Porky’s Pulpit: BBQ Hormel Style

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Recently a coupon caught my attention.  It offered $2 off a 30 ounce package of Hormel’s Austin Blues Pulled Pork.  According to the description on the Hormel website, “This succulent pork shoulder meat is naturally hardwood smoked for six hours. After smoking, it’s finished off with a clear Carolina-style sauce and lightly pulled.”  Sounds pretty good actually, although it’s hard to believe that this industrial strength swine is truly hardwood smoked for 6 hours.  (But since that’s what Hormel claims and they have a large legal team, I’ll take their word for it.) 

More good news about the product: the Hormel website warns that their pulled pork is, brace yourself, NOT Kosher.  This suggests that Hormel’s pulled pork is made from real pork and not some sort of pork-tasting mystery product (I have always been amused that bacon bits are often Kosher, which means, of course, that they contain exactly zero percent bacon).   Hmm, so the Hormel Pulled Pork sounds kinda sorta okay at first, but rest assured there are some bright red warning flags.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

Roast Hashanah

Posted on September 18, 2009 by The Rib Rabbi

We’re at the beginning of the High Holidays–no, not the Lexington Barbecue Festival–the holiest days in the Jewish year. Saturday is Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the new year in the Jewish calendar.

Litterally translated, Rosh Hashanah means ‘Head of the Year.’ Yet few know that the Hebrew word ‘Rosh’ actually derives from the English ‘Roast.’ Hence Roast Hashanah, or Roast of the Year.

In my make believe world, that equates to a divine order to eat barbecue on this day. But not just any barbecue will do. It has to be the roast of the year!

Apples dipped in honey or barbecue? What does your conscience tell you?

Apples dipped in honey vs. barbecue? What does your conscience tell you?

So sound the shofar, hop in the car and head to your finest local pork purveyor (As if you needed another excuse to eat barbecue). We’ll see you there.

I can think of a few better ways to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (apples with honey or a kugel, perhaps). But I can think of no better way to observe Roast Hashanah than tucking into a nice barbecue plate.

Filed under: Barbejews, Rabbi's Rants/Raves | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

Porky’s Pulpit: Porkternity Test

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

A few days ago my daughter uttered the words every Yankee-fearing father fears.  No, not “Alex Rodriguez is my prom date,” as that’s not the kind of Yankee I mean. Plus, the littlest LeSwine is only two years old.  But it was just as bad.  My daughter said, quite clearly by toddler standards, “I don’t like eating barbecue.”  What prompted this outburst?  All I did was ask her if she was excited about stopping for a barbecue lunch the next day.  Between this horrible comment and a couple of past occasions where she has spit out barbecue I’ve offered her, it’s off to the doctor today to get a paternity test.

Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Leave a comment »

BBQ Jew’s View: Little Richard’s

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

4885 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, NC
336.760.3457
Website
Hours: Mon – Sat 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
BBQ Jew’s Grade: A-
Porky Says: “Really smoking.”

Good Golly, Miss Molly
From the vintage metal advertising signs on the walls to the traditional wood-cooked pork to the location just down the street from Vinegar Hill Road (too good to be true but it is!), Little Richard’s feels like it has been around as long as the “other” Little Richard.  But the joint, named after owner Richard Berrier, wasn’t around in the early years of rock ‘n’ roll.  In fact, the joint only opened in 1991, making it a young’un by barbecue standards.  Still, over the past 18 years, Little Richard’s has established a well-deserved reputation as a purveyor of authentic Lexington-style pork.

I call this picture "barbekudzu."

I call this picture "barbekudzu."

No Tutti Frutti, Just Tobaccy
It’s fitting that in Winston-Salem, one of North Carolina’s proudest tobacco towns and inspiration for two of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s flagship cigaratte lines, cooking pork over smoky wood remains in style.  And on the day I visited Little Richard’s, the pork wasn’t the only thing smoking.  At a table next to a wall covered with vintage tobacco advertisements sat three Continue reading →

Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Update on Loopey

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Last month we reported on a pig named Loopey who was removed from the home of his (human) family due to a ban on swine within Fayetteville’s city limits.  The City Council in Fayetteville promised to revisit the issue in early September.  True to their word, according to an article in the Fayetteville Observer, on Tuesday night City Council debated the merits of pigs in the city and searched for a compromise position. 

The Council debate did not go well for beloved family pet and Autism therapy animal, Loopey.  According to the Observer article, “The City Council deadlocked Tuesday by a 5-5 vote, unable to agree on whether to draft a new policy that would allow Loopey – a domesticated pig kept at a house in the College Lakes subdivision off Ramsey Street – to return to its owner under certain conditions.” 

The deadlocked vote should, in theory, put the Loopey story to rest.  However, I have a  feeling this pig tale has legs, at least judging from the almost uniformly irate online comments on the article, which include:

“‘”Hookers’ walk the streets of Fayetteville and the city council is worried about a pet pig. A lot more needs cleaning up in Fayetteville before officials focus in on a childs pet… .” – RL

“DONT THE FAY. COUNCIL MEMBERS MEET THE DEFINITION OF SWINE?” – WADUHMINNIT!

