Posted by Robyn Lee, July 10, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Photographs take by Elise Bauer
You don't need a fancy smoker to make great barbecue in your backyard. With the help of Hank Shaw at Simply Recipes, you can learn how to turn your kettle grill into a smoker. Just add water (in pans) along with a mix of charcoal and water-soaked wood chips beneath the grate. The meat should only lay on the side of the grate above the water pans. You'll have to periodically check the coals and pay close attention to the temperature to make sure it's low enough for a long, slow cook, but judging from these mouthwatering photos, the results will be worth it.
Related
How To Build a Cheap-Ass Grill for Under $10
Grilling Smackdown: Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes
Gas vs. Charcoal Grilling: Where Do You Stand?
Posted by Melissa Hall, June 6, 2008 at 6:45 PM
Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
Photograph of Ed Mitchell by Amy Evans.
If you're in the vicinity of Madison Square Park in New York City this weekend, June 7-8, your nose (and stomach) will likely lead you to the 6th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party. Follow that lead! And to wet your appetite, the SFA offers a BABBP insider's pass.
If the history of this event tells us anything it's that the lines for Ed Mitchell's Whole Hog North Carolina BBQ will be long. Where Mr. Mitchell is concerned, eating his barbecue is a good thing, but getting to hear his story is indeed a great thing. His oral history is a part of the SFA's Southern BBQ Trail and is not to be missed.
Ed Mitchell of The Pit
In 1990, Mrs. Mitchell (Ed's mother) wanted some old-fashioned barbecue, so Ed cooked a pig behind the family grocery. Two years later, Ed converted the store into a barbecue stand. He cooked whole hogs and country-style sides, and he offered what he called a “pig bar,” where customers could eat their fill of chitlins, feet, and snouts.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, May 27, 2008 at 6:15 PM
I was thinking of posting a vegetable-laden sandwich chaser to follow yesterday's Festival of Barbecued Meat (also known as "Memorial Day"), but right now I just really wish I could go back in time and relive the magic that was pork, pork, and more pork. The more exciting part of my Memorial Day was spent gorging on a seemingly endless supply of tender ribs and pulled pork made by the skilled culinary hands of Michelle and Brian. If only every day could feature pans piled high with pork. If only.
Related
Menu: Memorial Day Grillfest
Grilling Smackdown: Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes
San Franciscans, get Funk N Chunk to cater your next backyard barbecue and not only will you have bourbon coffee pulled pork, stuffed Niman Ranch steaks, fresh local oysters, corn-on-the-cob, and more to stuff your belly with, but also an endless stream of hip-hop funk from live DJs to help ease the digestion. A funk-less barbecue would just be wrong. [via SFoodie]
Posted by Alaina Browne, February 20, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Thanks to the blog, Strange Maps, for sharing this map of the four regions of South Carolina barbecue sauce (and to reader, jmunchie, for sending us the link!). The two dominant North Carolina styles, eastern-style vinegar and pepper and western-style tomato drift southward, and Georgia's ketchup creeps in from the west. South Carolina's own mustard-style, a reflection of the state's German heritage, holds back the outsiders from within.
Related Reading: "A Very Brief History of the Four Types of Barbeque Found In the USA" by Lake E. High, Jr., President, South Carolina Barbeque Association
"Vel's pulled pork sandwich, the result of 12 hours of loving labor and 50 years of practice, ought to replace the saguaro cactus as emblem of the Old Pueblo." Bon Appétit profiles Art's BBQ Restaurant in Tuscon, Arizona.
Posted by Robyn Lee, January 17, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Photograph taken by Margaret Maron
Barbecue lovers, this is the church for you! While Barbecue Church may not be a haven of smoked porky goodness—the church is named after its location in Barbecue, North Carolina—good barbecue shouldn't be hard to find after worship is over.
Posted by Ed Levine, December 9, 2007 at 8:43 PM
I had to laugh when I saw the piece in the business section of the New York Times about retired cop turned pitmaster Lou Elrose (Big Lou to his friends) because the writer was actually talking about pitmaster in New York being a legitimate profession in Gotham with unlimited growth opportunities. Lou was the associate pitmaster at Hill Country, and he is now going to be the pitmaster for Steve Hanson's new barbecue joint Wildwood Barbecue, opening on Park Avenue South in New York this coming March. A few years ago we would never have seen pitmaster, New York, and profession in the same article. What are we going to see next, NYU offering a doctorate in barbeculogy?
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 29, 2007 at 10:15 AM
This is what happens when you go to the Southern Foodways Alliance Conference in Oxford, Mississippi, from which I just returned. You hang out with a great bunch of people (some you know, some you don't) you listen to some smart, interesting people talk about Southern food and drink—about placing fried chicken and sausage and barbecue and collard greens in a broader cultural context.
