NC

Pinehurst Brewing Company – Pinehurst, NC

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Name: Pinehurst Brewing Company & Smokehouse
Address: 300 Magnolia Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374
Order: Smokehouse sampler with hush puppies, mac and cheese, and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

In 2019 as part of Pinehurst’s efforts to maintain and improve upon their courses and resort offerings, Pinehurst Brewing Company opened in the brick building that housed the town’s former steam plant that had powered the resort since 1895. On the beer side, they recruited the head brewer Eric Mitchell from the well-regarded Heist Brewing in Charlotte. As for food, smoked meats plays a huge part in the menu and head smoker Chris Dowd also originally came from the Queen City (though he moved to Laurinburg in 1989). He quit his office job about 20 years ago for barbecue and eventually made his way to Pinehurst Brewing when they opened in 2019.

Inside the historic brick building, they have certainly played up the heritage of the old plant. Weathered photos cover the walls, In the sunroom where we were seated, all tables were made from a single tree that was on the property including the two large high top tables that each can seat 10-12. Underneath the naturally-edged table, the legs are comprised of old pipes, valves, tanks, dials and fittings.

The menu states that the meats from the smokehouse are smoked on “high quality local oak and hickory woods” and while I wasn’t able to lay eyes on the smoker itself, this interview with Dowd claims they are using a stick burner.

As is standard, I went with the sampler to try a bit of everything on the menu. The chopped pork was a large large portion that had some rub sprinkled on top but unfortunately I didn’t get a lot of smoke and found it to be just average. There are four sauces to choose from including an eastern NC vinegar sauce, which gave the barbecue the tang I was looking for.

Brisket came in just one thin slide and had good bark and flavor. The sausage was a bit overdone; charred on the outside, but paired well with the IPA beer mustard sauce. The smoked chicken was well smoked and they managed to make the skin crispy, not rubbery

The sides were strong at Pinehurst Brewing. The sampler comes with two sides and we added another; we went with mac and cheese, collards, and hush puppies. All were well executed and Mrs. Monk gave the collards praise, which isn’t always a given considering how seriously she takes her collards.

Pinehurst Brewing Company will be part of the recently announced Pinehurst Barbecue Festival in September, and they have a good thing going in less than two years up and running. On a warmer day, they have a great beer garden and outdoor bar which would be a nice way to enjoy a beer after a round of golf or after a meal.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Chicken – 3 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Linkdown: 1/27/21

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Featured

Kingsford Charcoal has announced the “Preserve the Pit” Fellowship to celebrate the Black contribution to barbecue and help aspiring pitmasters through a monetary grant and a hands-on mentorship. That mentorship will be provided by several notable barbecue personalities and pitmasters: Kevin Bludso of Bludso’s BBQ in Compton as well as Netflix’s American Barbecue Showdown, Rashad Jones of Big Lee’s BBQ, Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque, Devita Davison of the non-profit FoodLab, Amy Mills of 17th Street Barbecue, and Dr. Howard Conyers of PBS’s Nourish.

It’s fantastic to see Kingsford celebrate Black barbecue and put their money where their mouth is with this fellowship investing in the future of it. I look forward to seeing who makes the class of 2021 and what they do with this great opportunity. Applications are due by March 1 and the inaugural class of fellows will be announced in April.

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Linkdown: 1/20/21

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Lewis Donald’s goal for Sweet Lew’s BBQ has always been more than just crafting great barbecue. He is wanting to give back to the community, whether that’s hiring workers from the Belmont neighborhood where his restaurant is located, hosting back-to-school carnivals with free haircuts at the restaurant, and now hiring a barbecue apprentice from the local culinary school at Central Piedmont Community College. Watch the video at the link below to learn more about Keywon and how he was introduced to Lewis. I’m looking forward to seeing big things from Keywon in the future.

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Black Powder Smokehouse – Jamestown, NC

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Name: Black Powder Smokehouse
Address: 302 E. Main St., Jamestown, NC 27282
Order: Three meat plate (brisket, pork, and sausage) with mac and cheese and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: A little over a year ago, Jamestown got a wood-fired barbecue joint of its own in Black Powder Smokehouse. Jamestown is the small town between the Barbecue Bros’ hometown of High Point and the larger city of Greensboro, and also where the Monks-in-Law (Monk In-Laws?) happen to live. Black Powder Smokehouse took over an old service station on Main Street and they’ve incorporated the service station details into their decor.

As is the case with a lot of new barbecue restaurants these days, it serves a little bit of everything but definitely has a Texas lean to it. While I wasn’t able to put my eyes on the smoker they use, I did visually confirm there was wood used in the smoking process. Now whether that was in a gas assisted or a full stick burner is to be confirmed at a later time. However, what they are putting out is pretty legit as evidenced by the above nice little platter shared by Mrs. Monk and me.

I forgot to ask for the pork chopped at the register so it came pulled instead. Not a big deal – and it was still smoky and had nice chunks of a peppery bark mixed in. Certainly not a NC-style pork (either region) but they of course do have a variety of sauces on the side to approximate it.

On this day, unfortunately the brisket was a bit overdone and also sliced a little too thin. This gave it a texture of roast beef but I will note that my mother-in-law stated that its been better on previous visits. Based on these brisket slices, I would definitely come back to give them another shot.

The jalapeno sausage had good taste and wasn’t too spicy. Not the standout of the meal, but solid. I’d love to come back and try the ribs. Both of our scratch-made sides of collards and mac and cheese passed muster.

Black Powder Smokehouse one-ups Sweet Old Bill’s in nearby High Point, which opened about a year before, in just about every way for best new-school barbecue. For barbecue in the greater High Point area, they are more than worth seeking out if you don’t want to make the trek to Stamey’s in Greensboro.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs