Monk: If I’m ever in Houston anytime soon, Blood Bros is going to be at the top of my list. Pitmaster Quy Hoang shows Eater’s Smoke Point the ropes of their operation.
Description: At Houston-area barbecue joint Blood Bros, pitmaster Quy Hoang combines his love for Texas barbecue with Asian influences to make gochujang ribs, smoked char siu pork belly fried bao buns, brisket burnt end steam buns, Thai red curry and chili sausage, and more.
Monk: Greenville, SC has added a heavy hitter in barbecue today as Lewis Barbecue has opened the doors of its second location. John Lewis has taken over the former 30-year location of Tommy’s Ham House, and even earned the blessing of owner Tommy Stevenson. The original Charleston location earned a 4.5 hogs from both Speedy and Monk in separate visits in 2017 and 2018.
Eater Carolinas has all the behind the scenes information:
Lewis Barbecue is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Midwood Smokehouse has made it to the finals of the News & Observer Barbecue Bracket against Wilber’s Barbecue; voting ends Thursday, 9/15 at noon
Chopped vs pulled: who you got?!?!?
Three pitmasters – Dr. Dana Hanson of NC State, Michael Markham of Big Mike’s BBQ in Raleigh, and Matthew Register of Southern Smoke – give their tips for backyard smokers and beginners
Adrian Miller joins the Southern Foodways Alliance Fall Symposium
I haven’t listened yet but I’m already pre-jealous of the Tales from the Pits epic bourbon and barbecue roadtrip
Kerlin BBQ in Austin had its last day of service after 9 years this past week
Monk: Kelsey Pribilski and the Texas Beef Council are back for the third season of “BBQuest,” and this time they’ve brought along author, live fire chef, and beef expert Jess Pryles of Hardcore Carnivore.
While the first two seasons focused on Kelsey’s (at times unsubtly staged) solo quest to try secret menu items at barbecue restaurants across Texas, with aspiring meat scientist Pryles in tow in season three they go beyond the pit (as the show is subtitled) to also talk with the cattle ranchers across the Lonestar State that provide the beef for Texas barbecue.
Each episode is structured to pair the barbecue restaurants with a cattle rancher that may be taking a similar approach, whether that’s the traditional route of barbecue paired with the old school cattle ranchers or the newer fusion barbecue restaurants and the next generation of a cattle feed yard that are using technology to innovate in the space.
Pribilski and Pryles have an easy chemistry and I like the duo compared with the rotating guest host approach they did for the first two seasons. Each episode runs about 20 minutes which makes for an easy watch. Between spotlighting the newer barbecue joints and shining a light on an industry that folks may unfortunately overlook when visiting those joints, “BBQuest” is well worth the time of streaming viewers hungry for barbecue content.
All 4 episodes of “BBQuest” are available to watch on Hulu or on the Beef Loving Texas YouTube page
Monk: One of the most recent exciting trends in barbecue is the fusion of other cultures with (primarily) Texas-style barbecue. The Gravy podcast producer Jess Eng visits Houston to explore the beginnings of this fusion with Khoi Barbecue before heading to San Antonio to meet with Curry Boys BBQ in this latest barbecue-focused entry into their podcast series. Bonus: Khruangbin on the backing track.