Some of the talks are hilarious (Roy Blount, Jr. reciting his food poems, which are pure poetic genius), others are less exciting, but just about all of them make you hungry. Hungry for what, you might ask? Hungry for all the subjects I would consider majoring in if I enrolled in the Southern Foodways degree-conferring program at the University of Mississippi. I would have to triple-major in barbecue, fried chicken, and sausage biscuits, with a triple-minor in hush puppies, catfish, and boudin, all of which I consumed in ridiculous quantities this weekend.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 27, 2007 at 12:30 PM
My friend Steve sent me a link to the AOL Regional Barbecue Quiz, which I presume was written by AOL contributor Steven Raichlen.
I flunked, and I know a fair amount about barbecue.
Take the test and tell me how you did.
In the coming days we're going to devise the Serious Eats Barbecue Test. I trust I'll do better, since I'll be creating the questions.
Posted by Ed Levine, July 18, 2007 at 7:30 AM
In a seemingly innocuous new New York City barbecue restaurant round-up in the New York Times, Georgia's Eastside BBQ owner Alan Natkiel claims that "in Georgia, succulent barbecue is made by steaming the meat."
What? Steamed pork finished on a grill (Natkiel's cooking method) may be "tender and lush," according to Florence Fabricant, and it might even be delicious, but it is not barbecue. And his claim that Georgia barbecue is traditionally steamed is dubious at best and probably downright blasphemous.
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Posted by Alaina Browne, June 19, 2007 at 8:00 PM
Richard Wrangham, a Harvard primatologist, thinks that the invention of barbecue occurred 1.9 million years ago, fueling the expansion of the early hominid brain. Cooking reduces the time and energy required to chew and digest raw meat which means more energy available for things like growing a (relatively) giant brain.
Posted by Ed Levine, June 13, 2007 at 1:20 PM
With barbecue joints opening all over the country, even in barbecue wildernesses like New York, I decided my Father's Day Mail-Order 'Cue list should focus on smoked items that are hard to find outside their place of origin.
Southside Market's smoked hot beef sausage is so juicy, so delicious, and so reasonably priced it's worth ordering it in bulk and freezing what you don't use. That way your dad can be enjoying his Father's Day present for a long time. If you insist on getting Texas-style beef brisket, try Saltlick or Kreuz Market. But order the brisket and not the clod (beef shoulder). It's juicier.
At Alabama's Dreamland BBQ the ribs are porky, meaty and subtly smoked. Dreamland claims that there "ain't nothing like 'em nowhere," and they might be right. I don't think you'll need the sauce that comes with the ribs, but you can mop it up with the Sunbeam white bread that comes with your order.
No barbecue tour of the country would be complete without a stop in Kansas City, Missouri, and the best mail-order Kansas City barbecue I know comes from Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue. Their smoked brisket-laced beans are phenomenal, and its ribs and pork burnt ends are pretty damn fine.
Posted by Ed Levine, June 12, 2007 at 6:48 AM
I've been a Dad for twenty years now, and nothing makes me happier on Father's Day (coming up this Sunday June 17th, by the way) than the gift of noshing. So this year, in order to create more perfect unions and promote filial harmony around the country, give your Dad the perfect edible gift. Here at Serious Eats we're going to make it easy for you to do so. We're going to alert you to the best foods that ship so that no matter where you live you can get your Dad something he will remember for the rest of your life. Today through Thursday we're going to focus on the five Serious Eats Dads' food groups: Barbecue, Ice Cream, Pie, Steaks and Chops, and Stone Fruit (peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines). And we're not going to leave any last-minute Father's Day shoppers in the lurch either. On Friday, we're going to give you our favorite Father's Day book and food gadget gift picks, so that you can go to your local specialty food, cookware, or book store over the weekend and procure something the Dad in your life will surely love. That's the Serious Eats Father's Day Guarantee. Take our advice. Give the Gift of Noshing this year.
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, June 6, 2007 at 10:00 AM
There's still time to win two Bubba Passes to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party this weekend in New York City's Madison Square Park.
To enter to win this barbecue fantasy, simply tell your favorite barbecue joint here. Typical Serious Eats contest rules apply. Commenting will be open until Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. We'll announce the winner Friday morning.
Posted by Ed Levine, June 4, 2007 at 3:00 PM
This week, to honor our barbecue brethren cooking at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, we are giving away five (5) copies of championship pit master and yarn-spinner Mike Mills's terrific book Peace, Love, and Barbecue
. (Shout-out to Mike's daughter and co-author, Amy Mills Tunnicliffe, and Rodale Press for supplying the books).
