Advance Warning: The Barbecue Festival is Coming

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

bbq26_hmpg

Consider this post fair warning that The Barbecue Festival, far and away NC’s largest and most porktacular barbecue event, is coming up in October.  Be there.  Or don’t. 

With or without you, there will be plenty of people descending on uptown (yes, they actually call it that) Lexington on Saturday, October 24th.  In the past crowds have been reported to be as high as 100,000+.  That’s a lot of folks to feed, so if you do head to Lexington, I recommend you skip the ‘cue sold on site and instead visit one of the nearby BBQ joints.  The BBQ Center is a short walk from the festival, and several other worthy joints are within a long walk/short drive.  The food they serve is much better than the stuff that gets thrown together for sale at the tents. 

I’ve been to The Barbecue Festival a few times before and it is always a good time.  Honestly, it is pretty much just a super-sized arts and crafts fair, but it is set in the heart of Lexington and there are some BBQ-friendly elements, from the food to the annual pig-themed sand sculpture.  Also, note that The Barbecue Festival is the culmination of Barbecue Month in Lexington, and there are quite a few events leading up to the actual festival.  Among my favorites are the “Tour de Pig” bicycle event (sponsored, appropriately enough, by a cardiology clinic) and the “Hawg Shoot” air rifle competition held at Lexington Senior High School.

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Man v. Pork

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

In case you missed it, The Travel Channel’s MAN V. FOOD episode on Durham debuted Wednesday night, and included a stop at the Backyard BBQ Pit.  Whether or not you saw the show, check out the funny, spot-on pre-show critique over at Durham-based blog take the bull by the horns.  Among the blog’s insights: Durham is not the “Cradle of Cue,” as MAN V. FOOD’s promoters claim, and BBQ is chopped not “stirred.”  Unfortunately, if you missed the show (like I did), it does not appear that MAN V. FOOD’s website includes old episodes.  Maybe the venerable copyright thieves over at You Tube will come through…

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Hillsborough Hog Day!

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

hog%20day%20logo

Thanks to an alert reader for pointing out that we had failed to mention that Hillsborough Hog Day is Saturday, June 20th (i.e., tomorrow).  Whoops. 

See more info at https://bbqjew.com/oinks/festivals/. I’ve been to Hog Day several times before and it is a fun event, although almost every year it’s hotter than hickory coals that day.  This weekend promises more of the same.  If you attend, maybe you can help us figure out why the heck the pig in the above logo has a recycling symbol on its shoulder…

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Hava NaGrilla

Posted on June 5, 2009 by The Rib Rabbi

Summer doesn’t really heat up until the kosher barbecue festival circuit does. On that note, meat-lovers of all faiths should head to the Philadelphia area this Sunday for the Hava NaGrilla Kosher Barbecue Festival. The contest’s name stems from the popular hora dance, a.k.a.  “Hava Nagila.”

Odd that there’s no mention of pork anywhere on their site–there must be some sort of mistake, as my friends at Kosher Ham can attest. OK, fine–the festival’s organizers don’t share our opinion about pork being kosher.

Even chickens dance the hora.

Even chickens dance the hora.

Nevertheless, it sounds like a fun time. Local meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz and the rest of the judges will issue awards for  best beans, brisket, chicken and ribs, in addition to most creative booth, best team name and grand champion.

There’s even kosher pickle eating contest and a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, which strikes me as both very Carolina and very incompatible with eating massive amounts of barbecue. Perhaps chicken is easier to digest than barbecue (pork).  Then again, all attendees will have to be on their toes for the many kick ass outbreaks of Hava Nagila sure to arise.

It’s all for a good cause–the Golden Slipper Club and Charities–so head on over if you’re in that part of the country. After all, we don’t get many chances to do a mitzvah by eating smoked meats.

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Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Looking for a reason to visit northeastern North Carolina and chow on some pork this weekend?  Look no further.  This Saturday pay a visit to the small town of Murfreesboro for the annual Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest.  What is the Pork-Fest?  And why is it hyphenated?  Alas, this post answers just one of these burning questions.

