Meet pit crew member Jamie from Sam Jones BBQ’s Winterville location
After launching their barbecue program last year, Resident Culture is now offering a barbecue class with pitmaster Edmar Simoes. Classes will start on July 14 and run every second Sunday of the month from 6 a.m.-4 p.m. at Resident Culture’s South End location.
.@ResidentCulture is launching a new barbecue class that will help Charlotteans get more comfortable behind the grill this summer. Executive chef Edmar Simoes will teach participants how to cook Carolina-style barbecue and styles from around the world. https://t.co/uzR5Acmbnt
Ronald Simmons may be coming to a city near you in July
Special announcement! Join the Master Blend Gang as we hit the road on a 3 city Grilling Tour with Got to Be NC! On July 11th, 12th, and 14th cooking, demos will take place from 11:30 am til 1:00 pm at three of NC's Farmers Markets. Raleigh – July 11th Greensboro – July 12th… pic.twitter.com/8yIOLfWGEt
Lewis Barbecue‘s Charleston location has been closed since last week due to termite damage but will reopen tomorrow but temporarily shifting to outdoor dining with the full menu available from the trailer
Chef Angel Jimenez’s La Piraña Lechonera will continue this year in the South Bronx
For 23 years, chef Angel Jimenez has drawn barbecue pork devotees to the South Bronx. This summer, the party is heating up again. https://t.co/UVDcjYWqjP
Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: For this year’s edition of the Carolina BBQ Festival, while some pitmasters were new and the festival changed locations from Camp North End to Uptown (not to mention it was now part of the Charlotte SHOUT! Festival), not too much changed in terms of the quality of the barbecue served from two years ago when I went to the first edition of the festival.
Speedy: Well, here was one other big change: your boy Speedy made an appearance! I happened to be in town to catch a couple final Charlotte Hornets games as a season ticket holder and Monk’s Spring Break travels aligned with us going to the festival on Saturday.
On the drive in, Monk gave me a rundown of the scene (i.e. the pitmasters) before the festival, and I must say I was pretty excited about the volume of talent from all across the great state of North Carolina (oh, and the lesser Carolina as well). We arrived to beautiful weather on a warm Saturday, checked-in, got our wristbands for some refreshing beverages, were issued our silverware, and we were off to explore the smoked meats across Victoria Yards.
Monk: Elliott Moss made his third straight appearance at the Carolina BBQ Festival and while he is now under his own banner of Moss & Moore Barbecue instead of Buxton Hall Barbecue, he brought his ever-familiar whole hog. They may have been out of slider buns for us but with a few dashes of vinegar-pepper sauce in a cardboard boat this whole hog was reminiscent of the pork from Buxton Hall, of which we are both big fans.
Moss did give me a little bit of an indication of what will be next for him as he posted last month that he would be leaving Asheville this spring, but I will leave the details of the forthcoming announcement up to him. What I will say is that it looks like he is staying in the Carolinas and will still be cooking whole hog barbecue. More to come from Moss in the coming weeks and months.
Speedy: Walking up to Jon G’s Barbecue tent, I saw a heavenly site – a tower of beef rib bones – and I knew we were in for a treat. Beef rib slider with pickled onions on a potato roll? Yes please! The bar is high for Jon G’s and they did not disappoint. This sammie is what dreams are made of, and this is my winner for bite of the day.
Monk: I always enjoy catching up with Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ at barbecue festivals, and for this festival it was a family affair with his wife and three kids in tow helping him serve some delicious smoked cheese burger sliders. Despite some issues with wood, Register more than delivered on this burger and was one of two non-traditional barbecue bites that stood out on the afternoon.
Speedy: I am on record as saying that any item that is not strictly smoked meat is secondary in the barbecue setting, but City Limits Barbeque made me question that stance with the pork belly hash and Carolina gold rice. I would easily eat a generous portion of this as a whole meal and might even be willing to venture to Columbia some time to check out the full experience at the James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southeast, which was announced just days before the festival.
Monk: While they were out of consommé by the time I got there, the mini smoked brisket quesabirria taco with avocado salsa from Lawrence Barbecue was still one of the highlights of the festival for me. This was the other standout change of pace bite from the more traditional barbecue served throughout the festival. It’s also a nice crossover of Lawrence Barbecue with owner Jake Wood’s sister concept Leroy’s Tacos. Both are worth making the trip to Durham for a visit, or perhaps Wood’s upcoming barbecue festival next month in Raleigh, Gettin’ Piggy With It, another great collection of Carolinas barbecue talent.
Speedy: Monk had been raving to me privately about Sweet Lew’s sausage game for a while, so I was pumped to get to sample a link at the festival – and it did not disappoint. The sausage was flavorful and smoked perfectly, and did not crumble. The man knows what he’s doing around a sausage stuffer.
Monk: Phew! The Barbecue Bros attendance at this year’s Carolina BBQ Festival came together at the last minute (big thanks to friend of the blog Chigger Willard of The Low and Slow Barbecue Show) but thankfully Speedy and I were able to make it happen.