“… i see a rigged vote on city council. i smell a bunch of rats not swine. and i smell a lot more coming from hay street rather than what i normally smell coming from the eastern part of cumberland county on certain days. and the stench reeks of dirty politics.” – chitownjoe

“We should have told the council that Loopy can pay taxes. This way they’d have already annexed her and given her a trash can… .” – Paul

Filed under: BBQ in the News | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »

Finding Religion at a Pig Pickin’

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Earlier this summer a buddy of mine invited me to join him at a pig pickin’ hosted by his co-worker, Billy Mitchell.  I’ve been to quite a few pig pickin’s before but this was my first pig pickin’ hosted by someone I’d never met.  And yet it turned out to be one of my favorites.  Maybe it was the copious amounts of roasted pork I ate, or maybe it was the bucolic location complete with a “garden” that was probably a half an acre and goats, horses and other “pets.”  Maybe it was Billy demonstrating the shag to some recent New York transplants.  Whatever it was, I truly enjoyed my time at this pig pickin’.  Thanks, Billy, for inviting me to join and for sending me home with a bag full of ‘cue big enough to make my dog drool, my wife’s eyes roll and my breath smell like pork for several days.

Fire chief by day, fire starter by night: Billy Mitchell. (Photo by Conor "Swine factor" Keeney

Fire chief by day, fire starter by night: gracious host/pitmaster Billy Mitchell. (Photo by Conor "Swine Factor" Keeney.)

As I stood at the edge of Billy’s pond with a cold beer in my hand and hot grease coursing through my veins, I got to thinking about what makes pig pickin’s so special.  What separates them from an ordinary cookout or a potluck?  As best I could determine with a belly full of pork, rolls, slaw, tea, pickled beets, banana pudding, pickles, Lexington-style dip, and beer, it’s the fellowship that makes pig pickin’s stand out.  The dictionary definition of fellowship is, a “community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience” or “a company of equals or friends.”  Something about a pig pickin’ brings out this sense of community and equality.

What causes such great fellowship at pig pickin’s?  I think it has something to do with a pig pickin’ host spending all day cooking an 100+ pound hog just in order to share it with his friends, family, neighbors and whatever complete strangers (like me) might happen to drop by.  It’s an act of faith, devotion and sacrifice to put that much time, energy and care into a meal that hungry visitors will scarf down in a few minutes.  So, thanks for the food and fellowship Billy, and I hope I get to return the favor one of these days.

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Labor Day Feature: Life in the Pits with Brandon Cook

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off for Pork We Go
A few weeks ago the Rib Rabbi and I headed west down Interstate 85 to Lexington, where we rendezvoused with a Winston-Salem Journal reporter for dinner and an interview.  I’d been to Cook’s BBQ a couple of times before, loved their food, and figured it would be the perfect off-the-beaten path location to meet.  If the reporter found her way to this hidden gem of a restaurant several miles south of Lexington, then I figured she could be trusted to report faithfully on the divine swine.  Well, the reporter got lost somewhere on the way to Cook’s BBQ and showed up a little bit late for dinner (she did show up and did apologize so she passed my test).  Lucky for the Rib Rabbi and me, while we waited on our dinner date to arrive pitmaster Brandon Cook  gave us a thorough tour of the operation. 

Zen and the Art of Barbecue
I’d wanted to talk to Brandon ever since reading an interview with him in Holy Smoke, in which he described the way-out-of-the-way location of Cook’s BBQ as follows: “Our location is a very nice spot.  Nobody drops in accidentally; if you’re coming here, this is your destination.”  The quote’s half-Zen, half-mad scientist logic struck a chord with me.  I knew I’d like anybody who thought his restaurant’s location was perfect because nobody could find the place without knowing it was there.  And maybe Brandon was right about the location, as Cook’s BBQ was doing brisk business when we were there.  In fact, it had undergone a major expansion since the last time I’d visited a couple years back.  But it still serves delicious traditional NC barbecue, as well as not-so-traditional-for-NC Texas-style beef brisket.

Beef in Lexington?! It's okay, remain calm...

Beef brisket in Lexington?! It's okay, try to remain calm...

Cook’s Cook Can Cook
Brandon Cook is a fairly young man, but he works the pit like he’s been doing it for many decades.  Brandon grew up in the restaurant business–his dad, Doug, used to own Cook’s BBQ and now owns another joint in town–and learned to work a pit at an early age.  He has been cooking ever since.  Better yet, while scores of other pitmasters (including, not Continue reading →

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

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…

Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

A Virtual Guide to Lexington-style BBQ

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

I recently stumbled upon this video from Davidson County’s tourism site while doing “research” (can I call it that?) for BBQJew.com.  Follow the link and click on the Lexington Style Barbeque video clip for… well, honestly, for an incredibly dry (lifeless, really) yet helpful and concise guide to eating ‘cue in Lexington.  It’ll save you some embarassment if you are an Eastern-style devotee taking communion at the Cathedral of Vinegared Ketchup ‘Cue for the first time. 

Also, note the two spellings used on the video: “barbeque” in the link and “barbecue” in the video’s title screen.  Go figure.

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Cookouts in the Text Age

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Porky LeSwine

Sure, there are some annoying parts of living in the age of texting.  The guy you’re having a business meeting with who is also sending text messages to his wife.  The two people sitting at the table next to you over lunch who are looking down at their iPhones rather than having a conversation.  But there are some positives too, such as the motto shown on this apron:

aa6a_omgwtfbbq_apron

Filed under: Swine Swag | Tagged: | Leave a comment »

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