Jimmy Gray wrote bbqjew.com to say, “The [Pork-Fest] cook-off  will be May 16th.  There will be 22 cookers.  The first 5 places will receive a cash prize and the first 2 places for Showmanship.  We have our event at the Brady C. Jefcoat Museum in Murfreesboro, N.C.  There are over 13,000 items in the museum.  We have the largest collection of butter churns, old wooden washing machines and flat irons in the United States.  There are 264 music boxes in 1 room.  We will have music all day, antique and muscle cars.  After the pigs are judged and prizes awarded, we will have a very delicious meal of BBQ with all trimmings.  The ticket price is $10 for the all day event.”

A barbecue cookoff, a chance to tour the world’s largest collection of butter churns, and even an appearance by the Piggly Wiggly Pig (something Mr. Gray failed to mention!).  Sadly, I have somewhere else to be on Saturday and won’t be able to attend this year, but I’d love to hear a report from anyone who finds themselves in Murfreesboro this weekend.  Bonus points if you send along a picture of yourself eating a BBQ sandwich while operating a wooden washing machine.

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Carthage Buggy Festival (and BBQ Cook Off)

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Looking for something to do this weekend and have a wholesome hankering for whole hog?  If so, be sure to check out the Carthage Buggy Festival, which starts off with a barbecue cooking contest on Friday evening.  The BBQ Cook Off benefits The Arc of Moore County, and is an officially sanctioned NC Pork Council event. 

According to the festival website, “Delivery of the pigs to each contestant will take place at about 10:00 p.m.  [Friday]. They cook all night and the following morning on-site judging by N.C. Pork Council certified judges begins at 8:00 a.m.  Following the on-site judging, local barbecue enthusiasts will put their palates to a blind taste test of all contestants’ barbecue.  On-site and blind scores will then be combined to determine the first, second, third and fourth place winners.”

Better yet, “The public is invited to come out to the park between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning and taste free samples of each cooker’s pig and sauce.  This will be the only chance to taste differences between cookers.  Once the judging is complete the cooked and chopped barbecue will be combined and sold as sandwiches and in bulk…”  It’s great that Joe Public gets to taste the ‘cue before it’s all lumped together, and this sets Carthage’s event apart from some of the state’s larger barbecue festivals.

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Ham & Yam Festival

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Porky LeSwine
From http://www.downtownsmithfield.com/events.html
From http://www.downtownsmithfield.com/events.html

Just a quick post to encourage you to check out the Ham & Yam Festival, which runs through late Sunday afternoon in downtown Smithfield.  Note that barbecue plates from the pig cooking contest will be on sale from 12:30 until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.  Sorry we didn’t get this post up with more advance notice; the barbecue festivals snuck up on us this year.  We vow to do a better job of informing you, our loyal readers, of essential upcoming events in the future.  Until then, we ask that you forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who abandon the almighty hickory wood.

Speaking of which, please forgive me for the below photo.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Ham & Yam Festival, but I took it last time I was in Smithfield and this seems like as good (or bad) an occasion as any to share it.

If you say so.

If you say so.

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Head East Young Man

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Looking for something pork-related to do this first weekend of May?  Head on down to Kinston, in the heart of Eastern-style barbecue country, to check out the 28th annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse and Wil King Hog Happening, which is perhaps the best named of our state’s several large barbecue events.  The festival begins tonight and continues through early afternoon on Saturday, with the most intense barbecue cooking going on Friday night and into Saturday morning.  Barbecue plates go on sale to the public on Saturday at 11 a.m., for those who need to know.

Learn more about the festival by reading this article (thanks to burgeoningfoodie for sending the link along), which features some enticing gems. My favorite is this bit of boasting: “We know eastern barbecue is better and we’re going to show these folks,” Jan Barwick of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce said of the visitors from around North Carolina. “They just don’t know ours is better because they haven’t had good barbecue yet.”  Not exactly finely honed trash talk but it does the job.  So, Lexington fanatics, head on down to Kinston and tell Jan what you think of the ‘cue.

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Holy Smoke On Tour

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Our colleagues-in-swine John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed, authors of Holy Smoke, have a couple of book tour stops coming up:

Thursday, March 26, 2009 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble Greenville
Greenville, NC

Saturday, March 28, 2009 2:00 PM
Barnes & Noble New Hope Commons
Durham, NC

Show the Reeds some BBQ Jew love and drop by, or at the very least buy their book if you haven’t already. Plus, New Hope Commons in Durham is right next to Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, a Texas-based chain we are loathe to visit but would love to hear about (at least they spell barbecue right).

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