Well, here’s a reason: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/national/Winnipeg+woman+finds+squirrel+toilet+fishes+critter+with/8521818/story.html
Filed under: Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »
R.I.P. Sonny Conrad
Posted on June 14, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
A legend of BBQ has passed away… http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20130614/NEWS/130619980/1074?Title=Community-recalls-a-barbecue-icon-in-Conrad
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »
Happy 40th to Stamey’s of Tyro
Posted on June 13, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Friday marks the 40th anniversary of Stamey’s Barbecue of Tyro, just outside of Lexington. If you’re in the area, drop by for the celebration. Read more in The Dispatch at http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20130611/NEWS05/306119983.
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Pork in the Road
Posted on June 4, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
If the food is half as good as the name, Pork in the Road will earn many loyal customers in the years ahead. Now how in the world didn’t I think of this myself?!
The idea is simple and the name is inspired, as we learn from their website: “The concept behind Pork in the Road is fairly self-explanatory, and there’s no better place for a pork-inspired menu than the second highest pork-producing state in the nation. There will be a few pork substitutes for our kosher friends out there, but rest assured, bacon, and other wonderful parts of the pig, will find its way into most every recipe. Stay tuned for more updates!”
Learn about Pork in the Road’s Kickstarter campaign here, or read more about Christian Thompson, the man behind the pig at this blog.
Good luck, Christian, and may the pork be with you!
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Food trucks | 1 Comment »
A Dead End on the Barbecue Trail
Posted on June 3, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
On Friday I dragged my wife and kids to Mocksville, on the way to a mountain vacation weekend, in order to dine at Deano’s Barbecue. You see, Deano’s had been one of the few remaining stops on the NC Barbecue Society’s Historic Barbecue Trail that I’d yet to visit. The Trail features barbecue joints that, among other criteria, “cook their meat product on pits fueled by wood or charcoal, make their own sauce, [and have a pit that has]… operated continuously for fifteen or more years.”
Until recently Deano’s met the Trail’s criteria for inclusion, and without a doubt earned its place on the map. But a short visit behind the scenes revealed an unexpected change: I discovered–and confirmed with the owner himself–that Deano’s recently switched to a gas-fired Southern Pride cooker. The traditional brick-lined, wood-burning pits were for decoration only. Deano’s change to gas is, first of all, grounds for immediate removal from the trail (I emailed the NC Barbecue Society already, since I figured a 9-1-1 call would be extreme). I did have some sympathy for the owner when he told me that some health problems had made maintaining the wood pits difficult. But a gasser is a gasser whether one is sympathetic or not. And thus another venerable North Carolina barbecue institution has turned its back on tradition and chosen convenience and cost over tradition and quality. I hate to say it, but Texas is starting to look more appealing every day…
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Gas/electric-cooked, Wood-cooked | 8 Comments »
SAAS Puts the Spice in Sauce
Posted on May 31, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
One of the perks of being a world-renowned* barbecue blogger is occasionally getting free stuff in the mail. Usually the bounty is barbecue cookbooks but sometimes its edible.
Recently the good folks at SAAS Hot Sauce sent me samples of their two fiery and flavorful hot sauces, Original Flavor and Onion & Garlic. I am still struggling to figure out why these seemingly competent folks would bother to mail their sauce all the way from the, ahem, barbecue capital of Upper Montclair, New Jersey to North Carolina. Regardless, I feel compelled to say some kind words because they deserve a plug.
Both SAAS sauces I sampled are really, truly excellent. And, in case you wondered, my kind words can’t be bought for $10 worth of hot sauce. (Ten bucks worth of beer on the other hand… .) The sauces have a thin consistency that works well as a flavor enhancer at the table or as a marinade, if applied cautiously. They are generously spiked with habanero peppers, among other ingredients, so they are seriously HOT and have a deep, layered flavor profile. (I sampled the “spicy hot” varieties, not the mild ones, so cannot comment on the latter.) If you enjoy heat, give ’em a try.
A word of caution: I don’t think the SAAS spicy hot sauces belong anywhere near traditional barbecue–their flavors are simply too strong–but the sauces would work nicely for spicy chicken wings, adding heat/flavor to Asian cooking (a hipster alternative to the now ubiquitous Sriracha?), and so on. If you live in the New York area check out SAAS’ sauces at a local grocer, or anyone can order online.
