The Best Barbecue We Ate in 2016

January 13, 2017February 15, 2017 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Whole hog pulled pork plate from Buxton Hall Barbecue

Q: What was the best barbecue (new or old) that you ate in 2016?

Monk:

Whole hog barbecue from Buxton Hall Barbecue, Asheville – It’s simply a revelation that you can find true eastern NC/Pee Dee whole hog in the mountains of NC. I can’t wait to get back to Buxton Hall.
Lamb belly from Hometown Bar-B-Que, New York – I didn’t quite know what to expect with lamb belly. It was pulled similar to their pork but had completely different flavor profile. I don’t know where else I might be able to try it again that’s a little closer to home but I want to in 2017.
Hash and rice from True BBQ, West Columbia, SC – Grant of Marie Let’s Eat! said it best about the hash and rice from this West Columbia joint which opened in 2011: “It’s two-hundred mile hash.”

Speedy:

Brisket from B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque, Atlanta – From review: “The seasoning was amazing, and the meat was tender and juicy. Overall, this was in the upper echelon of briskets that I’ve tasted.”
Beef rib from Hometown Bar-B-Qu, New York (above) – From review: “It was seasoned well, providing some bark on the outside, and was cooked to perfection – tender but not overly so.”
Chopped pork from Lexington Barbecue – Every year.

Rudy:

Brisket and sausage sandwich from Black’s Barbecue, Austin (above) – From review: “And it was amazing, because the fat from the brisket was soaked up by the bun, giving it a rich moist taste. The spice from the jalapenos also gave the sandwich some great flavor. The brisket was the same great brisket you are accustomed to getting from Black’s, as was the sausage. “

What was the best barbecue you ate in 2016?

Linkdown: 9/23/15

September 23, 2015September 22, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

– Rodney Scott has influenced Sean Brock. Here’s how:

Here’s how @rodneyscottbbq influenced the cooking of award-winning chef @hseanbrock – http://t.co/BlxdxVMtQF pic.twitter.com/rFUvKl7TPW

— First We Feast (@firstwefeast) September 17, 2015

– The history of smoking with mesquite wood

– Marie, Let’s Eat! makes a quick sojourn to SC and visits Hite’s and Little Pigs in the Columbia area, as well as Dennis’ Bar-B-Q on the way back home

– Washington Post’s glossary of NC barbecue terms and where to eat in NC

– Washington Post’s Jim Shahin: Why North Carolina’s Barbecue Scene is Still Smoldering

North Carolina barbecue is certainly at a crossroads, one that gets to the heart of questions about identity and authenticity, and the survival of pit-smoked pork establishments that eschew the everything-for-everybody approach once seemed unlikely. But Skylight Inn and Lexington Barbecue are on track to maybe prove that prediction wrong. And new places such as Picnic and Buxton Hall are helping spark a resurgence in creativity and respect for heritage that may help revive the scene. North Carolina barbecue might someday be removed from the endangered-species list, after all. I’ll hold off on that autopsy for now.

Linkdown: 11/6/13

November 6, 2013August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

– Looking forward to seeing more from True ‘Cue, a new project from the BBQ Jew and John Shelton Reed campaigning for “real barbecue”

– Speaking of “real barbecue,” Buxton Hill, a concept by Chef Elliott Moss and Rodney Scott of Scott’s Bar-B-Que bringing whole hog barbecue to Asheville, is now a no-go although Moss is working on the same concept with a different name and location

– The confederate flags that used to fly over Maurice’s have quietly come down over the past year (via)

– Thanks to Speedy’s coworker, who pointed out that this month’s Our State magazine has a nice profile on Jack Cobb & Son Barbecue, though as we know Speedy wasn’t a huge fan of the place

– The Barbecue Bros are so in on this event later this month

Join us for a Southern ‘Cue Supper featuring pitmaster Sam Jones of the famous Skylight Inn BBQ on November 20th! pic.twitter.com/B5jPA5QjLU

— Midwood Smokehouse (@MidwoodBBQ)

November 1, 2013

Maurice’s Piggie Park – West Columbia, SC

October 21, 2013August 1, 2014 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Maurice’s Piggie Park
Date: 10/6/13
Address: 1600 Charleston Highway, West Columbia, SC 29169
Order: #2 Little Pig – BBQ pork, Carolina Hash over rice, homemade coleslaw, hushpuppies and dinner roll (link to menu)
Price: ~$13

If you’ve ever traveled in South Carolina, you may have seen billboards for Maurice’s Piggie Park. They are kind of hard to miss, littered over the major highways in and around Columbia with a photo displaying a barbecue sandwich with an unappetizing orange-ish brown-ish portion of barbecue. While this is mostly due to some unfortunate food photography, the mustard sauce can also be to blame. It is no secret that the Barbecue Bros are no fans of mustard in our barbecue but on a Sunday afternoon driving on our way to Charleston for a mini-vacation, Mrs. Monk and I took our chances.

The West Columbia location off Charleston Highway used to be a drive-in restaurant but nowadays the covered awnings are just used for normal parking though they do add somewhat of a retro touch along with the giant sign out front. Maurice’s has a fast-casual set up – you order at the counter and the food is brought to you sometime later. I ordered the Little Pig combo, made my sweet tea, and then sat down with Mrs. Monk and took in the ambiance.

Now, I do have quite a bit of experience with SC mustard-based barbecue, having spent a few semesters in college doing an engineering co-op and living in Greenville, SC. I enjoyed it at time but have since refined my palate quite a bit barbecue-wise. So this particular Sunday, at this particular Maurice’s, what was the verdict? Yea…I’m just not that into SC barbecue anymore. In fact, I’m now firmly in the “mustard doesn’t belong near barbecue” camp. The texture and chop of the barbecue was pretty okay but it was ruined by the golden mustardy sauce.

The hush puppies were not sweet, thus they were not for me. The coleslaw was mayo-based and average. But what I really want to talk about is the barbecue hash on rice. This is apparently the classic barbecue side in South Carolina and is kind of a meat stew-slash-gravy served on white rice. What’s actually in the gravy? You probably don’t want to know. I kind of liked it at first but the more I had, the more I was convinced it was not something that should accompany barbecue. It’s just…weird.

There are 14 locations of Maurice’s Piggie Park in central SC, but if you find your taste in barbecue to be similar to the Barbecue Bros (or at least me), you really don’t need to bother.

-Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 Hogs
Pork – 2 Hogs
Sides – 2 Hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs