NC’s BBQ Fest on the Neuse Puts Whole Hog In Spotlight

May 15, 2023June 11, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

This week we have a guest post from great friend of the blog Sean Ludwig of The Smoke Sheet and NYC BBQ. Sean recently attended the BBQ Fest on the Neuse in downtown Kinston. I have yet to make it to Kinston for the event but after reading Sean’s recap, I have added it to my ever-expanding list of barbecue joints, contests, and festivals for the eastern part of the state.

This article has been reprinted from The Smoke Sheet with Sean’s permission and a minor edit to reflect when the festival took place. Both The Smoke Sheet and NYC BBQ newsletters are invaluable resources for the barbecue-obsessed and if you aren’t already subscribed, I can’t recommend it enough.

On the first weekend in May, an estimated 100,000 attendees showed up for the BBQ Fest on the Neuse in Kinston, North Carolina. The annual BBQ Fest — held alongside the Neuse River — featured food trucks, vendors, live music, rides, family fun activities, and more on Friday night and Saturday day.

*The BBQ Fest on Neuse attracted tens of thousands this past weekend in Kinston, NC. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

But the real star of the show for die-hard barbecue fans was the 42nd Wil King Hog Happenin’ BBQ competition — the world’s largest whole hog cookoff. The competition, sanctioned by the North Carolina Pork Council, featured 40 Professional and 47 Backyard teams that cooked hogs on Friday night into Saturday morning. This whole hog competition is one of the top competitions held annually in North Carolina, alongside events like the Newport Pig Cookin Contest.

“This is the largest whole hog competition in the country,” Chris Fineran of the highly decorated Beach Boys BBQ team said. “And at the Newport competition, they have 68 cooks, and every one of them has to compete in the same Professional category. Here it is broken into two different groups. … But everybody shows up. There are probably six to eight prior Pork Council champions competing.”

*The BBQ Fest hosts the world’s largest whole hog competition. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

Competitors select their hogs using a lottery system on Friday starting at 8 p.m. and then go to work cleaning and prepping them. No special seasonings can be used, only salt. Teams cook for roughly 10 hours before judges begin tasting and testing hogs at 8 a.m. Just four judges were in charge of evaluating the 40 Professional team hogs, and four judges scored the 47 Backyard teams.

*Employees from Kings BBQ Restaurant prepare chopped whole hog for the public at the BBQ Fest. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

Almost all of the hogs and hog parts that are cooked during the cookoff end up being chopped up and served for BBQ sandwiches during the main event. The crew from Kings BBQ Restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina, is in charge of selecting what meat and parts go into the pork and chopping it up in style. The BBQ sandwiches and “bulk BBQ” in plastic containers sell out each year, with this year being no exception.

Around the U.S., traditional whole hog cooking is not easy to find, with only a handful of restaurants still serving it weekly. It takes a lot of hard work but the result is special.

“You can get some of the bacon, you can get some of the ham, the shoulders, the loins, and all that is chopped up together,” Fineran said. “With whole hog, when you put it all together, you got all the flavor profiles with the white meats and the dark meats. There’s no better barbecue.”

*Fresh whole hog sandwiches for the public are prepared Saturday morning of the fest. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

During the awards ceremony, cooks who had been up for 40+ hours finally found out the results. In the Backyard category, Kenneth Clark of Backyard Bubba won first place, earning him $300. In the professional category, Billy Narron of Wicked Pig took first place and won $500. (See more winners from the event from the Neuse News.)

*Billy Narron of the Wicked Pig team from Middlesex, NC, won the top prize in the Professional category. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

The strangest thing about the BBQ Fest on the Neuse may be that you could go to it and not experience what makes it special. On both Friday and Saturday, thousands of attendees bought tons of non-BBQ food from street vendors, watched popular country artist Easton Corbin put on a show, and checked out classic cars.

But the whole hog competition, which purposely has teams putting in so much effort Friday night and Saturday morning, is not really meant for the general public. That said, I did see a lot of people in the know walking around before the event kicked off on Saturday, and they were able to get some fresh whole hog bites from teams after they had been judged. And the masses can at least try some of the whole hogs in the form of tasty sandwiches throughout the day.

