Posted on May 17, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
For those of you still living in the past–as past when Hillsborough Hog Day took place in late June–remember that the event moved to May as of last year… and will be held THIS weekend. The festivities kick off Friday night in suddenly almost-hip historic downtown Hillsborough, and the main shindig is on Saturday. Visit the website for details: http://hillsboroughchamber.com/hog-day/. Sure, the food is a bunch of mediocre, primarily gas-cooked swine, but it’s damn fun anyway so check it out. And don’t feel too bad if you pass on the BBQ sandwiches in favor of a giant turkey leg, gyro or other carnival food staple… or if you want some real, wood-cooked BBQ then make a short side trip to the Hillsborough BBQ Company just a few blocks west of the festival.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Events, Festivals, Hillsborough, Orange County | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 8, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Hey North Carolinians, today is primary election day. Get off your duff, put the smart phone down and drive to your local polling place (heck, catch a bus, bike or walk if you like, just get there). I try not to mix politics with BBQ, so I’ll refrain from making any statements about who you should vote for or what you should vote AGAINST (ahem). All I’ll say is that our democracy is a pretty damn great system, despite its flaws, so don’t take it for granted. It’s like wood-cooked pork barbecue–take it for granted and it may disappear forever.
Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Tagged: Pork barrel politics | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 7, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
If a friend had told me about a new BBQ joint in Wake Forest that cooks over wood coals and is run by Keith Allen’s next door neighbor, I’d have replied one of two ways: “Hmm, that is a weird dream” or “Have you been drinking again?” But when I read about such a restaurant in the News & Observer recently, I took it more seriously.
Evidently, there really is a new barbecue joint in Wake Forest that cooks with hickory and oak (gas-free, thank you very much). And it really is run by a neighbor of legendary pitmaster Keith Allen of Chapel Hill’s Allen & Son, which is one of the best ‘cue spots on the planet. I’m not sure that photosynthesis works with pitmasters, so I can’t figure out if Keith Allen’s special BBQ sunshine will help grow a neighbor into a great pitman, but I’m willing to test that theory. I’ll be headed to Fire Pit BBQ soon, and I hope you do the same.
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Wake County, Wake Forest, Wood-cooked | 5 Comments »
Posted on April 30, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Big news from downtown Raleigh where the venerable Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue will soon disappear from the building it has occupied since 1938. Cooper’s is not going out of business but will soon move to make way for new development.
Losing a historic spot like Cooper’s is the downside of the continued real estate boom that has brought hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment to downtown Raleigh in recent years. The modest building that long-housed Cooper’s, even as the shadows of nearby buildings grew longer and longer, seemed invincible for awhile–every time a development proposal bubbled to the surface, it popped and Cooper’s was spared. But this time looks like it will be different. The Holts, who own Coopers, were forced to choose between moving or trying to survive what would have been an estimated 15 months in dormancy while development went on around them. So they are moving.
Thanks to reader Dave “Pork Skins” Schiller for sending me the article from the Raleigh Public Record that describes the situation Cooper’s faces. As Dave said to me, it’s hard to imagine Cooper’s anywhere but 109 East Davie Street. Where will they land next? Probably not too far from their current location, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Good luck to the Holts as they try to move forward while preserving the restaurant’s distinct history.
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Raleigh, Wake County | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 23, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Taking a page from the Democratic National Committee’s barbecue sauce contest (which I was invited to help judge but unfortunately could not participate), the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer are seeking the best amateur sauce recipe in the state.
The Great N.C. Barbecue Sauce Contest offers a cash prize ($100) and “bragging rights” (pricelessworthless) to the winner. The contest is open to residents of North or South Carolina who are at least 18 years old. Makers of commercially sold sauces are not eligible. Enter by 5 p.m. on April 27th at charlotteobserver.com/food or nando.com/saucecontest
Filed under: Cooking | Tagged: Competitions, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Posted on April 20, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Posted on April 18, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
I am very late in promoting this event–alas, “real life” has gotten in the way lately–but I wanted to let y’all know about the first ever Bull City BBQ Classic. The pork shoulder and pork rib cooking competition takes place this weekend in… you guessed it, Durham (aka the Bull City). The event is affiliated with Refiner’s Fire Community Church, which is a damn near perfect affiliation for a barbecue contest. (Other good BBQ church names might include Holy Hickory Episcopal, Outside Brown Baptist, the Church of the Latter Day Whole Hogs, or Barbecue Presbyterian Church.)
