSkylight Inn in Ayden, N.C., where a man in a black apron fills the cutout between the kitchen and the cash register and wields cleavers as if they were weapons from “Game of Thrones,” one in each substantial hand.
Linkdown: 10/19/16
– 6 years ago, locals saved this BBQ joint. It returned the favor after Hurricane Matthew.
Provenzano credits Southern Soul, along with a number of other local restaurants that stayed open, for helping the recovery effort run smoothly and allowing emergency workers to stay on the island through mealtimes, instead of having to travel to a staging area on the mainland.
– A bbq and slaw egg roll is one of the crazy foods to try at this year’s NC State Fair
I reviewed 4 new foods at the @NCStateFair and it went oh so much better than last year https://t.co/iJRXkbSUyF
— Jeremy Markovich (@deftlyinane) October 18, 2016
– Bill Spoon’s BBQ makes Charlotte Stories’ list of Top 10 Best Comfort Food Restaurants in Charlotte
– Charleston Paper cheekily writes up Arby’s new Smoke Mountain sandwich: Finally, Charleston has a place for good barbecue
– Tickets for the train to the Barbecue Festival are still on sale:
Tickets now on sale for special train stop at the 33rd annual Lexington Barbecue Festival, taking place Oct. 22. https://t.co/uGjC6T1IYI pic.twitter.com/xMjx20l72h
— NC By Train (@NC_By_Train) September 29, 2016
– Picnic makes the list of Durham stops in this article from Departures
– Also from Departures, the best mail-order barbecue
– Atlanta Magazine: Meet Atlanta’s next great pitmaster – Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue
– More on Furman
.@bscracklinbbq is different from other ATL barbecue joints. You can thank the owner’s S.C. family for that https://t.co/KrTDkLvmzz
— CL ATL Food & Drink (@cl_atlantafood) October 17, 2016
– Grant’s latest stops: Sportsman’s BBQ in Chattanooga and Peg Leg Porker in Nashville, their 400th barbecue writeup
– Congrats to Grant and Marie!
Tonight, we reach a big goal for our blog. I’ve now eaten at every restaurant on the NC #BBQ Society Historic Trail. Last up: Stephenson’s. pic.twitter.com/KLLbbl8al6
— Grant Goggans (@MarieLetsEat) October 13, 2016