*Whole hog is a special type of barbecue. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)*

I certainly was glad I showed up early on Saturday morning so I could see teams finish up their hogs, observe the judging, listen to stories from pitmasters, and taste-test a few hogs. If you do find yourself near the BBQ Fest of the Neuse, you should check it out. Just be sure to make friends with the teams cooking whole hogs, and you’ll be able to get the full experience.

Sean Ludwig
Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet

*More from the BBQ Fest on the Neuse (Photos by Sean Ludwig)*

Longleaf Swine is a Brand New Top Tier Barbecue Joint in Raleigh

March 6, 2023June 11, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / 3 Comments

Name: Longleaf Swine
Date: 1/21/23
Address: 300 E Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Order: Whole hog, brisket, pimento mac and cheese, esquites, slaw, cornbread (link)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Of the 2020 Raleigh Barbecue Boom, while not all announced restaurants have actually opened as of this writing (notably Ed Mitchell’s Preserve and Wyatt’s Barbecue), Longleaf Swine joined the land of the living last fall after years of construction delays and even a location change. And in my mind, it’s a top tier barbecue restaurant not only in Raleigh but possibly in all of NC.

After years of playing Instagram tag, I finally made it to Longleaf Swine earlier this year on a sunny but brisk winter afternoon. While the restaurant itself is on the small side, Longleaf Swine has plenty of outdoor patio space and heaters to spare. The building formerly hosted a Cuban restaurant in the Oakwood neighborhood just outside of downtown Raleigh, not far from the location of the Transfer Co food hall where they initially planned to open before this location became available. After years of construction delays due to supply chain issues, they finally opened this past November. On weekends, order on your phone via a table QR and the foot is brought out in no time.

In particular, the meat that I was most interested was their whole hog barbecue, which turned out to be fantastic. A simple mound of barbecue chopped with both lean and fatty cuts of the pig mixed in together. By far the star of the show, and in this city, its right up there with Sam Jones Barbecue.

The brisket was above average with a nice peppery crust but could have used perhaps a little more trimming of the fat cap. Also – you can’t specify fatty versus lean on the online ordering system, so you might not have an option unless you do counter service during the week. I would have liked to try the fatty end of the meat but still, very flavorful.

My sides were the pimiento mac and cheese topped with pork cracklins, esquites (a Mexican corn salad), and a mayo-based eastern NC-style slaw. There are no hush puppies so I went with cornbread. All sides were well executed and in particular I liked the esquites.

For the non-meat eaters, Mrs. Monk swears by the collard green melt sandwich, which is a grilled muenster cheese sandwich with apple slices, collards, and crispy tobacco onions on slices of locally made sourdough.

After my meal, I got a tour from Adam, who along with his business partner Marc are both co-owners (and NC State graduates to boot). At Longleaf, they are a True Cue joint smoking over wood on an Oyler rotisserie smoker, which seems to be the popular smoker for restaurants these days. Longleaf Swine sees themselves as a barbecue joint during the day before switching over to more of a neighborhood sandwich and burger joint at night (though you can still get barbecue while it’s available).

But you don’t have to take just my word for it. For more on Longleaf Swine, John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog has recently posted not one but two reviews and was also a big fan. Longleaf Swine is open five days a week (closed Monday and Tuesday) and is a fantastic addition to the Raleigh barbecue scene.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Whole Hog – 4.5 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

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Truth Barbeque in Houston is Indeed the Truth

February 6, 2023December 26, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / 2 Comments

Name: Truth Barbeque
Date: 1/7/23
Address: 110 S Heights Blvd, Houston, TX 77007
Order: Brisket, turkey, Carolina whole hog, pork ribs, house sausage link, brussel sprouts, green beans (link)
Pricing: $$$

Speedy: I have a tradition whenever I travel. The first thing I do is text Monk, tell him where I’m going and ask, “Where should I grab some ‘cue?” On this day, while I was waiting to board in the Nashville airport, Monk responded almost before I even hit send, “Truth Barbeque.” So it was on.

