Robert Moss

Linkdown: 7/22/15

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– Robert Moss examines the different types of pits you might encounter in the southeastern US

– For the home smoker, here are the best smokers under $500

– The Raleigh News & Observer likes The Blistered Pig in Apex

– Johnny Fugitt profiles Smoke House in Newport, RI for Opportunity Lives

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Chicken Comer in Columbus, GA

– Burger Mary explains the peach paper that is all the rage for brisket smokers

– Laura Maniec has expanded her Corkbuzz wine studio/restaurant concept to Charlotte (of all places), and even has some wine pairing suggestions for NC barbecue

Okay, last question. What would you pair with classic Southern dishes like pimento cheese and Carolina barbecue — vinegar-based, of course?
…

Vinegar is typically hard to pair. For a vinegar-based barbecue I would choose something with the acidity to match. A wine from someplace cold, like the Willamette Valley. I think the sweetness and tart flavors of a Pinot Noir and its silkiness would match the fat of the pork. Or something like a really good German Riesling that has sweetness balanced with acidity. It would almost become a glaze to the barbecue.

– Midwood Smokehouse is expected to begin construction this fall on their latest location in Columbia, SC

– If you want to work at the upcoming whole hog Asheville joint Buxton Hall (opening in August), you can apply here; also, the last pop up before the restaurant opening is this Saturday

– Esquire has an excerpt at how to order at a barbecue restaurant from Aaron Franklin’s book

– Last call:

Linkdown: 6/10/15

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– The latest barbecue list, this time from Southern Living and its barbecue editor Robert Moss

– Robert Moss provides some backstory to the feature

– Moss also talks to the Wilmington Star-News about both types of NC slaw (with recipes, too)

– Moss has been a busy guy, apparently; here’s his article An Illustrated History of Barbecue which is presumably a shortened, illustrated version of his book we just reviewed

– And coverage of the list: Carolinas do OK, Three Triad Joints Make the List, Southern Mag Snubs Houston,

– Munchies: Why is Brooklyn Barbecue Taking Over the World?

…Brooklyn pitmasters tend to be less traditional than their counterparts in the South. They don’t really follow any single barbecue philosophy and aren’t so focused on beef brisket, like most of Texas tends to be. They may include items like house-cured pastrami or pork ribs or burnt ends. Most use heritage animals—free-range and hormone free—from small family farms within the region.

But now it’s spreading, very quickly and without warning, to every fucking corner of the world. The barbecue being assimilated in places like Colombia, Spain, Panama, Sweden, England, and Japan (and even other parts of the US) is not the killer ‘cue from fabled Texas BBQ cities like Lockhart or Austin. Or even the pork-centric versions with sauce in the southeast. It’s an adapted form of Southern barbecue from Brooklyn. And it all looks like it came straight out of Williamsburg.

– Franklin Barbecue clarifies its policy that line waiters cannot save spots for groups of people

– I didn’t catch wind of this event so missed it from mid May, but making a note for next year: barbecue camp at NC State

– This NPR Food article on famed pitmasters resting, or “holding”, smoked meats for hours before serving also includes tips for the home smoker

– Queen City Q won the Taster’s Choice Award for dinner entrée at this past weekend’s Taste of Charlotte

Barbecue Bros Book Club: Barbecue: The History of An American Institution by Robert Moss

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Not that I’m anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books. First up is what I would consider an essential book to understanding barbecue.

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In order to better understand where barbecue is heading today, I think its vital to understand the history and foundation of barbecue in the US. Robert Moss is a barbecue historian from Charleston and the current barbecue editor of Southern Living Magazine, so he is as qualified as any to write about the origins of barbecue in the United States and how the regional styles popped up. And that is exactly what he does in Barbecue: An American Institution. In it, he traces the Caribbean origins of the word to the American roots in Virginia – thats right, South Carolina, you are decidedly not the birthplace of barbecue despite what your ludicrous campaign says – through the decline during the fast food era and its current rebirth.

Moss’s book is comprehensive in its documentation of barbecue’s trends across America, and while it does devote some space to detailing the regional styles of barbecue (North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, etc) if you are looking for more in-depth knowledge about a particular style you will have to look elsewhere. Still, this is as good a starting place as ever if you are looking to read up on American barbecue. Lots of great archival photos and ads are sprinkled throughout as are some barbecue-related recipes. Highly recommended.

–Monk

Linkdown: 5/20/15

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– In cool local barbecue and beer news, Birdsong Brewing is brewing a small batch beer with the help of Queen City Q

– Congrats to Mac’s Speed Shop as they took 5th in whole hog at last weekend’s Memphis in May

– Charlotte food writer Kathleen Purvis breaks down 5 new barbecue books from 12 Bones, Franklin Barbecue, and more

– Charlotte Five points out what you can eat at The Improper Pig for under $20 (tip not included)

– Chef Ben Adams of Durham’s Piedmont is leaving that restaurant to open a barbecue restaurant in North Durham with Wyatt Dickson, whom he met back in college at UNC

– Meanwhile, The AP Stylebook gets things horribly, horribly wrong: barbecue is a noun not a verb

– This opinion article from blues singer Pam Saulsby contains some updates on Ed Mitchell’s next venture

A reliable source tells me that while Mr. Mitchell’s Que Restaurant and Blues Experience is no longer in business at The American Tobacco Campus in Durham, there are plans to re-open in a larger location. In fact, Mitchell has his eye on two locations: one between Chapel Hill and Durham and another on the outskirts of Raleigh.

– Robert Moss has a list of the top 5 southern barbecue sides, broken down by region, in his latest column

– Catching up with prior posts from Moss, one on Aaron Franklin winning a James Beard award and another on shoulder clod, “Texas’s forgotten bbq star”

– If you’re smoking barbecue at home (and you should), here’s some great info on what wood to use for what meat

– The Men In Blazers met up with GFOP’s (great friends of the pod) at Joe’s Kansas City last week