Durham

Linkdown: 6/4/14

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– Ed Mitchell’s ‘Que is now open; now just need to plan a trip to Durham soon…

The restaurant’s hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and closed Sundays. It will operate extended hours on DPAC event and Durham Bulls game nights. 

– More coverage on ‘Que in this article from the Raleigh News & Observer

– Here’s the event menu for the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in NYC this weekend

– A Carolinian tastes her first bite of brisket at la Barbecue in Texas (via)

– To All the Armchair BBQ Critics, from Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker (via)

– Elliott Moss of the upcoming Buxton Hall continues to practice his whole hog barbecue technique

– A couple of barbecue festivals are represented in this North Carolina Summer Festival Spotlight list from Our State Magazine

15. Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival
TRYON • JUNE 13-14
One of the most popular sanctioned barbecue competitions in the U.S. celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Per usual, there will be rides, games, two entertainment stages, and barbecue “cooked low and slow.”

10 a.m.-11 p.m. Admission free on Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. All other times: Adults $8. Children 12 and younger free. Harmon Field, 301 North Trade Street. (828) 693-84431 or blueridgebbqfestival.com.

– Austin’s top 6 sausages, according to Fed Man Walking

– Duh: Despite What You May Have Heard, South Carolina Is (Probably) Not the Birthplace of Barbecue

– Weekly food truck locations for Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen, the current #1 on our Charlotte Big Board

Our current location schedule:
Weekly
Tuesday lunch at Coliseum Center Buildings 3 & 4
Wednesday lunch at Coliseum Center Buildings 5 & 6
Thursday lunch at Parkway Plaza

Monthly
Every 3rd Friday of the month: Food Truck Friday in Southend 
Friday, June 20th
Friday, July 18th

The Ashton Southend
Friday, July 25th at 5:30

Linkdown: 5/28/14

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– Here’s What You Need to Know About North Carolina Barbecue according to Southern Living

– Buxton Hall is getting ready:

– The Pit Durham, who have a sign that reads “No Weapons. No Concealed Firearms” on its front door, was unfortunately  robbed at gunpoint by three men a few Sundays ago, luckily no one was injured

– Garden and Gun Magazine’s recommendations for finding barbecue in NYC includes Mighty Quinn’s, BrisketTown in Brooklyn, and Arrogant Swine

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Brooks Barbeque in Muscle Shoals, which he would “happily rank Brooks alongside Brick Pit in Mobile as the two best barbecue restaurants in the state, and top ten in the country.”

– A short profile on Garland and Amanda Hudgins, a SC couple who teach barbecue classes and compete (and occasionally win) in competitions

– Myron Mixon, never afraid to mince words, believes that most cooking shows on tv are too complicated (h/t bbqboard)

Barbecue is not that way. There’s fire and smoke and you can take some ingredients out of your pantry and then you’re cooking. It’s a style that relates so much more to common people.

– La Barbecue tops The Austin American-Statesman’s Matthew Odam’s list of best barbecue in Austin

– Big Wayner’s got some great photos from this year’s Memphis in May

– Well, this certainly is a list: CBS Local’s list of best barbecue in Charlotte

– Another week, another confounding barbecue list: Nashville is Travel and Leisure’s best city for barbecue in the US. Plus, there are no NC cities on the list, but it does include such barbecue meccas such as Denver, Providence and Orlando in the top 20 list.

Linkdown: 5/13/14

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– North Carolina is #2 on TripAdvisor’s “Top 10 States for BBQ.” Sure, I guess I can buy that. #1 on the list? Georgia…wait, what?