It’s such a great festival in large part due to the effort by Lewis Donald along with so many others. Next year, I can’t recommend enough for anyone within driving distance (or even beyond like in Speedy’s case) to make the trip to Charlotte and attend because there’s not too many other instances where you can taste so much good barbecue from throughout the Carolinas in one afternoon.
Name: Palmira Barbecue Date: 2/4/24 Address: 2366 Ashley River Rd Building 1, Charleston, SC 29414 Order: Whole hog barbecue, hash and rice, beef cheek, slaw, and collards (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Note: a version of this review originally appeared earlier this year in The Smoke Sheet, a great national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: From the moment I first tried Palmira Barbecue at the former Port of Call food hall in Charleston in 2022, I knew pitmaster Hector Garate and Palmira were destined for bigger things than simply being one stall in a small-ish food hall (which has since closed and converted to event space). Garate was doing whole hog from locally sourced pigs, and it compared so favorably even after trying it right after spending time in Pitt County, NC. And just in case you aren’t familiar, Pitt County is home to such heavy hitter whole hog restaurants as B’s Barbecue, Skylight Inn, and Sam Jones Barbecue, all of which I tried mere days before Palmira. And yet, I continued to look back fondly on what I ate from Palmira Barbecue after that trip.
So it was no surprise to me when it was announced in late summer of 2022 that Palmira (named for Garate’s grandmother) would be moving to a permanent location in West Ashley. The original targeted opening date of March 2023 didn’t happen and in the meantime Garate went back to pop-up mode, both around Charleston as well as travelling across the country and collaborating with folks like Interstellar Barbeque in Austin, Khoi Barbecue in Houston, Bark Barbecue in Brooklyn, and Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, among others. He also helped out Khoi in the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in Lockhart last fall. Needless to say, Hector Garate stayed busy while the build out of the restaurant dragged on.
As luck would have it, I happened to be in Charleston on opening weekend in early February and was able to check out the new building on that Sunday before heading back to NC. In short, I’m happy to report that the transition from a pop-up to a brick and mortar is going smoothly from a consumer’s perspective.
Whole hog barbecue is a “standard” at Palmira, meaning its always on the menu (unless of course they have run out for the day). Garate partners with fifth-generation farmer Marvin Ross to source heritage hogs from Peculiar Pig Farms located an hour away in Dorchester. That quality certainly shines through in the meat.
Beef cheeks are another standard, and they were not available for my first trip. This is not something you typically see even in new school Texas-style barbecue joints in the Carolinas. This tender cut of meat reminds me of brisket in the way they are aggressively rubbed with salt and pepper, but they are much smaller, much more tender, and have a richer beef flavor. At Palmira, they are a must order.
In terms of other meats, barbacoa, house sausage, and ribs are the other standards with brisket, pork steaks, chicken, and beef ribs rotating in and out of the menu depending on the day.
Garate told me in 2022 that he ate hash and rice daily and while I’m not sure if that is still the case, his version continues to be one that is worthy of that distinction. Next time I stop in I will be sure to try more of the rotating sides, many of which are heavily influenced by Garate’s Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.
On this Sunday of opening weekend, the line was out the door well before opening but the line moved at a nice clip through the meat and sides line. The restaurant itself looked great, and a beautiful mural greets you on the side of the building as you enter.
For me, Palmira Barbecue was the biggest barbecue restaurant opening this first half of the year in the Carolinas and perhaps the entire Southeast. I plan to go back imminently with a bigger appetite. Based on what I experienced, it more than delivers from the jump. Run, don’t walk, to Palmira Barbecue in Charleston.
Monk: John Tanner did some digging on the brand new NC Barbecue Hall of Fame, which was recently formed. Some details in his website here:
The first class of inductees were honored on March 1 in Burlington:
Kent Bridges of Alston Bridges Barbecue in Shelby
Steve and Gerri Grady of Grady’s BBQ in Dudley
Charles Hursey of Hursey’s Bar-B-Q in Burlington
Wayne Monk of Lexington Barbecue in Lexington
Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville and Raleigh
Pete Jones of Skylight Inn in Ayden
Charles Stamey of Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro
John has hopes that the NC BBQ Hall of Fame can help fill the void left by the passing of Jim Early, the founder of the North Carolina Barbecue Society, some years back. I have the same hopes, and looking forward to see what comes next.
Native News
Monk: Check out a preview of a recent episode of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show with Ronald Simmons of Master Blend
@MD_Willard has dropped one of the hottest podcasts this year!! Live from @theMESHtv studio. Pitmaster Ron Simmons mentions the highlights of Charlotte 's 2024 Carolina BBQ Festival featuring Elliott Mose, @jongsbbq , @sweetlewsbbq . Stay plugged in! All Gas No Brakes 365!… pic.twitter.com/UhA0zEQ69E
Pinhouse in Charlotte is cooking two pigs for their Pig Pickin’ this Saturday and sandwiches will be $2; all sales are benefitting their Marketing Director’s Dad who has been going through kidney failure and looking for a kidney donor
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