Peace, Love, and Barbecue is part novelized memoir, part cookbook, part barbecue primer, and all wonderful to read for both pleasure and info. The five recipes we are going to run on Serious Eats include some legendary barbecue preparations never before published in any book. I was going to say I don't know how Mike talked some of these folks into giving him their recipes, but then I realized that Mike can chew the fat better than anyone and could charm anyone out of anything if need be.
To win a copy of Peace, Love, and Barbecue, just tell us what your favorite kind of barbecue is. It could be any cut of any meat you've eaten at a barbecue joint. Typical Serious Eats rules apply. Five winners will be chosen at random. You have until 9 p.m. PDT Friday (June 8) to answer.
Posted by The Serious Eats Team, June 4, 2007 at 12:30 PM
Thanks to the good folks at Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, we're giving away two Bubba Passes to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party taking place this Saturday and Sunday in New York City.
And that's just the tip of the ribs, because the winners will be personally escorted around the event by none other than Serious Eats overlord (and serious 'cue lover) Ed Levine. Ed will introduce you to some of the incredibly talented pit masters and yarn-spinners gathering in New York City's Madison Square Park. You'll chew the fat with legendary 'cue men Mike Mills of the 17th Street Bar and Grill, Chris Mills and Don McLemore of Big Bob Gibson's, and North Carolina pit master Ed Mitchell.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 17, 2007 at 6:30 PM
I am thrilled to be once again blab-equing at a Big Apple Barbecue Block Party panel June 9–10 in Madison Square Park in New York City. Joining me and the usual barbecue addicts John T. Edge, Lolis Eric Elie, and Peter Kaminsky is none other than Republican almost–presidential candidate Fred Thompson. No word yet on whether Sam Waterston will be appearing on a panel as well.
Photograph from WikiMedia
Posted by Ed Levine, April 10, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I end up surfing the web in search of great food writing that will allow me to vicariously enjoy the food being written about in a way that is both soothing and satisfying. Around 3 this morning, I found myself seeking out the best of barbecue musings of the Houston Press's Robb Walsh, who writes about 'cue with more heart and soul than just about anybody I know.
Writing about Burns Bar B Q he says, "His brisket falls apart on the way to your mouth." Makes me want some right now.
On Thelma's Bar-B-Que, Walsh opines, "You judge a barbecue joint by its smoked meat. And the best comes from a real pit. The old cinder-block pit in Thelma's on Live Oak ought to be declared a historic landmark."
It was mistake to look up 2 years' worth of Walsh's barbecue picks because then I tossed and turned wondering which is better—Thelma's or Burns? Next time I'll just take an Ambien.
Burns Bar BQ
Address: 8307 De Priest Street, Houston TX 77088
Phone: 281-445-7574
Thelma's Bar-B-Que
Address: 1020 Live Oak Street, Houston TX 77003
Phone: 713-228-2262
Photograph by Jennifer Lynn on Flickr
Posted by Alaina Browne, April 10, 2007 at 9:30 AM
Carolina barbecue fanatic, Jim Early, has founded the North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS). As Serious Eats's resident Carolina barbecue advocate and lover, I'm thrilled by this news!
The mission of NCBS is to "preserve North Carolina’s barbecue history and culture and to secure North Carolina’s rightful place as the Barbecue Capital of the World. Our goal is to promote North Carolina as “the Cradle of ’Cue” and embrace all that is good about barbecue worldwide. As we strive to achieve these lofty goals we will be guided by the polar star that barbecue is all about good food, good friends and good times." To that end, the NCBS board has selected 25 of the best barbecue places that are still cooking with wood or charcoal to be designated as NCBS Historic Barbecue Pits which make up the NCBS Historic Barbecue Trail across North Carolina. Road trip, anyone?
Related: Dennis Rogers: Real 'cue deserves support
Jim Early's book, The Best Tar Heel Barbecue.
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 5, 2007 at 7:02 AM
I spent most of last week in the Kansas City area visiting my family for Christmas. And since neither kin nor Claus left me a slab of ribs or a plate of burnt ends under the tree, I had to go fend for myself. My friend Andy, who smokes meat as part of a local KC barbecue team, accompanied me to three joints he said were currently the "holy trinity" of KC 'cue. Here, in words and pictures, a belated gift for you.