– Speaking of Georgia, here’s an interview with native son Myron Mixon from Conde Nast Traveler

– Statesville has a place that serves both eastern and western NC barbecue

– Another list of barbecue around the world, entitled “From the Philippines to Australia, a Gorgeous Look at BBQ Around the World”

– Eater’s guide to eating brisket in NYC, including Barbecue Bros fave Mighty Quinn’s

– Unfortunately, you need a subscription to read the whole article on barbecue styles in the Houston area, but there are these two fantastic sentences just before the paywall:

There are a lot of different styles in the United States, but the two barbecue heavyweights are North Carolina and Texas. Barbecue folks in Kansas City and Memphis are going to take umbrage at that statement, but that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

– A recap of last week’s Getting Jiggy with the Piggy last weekend in Concord

– The Wide Open Bluegrass Festival, as well as the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship that takes place alongside it, will remain in Raleigh until at least 2018 

– Alton Brown’s favorite barbecue is…North Carolina barbecue (specifically eastern; question and answer is at 2:13 of the linked video). 

– Tacos faced barbecue in this final round of Food Network’s “Regional Foods Face-Off” bracket. Spoiler alert: barbecue won.

Congratulations, barbecue! You are the pride of the South. If you think about it, what’s more American than barbecue? It was born and bred in the United States. And even though there are different types of barbecuing methods, preparations and sauces, which are very often hotly contested between states, at the end of the day it’s easy to bring together a crowd of family and friends when there’s a barbecue nearby. And with summer just around the corner, it’s time to pull out those grills and dust off those barbecue pits because grilling season is ahead!

– Not sure how long it’s been up, but the website for Ed Mitchell’s ‘Que is live and you can take a look at the menu here; full plates include both chopped and pulled eastern Carolina whole hog as well as chopped bbq turkey, brisket, ribs, fried chicken, and bbq half-chickens. The original opening was in April, but hopefully we’ll hear more details soon

Backyard BBQ Pit – Durham, DC

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Name: Backyard BBQ Pit
Date: 4/26/14
Address: 5122 NC Hwy 55, Durham, NC 27713
Order: Seven pounds barbecue, 8 dozen hush puppies, tray mac and cheese, tray barbecue beans (link to menu)
Price: $110 (for approx. 28 people)

For an engagement party Mrs. Monk was co-hosting in Apex, I got to play the role of barbecue consultant (hey, that has a nice ring to it…) and help pick the barbecue for the party. The theme of the party was “backyard bbq” and as it turns out, a joint named Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham is listed on True ‘Cue. So yea, that was an easy decision.

On the day of the party, I went to pick up the bulk order from Backyard BBQ, located in a small shack on NC 55 not too far from I-40, and walked into small dining room covered in handwritten graffiti. The trays of pork, mac and cheese, and baked beans were all ready when I walked in but the staff waited to fry the hush puppies until I got there, which thankfully didn’t cause any timing issues for me and actually is a nice touch when you think about it. One of the very nice and helpful staff helped me load the food into my car and off I went, with fresh hush puppies taunting me from the back of the car the entire 20 minute drive back to the party.

Backyard BBQ cooks eastern carolina style barbecue using pork shoulders a la Allen & Son in Chapel Hill. Thankfully for us the pork retained it’s moisture for a few hours until the party started, aided by us keeping it warm in the oven. I found the the barbecue to have a nice bark as well as a little bit of a kick due to the red pepper flakes and hot sauce used in it. And it seemed to be a hit among the partygoers and thus made the hostesses (most importantly Mrs. Monk) happy.

The hush puppies were light and fluffy and had good sweetness to them. The texture may have been thrown off a little by the lag in serving, but I (and the rest of the guests) still ate them up. The mac and cheese was fantastic, but the beans themselves in the barbecue baked beans maybe could have stood to be cooked a little longer. We opted for Mrs. Monk to make her own red slaw for the party, so I didn’t try their white slaw.

Backyard BBQ Pit has been featured on Travel Channel program Man vs. Food but from what I can tell doesn’t really get as much play as some of the other joints in the Triangle. Why that is the case, I don’t quite know why. With extremely reasonable prices (at least 30% cheaper than other options for bulk orders in the area) and a solid product cooked over wood, Backyard BBQ Pit should be more well known to serious barbecue fans in North Carolina.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 4 Hogs

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Backyard Barbeque Pit on Urbanspoon