Monk: Tyler Harp of Harp Barbecue has been turning heads with his Texas-influenced barbecue, and Kansas City’s Flatland spends over a day with him as he smokes the meat for a serving at Crane Brewing Company in Raytown, MO.
Description: What does it take to cook barbecue only with wood? We spend the day with Harp Barbecue to find out. Hard-core barbecue enthusiasts define craft barbecue as cooked only using wood, served fresh daily, never reheated and cut to order. And they say there’s only one place really doing it right now in the Kansas City area.
Thrillist recently listed Harp Barbecue as one of the 33 best BBQ joints in America. Locally, 435 magazine recently named Harp Barbecue Kansas City’s number one barbecue spot.
We’re FlatlandKC.org, KCPT’s digital magazine, a destination for local and regional storytelling in and around Kansas City.
Rodney Scott’s barbecue book came out earlier this month and this week he spoke with Steve Inskeep of NPR’s Morning Edition, and in the feature he opens up more on the current state of the relationship with his dad than I’ve previously read. Sadly, it’s not in a great spot.
“His objection was, you didn’t start this. You’re not the barbecue guy … and he said, you know what, just go open your own place, get away from here,” he says. … “Sometimes I would pass him in certain areas and he would kind of turn his head,” he says. “He wouldn’t even wave if he saw me wave at him.”
However, Rodney Scott is at peace with his decision to strike out on his own, first by opening a restaurant in Charleston and then a second location in Birmingham, AL (with an Atlanta location planned for this summer).
“I want to take over the world with barbecue,” he says. “You could put a whole hog in front of some people and you’re going to get at least 50 to 100 people that’s going to come together and eat. So, in my mind, why not everybody around the world fire up a hog. And I bet you, it’ll be some joy, a whole lot of partying, a lot of smiles. And the world would be a better place.”
Hard to recall any other cooking segment quite like @PitmasterRS Rodney Scott talking about the physical challenge of a 12-hour barbecue over a wood fire—and going for it whole hog. @MorningEdition@NPRhttps://t.co/YE15NgGzGg
Several NC barbecue restaurants are featured in this handy guide of restaurants along I-95 worth a stop
Non-Native News
“The heart and soul of the craft barbecue movement [in Kansas City] is located in central Texas”
🥩🍖The new generation of young pitmasters all use offset smokers and cook with wood. Menus are limited and ever-changing. Open only on weekends, hours are “until sellout,” prompting online pre-orders & masked, socially distanced lines. https://t.co/JQSLEeHWaM
We're back open for onsite dining in Battery Park City with beer on tap, barbecue favorites, and some new menu items, too! We can't wait to welcome you back safely. Make a reservation or just stop by: https://t.co/4wLGqct1v7pic.twitter.com/ttphSw2ZtG
Shuler’s BBQ is opening a second location in Lake City, SC
Saucy’s Southern BBQ and Cuisine in Denver launches a wing and barbecue sauce featuring THC distillate
Check Daniel Vaughn’s Twitter for his big barbecue roadtrip from last week including newcomer Distant Relatives BBQ; nature is healing!
Exciting stuff from Damien Brockway and his new Distant Relatives BBQ in Austin. Smoked chuck instead of brisket was a nice change of pace. Phenomenal sides, great pulled pork and ribs, and ridiculously crispy/juicy chicken. Wow. pic.twitter.com/GFxKaW3Oiz
Sweet Lew’s Barbeque has started doing whole hog on Sundays as of this past Sunday, making it the only whole hog available in Charlotte smoked the old way.
The recently shuttered Bill Spoon’s cooked the whole hog but switched to gas smokers some years back. Here’s hoping whole hog Sundays catches on with Charlotte customers and Lewis Donald can continue to smoke whole hogs weekly (and maybe more frequently if its popular enough).
The price is $16/lb or $13 for a plate with two sides. This puts it just above Midwood Smokehouse ($13) and Jon G’s ($14) but below Noble Smoke ($18). Not bad, considering those are smoked pork shoulders compared with whole hog.
It certainly looks like Sweet Lew’s has been running through some wood, so hopefully I can pick up some whole hog next week for football.
The Charlotte Observer’s Theoden James has the full story, and notes that the closing wasn’t because of the pandemic. Steve Spoon, Jr.: “There is no other source of income for mom-and-pop places. There’s no financial backing, there’s no partners, there’s no corporate money to be funded in when you are short. The customers are their only source of revenue, so if they don’t come, (they) have no safety net. You have to support ’em.”
Bargarita is not looking too promising
Bargarita in Noda. Although the interior admirably attempts to mimic an authentic Mexican restaurant, the tacos and burritos are mushy and flavorless. I nearly cracked a tooth on a 1” bone found in my burrito, and then found ANOTHER bone in my taco. pic.twitter.com/EwZQlggmej
Barbecue historian Jim Auchmutey was a consultant on Netflix’s “American Barbecue Showdown,” which filmed outside of Atlanta last year but was just released on Netflix
Jim Auchmutey writes a nice article on the @netflix American BBQ Showdown…worth the read if you aren't up to speed on this show. https://t.co/FVI2cP2wau
Rasheed Philips of Philips Barbeque Co appeared on “American Barbecue Showdown” and now has his own podcast
Robert Moss has updated his website ahead of the re-release of “Barbecue: The History of An American Institution, Revised and Expanded”
Finally got the newly-rebranded and restyled website up and live this week. Still shaking out a few CSS kinks, but I'm pretty happy with how it's shaping up. pic.twitter.com/0YAbXsL7qO
In LA and looking for barbecue? Kevin’s BBQ Joints has you covered
UPDATED: There are over 2 dozen BBQ spots in and around Los Angeles hungry(I know) for your business this week. To support them and get your BBQ fix check back often as I have been updating this weekly list since the world changed earlier this year.https://t.co/tgW6CkDiUp
Longleaf Swine has announced their new location; instead of their previously announced stall at Transfer Co Food Hall they will be in a free-standing building that formerly housed Oakwood Cafe
Congrats to Big Tiny’s BBQ in Mooresville, who celebrated their 4th anniversary earlier this week
Foodie Score visits the Gastonia location of The Smoke Pit (the local chain’s 4th store), and reports back full bellies
🤤 If you want a meal that will truly fill you up and satisfy your tastebuds, visit one of The Smoke Pit’s 4 western NC locations. 👍👍 Here’s our experience:https://t.co/dj32nDv7SJ
Thankfully, it appears the fire last weekend at Pecan Lodge didn’t cause major damage and they were actually able to open later that day
I talked to Justin Fourton of @PecanLodge. Fire took out one of two smoker exhaust systems they have. They can still cook at 1/2 capacity. Will reopen within days. They have a very $$$ fan to replace, but dodged a bullet. https://t.co/1ksnSmwFdG
Pellet smokers are on the rise, according to J.C. Reid
Commercial-grade pellet smokers are elbowing their way into more smoke rooms. What they lack in producing deep smoke flavor, they make up for in cooking & cost consistency. Some pitmasters, stretched for time & capital, are making the switch. #houbbqhttps://t.co/6qs5VLFlrwpic.twitter.com/EtuUOnUq5T
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