LC's BAR-B-Q
Address: 5800 Blue Parkway, Kansas City MO 64129 [map]
Phone: 816-923-4484
We tried to start at Kansas City institution Arthur Bryant's, but the line was out the door and down the block—a queue of such a length neither Andy nor I had ever seen at Bryant's. We chalked it up to barbecue-starved out-of-towners getting their fix (like me) and drove on to LC's Bar-B-Q, on the southern edge of the city and a little more hidden from tourists.
As usual, LC himself sat at a table in the small and spartan dining room while his pit masters tended the smoker and its meaty contents. We ordered a short end of ribs and a pulled-pork sandwich to split. (Yeah, yeah, so our order was modest—we had to pace ourselves for the day's eating.)
I'd never had the ribs at LC's before, having always been steered toward the pulled-pork or brisket sandwiches by friends in the know. The ribs were a disappointment. Much too lean and none too meaty, they drew most of their flavor from the outer char, put there, Andy speculated, by some time on the grill.
The pork sandwich, however, was perfect, as usual. Piled high as a triple decker on soft slices of white bread, the meat was tender and juicy, with a good balance between fat and lean, and the flavor was smoky with a faint applelike finish.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, January 3, 2007 at 5:44 PM
There was a fascinating story on NPR that got lost in the shuffle in the days leading up to the holidays. On December 22, the network aired a piece on Bobby Egan, a Hackensack, New Jersey, barbecue-joint owner who for many years has been an unofficial go-between for North Korea and the United States.
According to the story by Adam Davidson, Mr. Egan, owner of Cubby's BBQ Ribs, fell into the role in the 1980s, when some friends of his, Vietnam veterans, asked for his help in dealing with POW-MIA issues. Mr. Egan began assisting them, traveling to Vietnam several times and eventually making friends with the country's Communist officials. The Vietnamese took a shine to Egan and mentioned him to the North Koreans, who sought him out as a liaison.
The North Koreans only rely on him when talks between it and the U.S. have broken down completely, the story says, but Egan hasn't been as influential during the George W. Bush administration as he was during Clinton's. Still, the government of Kim Jong Il has "twice authorized Mr. Egan to offer a full end to their nuclear programs in exchange for money and diplomatic relations with the U.S." The reporter says Egan often takes calls from the North Koreans while working the front counter at Cubby's.
Says North Korean U.N. representative Kim Yong Il, "Bobby Egan is one of our good friends. He's trying to make bridges between the people of my country and the people of the U.S."
CUBBY'S BBQ RIBS
Address: 249 South River Street, Hackensack NJ
Phone: 201-488-9389
Posted by Ed Levine, December 27, 2006 at 8:12 PM
Serious Eats made its network television debut on Good Morning America Tuesday morning December 26. I talked about great New Year’s mail-order foods that we think serious eaters would love. But since the nice folks at Good Morning America limited me to four ideas, I thought I would share what else we would recommend if they had just given us another half hour of airtime.
A great New Year's mail-order food lineup should take into account a few factors. People have already made their way through Thanksgiving and Christmas, eating traditional family foods and receiving gifts of foods they really don't want, like fruitcake or bad steaks. The food focus during Thanksgiving and Christmas is on doing what's expected, doing things for other people, and doing what's always been done before.
So New Year's is a time to clear the decks, to indulge yourself and a few loved ones with foods we all love to eat. With our selections, people can stay home, invite a few friends over, and enjoy a great New Year's Eve or New Year's Day meal. Let's face it: A lot of people don't want to go out on New Year's Eve and grapple with drivers who have had too much to drink, restaurants that jack up their prices for the occasion, and sharing the celebration somewhere with unfamiliar faces. In terms of New Year's Day, people like to get up late, eat a big breakfast or brunch, and lounge around the house.
So here are a bunch of great ideas for how to do up New Year's in true Serious Eats style.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, December 6, 2006 at 5:31 PM
DCist on B & J North Carolina BBQ in LeDroit Park:
"Atmospheric this ain't. The food however, is on point. My friends and I opted to sop up Saturday night's alcohol with the signature pulled-pork sandwiches. The pork itself is excellent; it's chin-dribbling juicy, but ill-served by the floppy white bread that carries it (Or rather, whitish bread. I thought it was just white bread, but one of my companions thought she saw some wheat in there). Better to just eat the meat with your plastic fork. And be sure to squirt some of chef/owner Bobby Donaldson's homemade hot sauce on each bite; you can see the pepper flakes floating along in the flavored oil, and the taste is something else. The coleslaw, like everything in B & J, is made from scratch, and you get a creamy, peppery bite of cabbage to complement the mush that the bread turns your pork sandwich into. Donaldson also does a mac & cheese that could use a helping of salt but has a great savory crust. All three dishes—which is way more than you can eat—plus a cup of coffee, will set you back a mere nine dollars."
