Friday Find: “Sam Jones: BBQ Gospel”

A short feature on Sam Jones, Skylight Inn, and his recently resurrected family barbecue pit from My Home, NC

Everyone has an opinion of their favorite North Carolina barbeque and what method or sauce is best. There are families who have been cooking BBQ for generations. Sam Jones cut his teeth at his granddaddy’s legendary restaurant, Skylight Inn BBQ in Ayden, NC. Now he is hard at work keeping his family’s legacy alive for a new generation of whole hog enthusiasts. My Home, NC talks to him about his restaurant Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville and his love for traveling the world preaching and teaching the finer points of the Jones family’s BBQ gospel at cooking events.

Linkdown: 8/15/18

– A feature on Sauceman’s brazilian pitmaster Edgar Simoes (though whats with the question about sauces?)

– Former Red Bridges pitmaster Phil Schenk passed away earlier this month at the age of 74

– Later this month, Big Tiny’s BBQ in Mooresville celebrates two years of being open

– With its 5 locations, Midwood Smokehouse is on this list of chain restaurants that started in Charlotte

– A writeup on Rashad Lee, barbecue tv personality and owner of Big Lee’s BBQ truck in Ocala, FL

– A roundup of barbecue books released so far this year

– The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot food writer Matthew Korfhage waxes poetic on the “some of the best pulled pork in the known universe” two hours away from him in eastern NC – B’s Barbecue and Skylight Inn

Sure, there are other famous eastern-style whole-hog barbecue spots – most notably Wilber’s in neighboring Wayne County, where presidents have dined and owner Wilber Shirley still presides over his restaurant, as he has for more than 50 years.

But a morning drive down winding, wooded roads to B’s and Skylight – hitting both stops along the way – is one of life’s most unmitigated pleasures, one I’ve only just discovered and will repeat many times before I’m through.

– Speaking of The Virginian-Pilot, good find from Robert Moss from that paper from 1935

 

South Main Street BBQ – Waxhaw, NC

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Name
: South Main Street BBQ
Date: 8/8/18
Address: 116 E South Main St, Waxhaw, NC 28173
Order: Chopped pork sandwich with slaw, chips, and Cheerwine (link to menu)
Price: $9

Monk: On an excursion to Frontier Meats just south of Waxhaw to research potential meats for future smokes, I stopped by South Main Street BBQ, a self-proclaimed “Tex-Lex” barbecue restaurant in charming downtown Waxhaw located in the former JB’s Lazy Pig BBQ location. Owner John Crane, who also runs the Killer Q food truck, purchased the business in September 2017 and relaunched it as South Main Street BBQ this past April since it was, you know, located off of South Main Street.

When I tried Killer Q in September 2015, I was a fan of the smokiness in the meat and noted how they had just acquired a BQ stick burner (the kind that Sam Jones uses). I’m not sure if they are using that smoker here but unfortunately, I did not taste that same smokiness in their storefront. While the large sandwich had good texture between the pulled pork and the slaw, when I pulled strands of pork out I just didn’t get a lot of smokiness.

Speaking of slaw, what is normally added for free will cost you an extra $1 here. Obviously, it’s just a dollar, but on a $7 sandwich it seems a bit excessive. Another gripe – the lunch combo came with a bag of Lays where I would have preferred cornbread (that’ll cost you another $2 extra).

South Main Street BBQ does offer brisket (i.e. the “Tex” in the “Tex-Lex”), but only on Saturdays. I’ll have to try that if I make it back to Waxhaw either for Frontier Meats or to check out The Dreamchaser’s Brewery across the railroad tracks downtown. Perhaps if I do, the pulled pork will be a little smokier.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – N/A
Overall – 2.5 hogs

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Linkdown: 8/1/18

– House of Swank in Raleigh designed an iconic NC barbecue t-shirt but has recently learned that the design has been ripped off by Tervis tumblers that are being sold at some Bed, Bath, and Beyonds

– Has Lockhart lost some of its luster?

– Savor Virginia has a Richmond barbecue tour

– No, of course Franklin Barbecue is not closing

– Aaron Franklin does, however, have a new cookbook in the works that isn’t about barbecue but is sticking with beef

– The Y’All Sauce Co. out of Winston-Salem is a new line of barbecue sauces inspired by Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi; sauces from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana are in development

– Steve Raichlen remembers Jonathan Gold

– What are your thoughts on the term “pitmaster?”

– Nice find by Twitter user @MatthewTessnear