The event takes place at Refiner’s Fire Community Church’s parking lot at 1003 E. Main Street on Saturday. Cooks will compete for pork rib and pork shoulder prizes, as judged by a three-celebrity panel: Michael Reese with 103.9 Radio Station, Anthony Wilson with ABC 11 and Dan Hill with Hill Chesson Insurance Company. You’ll notice that your’s truly is conspicuously absent from this panel, but maybe next year I’ll get called on.
Judging begins at 11 a.m. and awards will be handed out by 2 p.m.; what happens in those three hours is anyone’s guess. For more information, including seeing if you can enter the competition last-minute, contact Renee Brown at brownrr9 @ gmail.com
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Competitions, Events | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 11, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Newt Gingrich has about as much chance of winning the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination as I have of being named spokesperson for the Kosher Cheese of the Month Club. Nevertheless, America’s Most Self-Aggrandizing Amphibian is headed to North Carolina to campaign. Hide your barbecue plates, Tar Heels, unless you want to wash your pork down with a tall glass of unsweetened Newt.
In a wide-ranging interview with WRAL news, Newt proclaimed: “I like barbeque well enough I’m prepared to eat the right barbeque in the east and the right barbeque in the Piedmont. As a Georgian, I think I can lay some claim to barbeque, and so I’m happy to come and eat both kinds.” A solid answer from the Newtser, assuming the ‘q’ spelling of barbecue is WRAL’s doing and not his. However, Newt missed an opportunity to push for the environmental benefits of wood-cooked pit barbecue: a step toward homegrown energy independence and less controversial than natural gas given the fracking issue. (It occurs to me that “frack-free” barbecue might be the South’s answer to gluten-free cornbread.)
Certainly Newt’s BBQ credentials are better than his yankee-competitors, Rick “No Google Stock in My Portfolio” Santorum and Mitt “Don’t Call Me Mittens” Romney. If Newt can avoid a Rick Perry-sized barbecue gaffe, he has a good chance to dominate the Republican primary’s barbecue voting bloc.
Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Tagged: Pork barrel politics, Signs of aporkalypse | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 10, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
Posted on April 9, 2012 by Porky LeSwine
The yankees are coming, the yankees are coming. But this time they are here to spread joy and pork. This weekend the Carolina Pork Experiment, a stop on the circuit of the Brooklyn Brewery-sponsored The Food Experiments, will be held in Durham.
The event is a chance for amateur cooks to show off your porcine cooking talents, and for spectators to have a good time and a cold draft minus the competitive pressure. (Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver is well-known as a perhaps the leading advocate for pairing beers and food. His book, The Brewmaster’s Table, is a classic for foodies and beer geeks alike.) Read more about The Carolina Pork Experiment after the jump. Continue reading →
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Beer, Competitions, Durham, Durham County, Events | 2 Comments »
For those of you still living in the past–as past when Hillsborough Hog Day took place in late June–remember that the event moved to May as of last year… and will be held THIS weekend. The festivities kick off Friday night in suddenly almost-hip historic downtown Hillsborough, and the main shindig is on Saturday. Visit the website for details: http://hillsboroughchamber.com/hog-day/. Sure, the food is a bunch of mediocre, primarily gas-cooked swine, but it’s damn fun anyway so check it out. And don’t feel too bad if you pass on the BBQ sandwiches in favor of a giant turkey leg, gyro or other carnival food staple… or if you want some real, wood-cooked BBQ then make a short side trip to the Hillsborough BBQ Company just a few blocks west of the festival.
BBQ Jew 