Monk: While I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Truth yet, it received high praise when I recommended it to a friend of the blog a few years back. Not to mention it was #3 on Texas Monthly’s most recent Top 50 list from 2021. So I knew it was definitely going to be the place for Speedy and co.

Speedy: Our party arrived at exactly 11:00 on a Saturday morning, which is exactly when they open. There was a sizable, but not daunting line out the door. We waited about 30 minutes until it was our turn to order at the cafeteria style counter.

Our group went with a pair of 2 meat plates and added a sausage link so we could try all the meats (save for the beef rib special) and ordered a variety of sides. After getting through the line and taking our pick of tables in the sizable dining room (we chose indoor seating, but outdoor is available), we were ready to eat.

Since this is a Texas joint, we have to start with the brisket. It’s good. Like really good. Peppery, tender, but *maybe* could be slightly more moist. We got the lean cut (we weren’t asked, but others did specify fatty and got that). Was this brisket as good as any I’ve had outside of Texas? Probably. But we’re in Texas, and the standard is different. So I can’t put it in my holy quadrumvirate (Franklin’s, La Barbecue, Pecan Lodge, Killen’s) but it was damn close.

Monk: Damn, the fact that Speedy has been to enough Texas places to even have a quadrumvirate of Texas places of such high esteem is making me question my life choices.

Speedy: The turkey, on the other hand, was the best I’ve had. Peppery, tender, moist, melt in your mouth deliciousness. I’ve gone on record lately expressing that turkey is the lost meat of barbecue, but at a place as highly lauded as Truth BBQ, I didn’t expect it to be my favorite part of the meal. But it was, and that’s not to take anything away from the other meats. It’s a must order, period.

Monk: I too am on the turkey train now and this sounds amazing.

Speedy: The house sausage was also very solid. House-made, this sausage had good snap and nice garlic-y flavor. It had a little bit of grease, but was a solid effort. The pork ribs were also good, although ultimately my least favorite of the meats. The ribs were cooked and seasoned well, and had good flavor, but ultimately didn’t have anything outstanding or unique.

The surprise of the meal was the Carolina whole hog (a Saturday special). Being in Texas, I didn’t expect much here, but when I bit into that hog and closed my eyes, I was transformed back to eastern NC, tasting delicious chopped pork with just the right coating of vinegar-y sauce. This was the best pork I’ve had outside of North Carolina. What a treat!

Monk: I know that Texas places will use whole hog as a differentiator to stand out from the pack, but glad to hear this was a successful version of it at Truth.

Speedy: Of the sides, I enjoyed the brussels most, but they were roasted and mushy instead of crispy (which I prefer). The mixed in brisket helped with the flavor, and I would order them again, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way for the sides. My party ordered the tater tot casserole and gave it high marks, so if you tolerate dairy, that’s probably the order.

One other thing worth talking about is the “Texas gut bomb,” or the tummy ache and sleepiness after any big Texas bbq meal. I did not feel this after Truth BBQ. I’m not sure if this was because of minimal grease, the high volume of turkey I ate, or some other reason, but my stomach was a happy camper all weekend.

Monk: Aww, great to hear about your happy tum tum, Speedy!

Speedy: Overall, as usual, Monk was correct…

Monk: …oh I like the sound of that!

Speedy: Truth BBQ is a truly great barbecue joint and definitely worth a visit. And do yourself a favor and order extra turkey!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 4.5 hogs
Turkey – 5 hogs
Sausage – 4 hogs
Pork (Carolina whole hog) – 5 hogs
Pork ribs – 4 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs

The 8 Best Barbecue Meals Monk Ate in 2022

January 9, 2023December 26, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: 2022 was yet another year of great barbecue. In addition to finally getting to spend some time in the eastern part of the state for whole hog (although still not nearly enough), I tried two of the best new school barbecue at Palmira Barbecue in Charleston and Lawrence Barbecue in Durham. In terms of North Carolina, in the last weeks of the year I ate at two of the best joints in Buxton Hall Barbecue and Stamey’s. Here are the meals in photos listed in alphabetical order.

Whole hog barbecue dinner from B’s Barbecue, Greenville, NC (link)