Thanks for the sauce, y’all. Now can someone please ship me a whole hog for a change?
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*Spambots from other countries sometimes visit my website.
Filed under: Swine Swag | Tagged: Shameless | Leave a comment »
Mu Shu Pork BBQ?
Posted on May 29, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Big news in the pork industry today according to the porkNetwork website, which I visit religiously… and by “religiously” I mean that I visit a few times a year on high holidays! A company from China called the Shuanghui Group plans to acquire Virginia’s Smithfield Foods for roughly $5 billion cash (in a very large briefcase full of unmarked $50 bills, I assume).
Will there be any pork left for us barbecue loving Americans after the Chinese are done meeting their import appetite? If I were you, I’d start stocking my pantry with as many barbecue sandwiches as will fit… this could be Y2K all over again, but this time the stakes are high.
Filed under: BBQ in the News | 1 Comment »
Whole Hog in Asheville? Buxton Hill says yes
Posted on May 28, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
With all due respect to President Obama’s favorite 12 Bones, Asheville is not a barbecue town. However, Asheville is taking a decidedly down east step toward building its barbeculture. Word on the Twittersphere is that a new whole hog barbecue restaurant will be opening in Asheville later this summer.
According to its Twitter profile (yes, I spent a lot of time researching this post), Buxton Hill will offer “All wood, Pit Smoked, Pastured Whole Hog Barbeque & Heirloom Southern Fare.” At first blush this sounds an awful lot like a western North Carolina version of Raleigh’s (and soon Durham’s) down home-upscale restaurant, The Pit. And, yes, that is both a compliment (wood cooking and whole hogs should be encouraged) and an insult.
I’m curious to learn more about Buxton Hill, and given all the good beer flowing on the streets of Asheville, it won’t take much convincing for me to visit whether or not the barbecue is any good.
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | Tagged: Asheville, Buncombe County, Wood-cooked, Yuppiecue | 3 Comments »
Adam Wainwright, My New Hero
Posted on May 27, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
Those of you who know Porky LeSwine well are aware that he loves the St. Louis Cardinals as much as he loves barbecue. (He also loves to talk about himself in the third person from time to time.) Thus, Porky was thrilled to see this article about Cards’ ace pitcher, Adam Wainwright. An avid BBQ eater, Wainwright offers that, “bad barbecue makes me want to fight somebody.” I know what he means, though I’m not sure I’d phrase it quite that way.
Apologies to the 99% of you readers who find this post completely uninteresting. Mr. Wainwright, if you are reading this article then please know that: a) you are an honorable man, b) I’ll buy you a plate of NC barbecue anytime and c) you really ought to send me some complimentary playoff tickets.
Filed under: Miscellaneous | Leave a comment »
Southern Living Makes a Yankee Mistake
Posted on May 23, 2013 by Porky LeSwine
An alert reader, who goes by the pseudonym Zachary Writes, pointed out a gross error in the (virtual) pages of Southern Living magazine. A recent post about Chapel Hill’s revered Allen & Son barbecue, which every damn fool knows has no website, includes a link to Pittsboro’s Allen & Son restaurant, which every damn fool knows has nothing to do with the Chapel Hill location.
In case you were unaware, the Chapel Hill Allen’s cooks over wood and produces some of the best barbecue in the state. The Pittsboro Allen’s, on the other hand, is a gasser and has no connection to the Chapel Hill restaurant of the same name other than a shared origin 20-some years ago. If you believe in evolution–and I pray to God that you do–you can think of it this way: Pittsboro’s Allen & Son is the neanderthal that is not fully evolved, while Chapel Hill’s Allen & Son is the fully evolved human that is evolutionarily superior. Well, except that Neanderthals always cooked over wood while humans invented gas cooking. Drat, now I’m confused too…
Credit to Southern Living for at least managing to write a nice post, and take good pictures, about the correct Allen & Son’s. They may be confused, but they are not Neanderthals.
Filed under: Restaurants & Reviews | 5 Comments »
BBQ Jew 