Posted on May 19, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
If you’d like to read a truly idiotic piece of barbecue writing, and for some reason this blog isn’t meeting your needs, check out Josh Ozersky‘s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323716304578482970210059326.html?mod=itp
The thesis of Ozersky’s article is that barbecue has “become stagnant and so dogmatic that many pit masters haven’t changed their recipes or routines in decades.” This premise reveals a startling lack of understanding of what barbecue is and what makes it great–tradition, family recipes refined over generations, simple techniques that render (literally) exquisite meat, distinct regionalism, and so on.
One barbecue luminary dropped me a note pondering whether Ozersky’s piece might be satire. If so, Jonathan Swift himself would be proud, but I don’t think Ozersky is that, uh, swift. I could go on about the article but I don’t want to waste my virtual breath. As Daniel Vaughn (@BBQSnob) put it in a tweet to Ozersky (@OzerskyTV), “You say stagnant and dogmatic, while I say traditional and reverent.” That sums it up.
Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Tagged: Words of wisdom | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 16, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Posted on May 15, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
My good friend and fellow BBQ enthusiast O.B. Goldstein–the O.B. stands for Outside Brown, in case you were wondering–sent me the below picture of a license plate that reads, “WTFBBQ”. Needless to say, O.B. was puzzled but intrigued by the phrase. What could it mean?
What The F*%k Barbecue? Who Tries Frying BBQ? Why Touch Fool’s Barbecue? Wonderful Terrific Fantastic BBQ? The possibilities seemed endless. Until I Googled the phrase. (Incidentally, wasn’t life a bit more fun when we were forced to speculate on such matters rather than instantly Googling an answer?)
What does the license plate actually mean? If you guessed this definition from UrbanDictionary.com, give yourself a pat on the back and then go to your room because you’re grounded!
It’s sad to see the letters BBQ misappropriated for a non-barbecue purpose of any sort, let alone an off color one. Hopefully karma will catch up with the driver of this car–perhaps in the form of a little trichinosis.
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 14, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Well, at long last I may have met my Barbejew match: Ari White of Hakadosh BBQ. Get the full, kosher scoop at http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/175887/the-holy-grail-of-kosher-barbeque-hakadosh-bbq/
Impressive work, my Jewish brother, but no need to give me a call until you start barbecuing pork.
Filed under: Barbejews | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 13, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Perhaps comedy is the true third rail of American politics, at least when it comes to barbecue.
South Carolina’s favorite successful son, Stephen Colbert, recently mocked North Carolina BBQ on his satirical news show, The Colbert Report. Colbert’s sister had just lost a (sadly, not all that close) congressional election to morally-corrupt-yet-steadily-bible-thumping disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford. Colbert expressed thinly veiled disdain for North Carolina barbecue in a bit where he pretended to stray from his South Carolina roots in protest to the election results. He compared the “sauceless, vinegar-based meat product that they call barbecue” in North Carolina to South Carolina’s ‘cue, gagging as he tried to choke some down. Touché, Mr. Colbert, touché.
In truth, there are significant portions of South Carolina that serve barbecue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of its better looking neighbor to the north. (Those are the parts of the state that are closest to North Carolina, and also the parts of the state that serve good barbecue!) Colbert may well know this to be true unless he’s lived in New Jersey for so long that he’s forgotten then difference between barbecue hash and bagels with lox. Regardless, I am willing to forgive and forget, and will readily claim Stephen Colbert as a Tar Heel anytime he wishes.
Filed under: BBQ in the News | Tagged: South Carolina | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 16, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Late last year Carl Eugene McBride, Jr. provided me with a re-revised history of barbecue in Goldsboro, NC. Alas, I managed to bury his email in my inbox and just came across it again recently. With apologies for the delay, here is Mr. McBride, Jr.’s new and improved essay. As I said when I posted the original version, this document ought to be required reading for public school students in Wayne County!
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Goldsboro, Wayne County | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 14, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
To the naked eye, the below picture might look simply like four pale guys grinning like idiots. In fact, it’s a veritable barbecue all-star team grinning like idiots (and a couple of cute kids who are blessed to look more like my wife than me).
Pictured from left to right (excluding the kids): your very own Porky LeSwine, Daniel Vaughn (@bbqsnob), John Shelton Reed (@smartlyavoidstwitter), and Nicholas McWhirter (@redblank).
Mr. Reed, of Holy Smoke fame, should need no introduction to North Carolina barbecue enthusiasts. Daniel (author) and Nicholas (photographer) are the talented team behind the soon-to-be-released book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat. Good folk everyone of them, and it was a pleasure to “break hush puppies” with them.
Filed under: Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »
