An easy to read post for Friday morning: four belated pictures from Spring barbecue celebrations, the first two from the Cuegrass event at The Pit in Raleigh and the second set at customer appreciation day at the Backyard BBQ Pit #1 in Durham.
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Events, Festivals, Raleigh, Wake County | Leave a comment »
The four-person judging team from Hillsborough Hog Day 2010, below from left: Dale Volberg Reed, John Shelton Reed, Joel Grodensky, and Ed Mitchell (not pictured, Chief Judge David Hunt).
They look pretty good considering they just tasted barbecue from 35 cooking teams!
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Contests, Events, Hillsborough, Orange County | Leave a comment »
It’s America’s birthday this weekend and one of the oldest cities in North Carolina has big plans to celebrate. What better way to celebrate Independence Day than to build the biggest barbecue sandwich on record? At least that’s what Tommy Moore, the owner and pitmaster of Moore’s Olde Tyme Barbecue in New Bern figures as he sets his sights on the Guinness world record for Largest Barbecue Open Sandwich (Editor’s note: I’m not sure exactly what that category means, but who cares!).
According to the Sun Journal, the big ol’ BBQ on a bun will be unveiled at New Bern’s Fourth of July celebration, which this year marks the town’s 300th birthday. Oh, and since New Bern is also the birthplace of Pepsi (aka “Brad’s Drink,”) you may want to wash your share of that sandwich down with an ice cold one.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Craven County, Events, New Bern, Patriotism | 2 Comments »
The 28th annual Hillsborough Hog Day festival takes place tonight and tomorrow in historic Hillsborough, but I guess 
you figured that much out from the title of this post.
Hog Day is a fun, free event that I have been to many times over the years, and the 2010 version of the event promises to be better than ever with the addition of the Hog Day Invitational People’s Choice competition. Last year’s top finishers from the festival’s shoulder cooking competition will serve their barbecue (cooked fresh this year, let’s hope!) direct to attendees, who will then vote on who has the best ‘cue. This is an improvement over the usual festival format where only judges get to sample competitors’ pork before it is lumped together to serve to the public.
Other Hog Day attractions include live music, a car show, a pig calling contest, arts & crafts for sale, and copious amounts of BBQ sandwiches plus various carnival foods (giant turkey legs, gyros, etc. etc.).
Oh, and did I mention that this year’s event also features a beer garden featuring Durham-based Fullsteam Brewery’s beer? Get thee to Hog Day!
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Contests, Events, Hillsborough, Orange County | Leave a comment »
Looking for something porktastic to do this weekend? Head on down I-85 to Salisbury, one of NC’s most important BBQ towns, for their annual barbecue festival, which is part of the broader Salisbury Cultural Arts Festival. The barbecue portion of the event is highlighted by a cooking competition, with competitors’ barbecue available for tasting. As the festival website says, “Local Folks take three things seriously: Religion, Politics and… BBQ! Just ask them. ” If you’re lucky and meet the right people, you can experience all three things in Salisbury on Saturday.
If Salisbury and its nearly 27,000 residents is too much for you to handle on a spring afternoon, head east of I-95 to little Murfreesboro for the Roanoke-Chowan Pork Fest. The 9th annual edition of the event features a barbecue cooking competition and a special appearance by America’s should-be-favorite mascot, the Piggly Wiggly Pig.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Events, Hertford County, Murfreesboro, Rowan County, Salisbury | 1 Comment »
Looking for something pork-related to do this weekend? You have at least two good options.
1) The 14th annual Kings Mountain Firehouse Barbeque Cookoff. There are 35 teams confirmed to compete in the KCBS-sanctioned cookoff and more than twice that many confirmed judges… hmmm.
2) The 2nd annual North Carolina Cuegrass Festival at The Pit in downtown Raleigh. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features music, Ed Mitchell’s BBQ and local beers. Now that’s a tasty combination plate.
The headliner musical act is the (in)famous Southern Culture on the Skids. SCOTS are known for throwing fried chicken into the crowd at their shows. Since it’s pretty hard to throw chopped barbecue (trust me on this), maybe they’ll toss the fans some hushpuppies. No word on how much the event costs but it’s a fundraiser for an interesting organization that supports family farms, and I am sure you’ll get your money’s worth in ‘cue and brew too. Hat tip to burgeoningfoodie and Eryk Pruitt for letting me know about the Cuegrass event.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Beer, Cleveland County, Events, Festiv, Kings Mountain, Music, Raleigh, Wake County | Leave a comment »
I almost forgot to post this announcement, so sorry for the late notice. Barbecue festival season kicks off in NC today in Newport, aka “The Town with Old Fashioned Courtesy.” See the event website and this press release for details on the event, which takes place today and tomorrow. The barbecue competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and claims to be “USA’s Largest Whole Hog B-B-Q Pig Cookin,” whatever that means. I can’t attend but would love a report so drop me a line and some photos if you make it to Newport.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Carteret County, Contests, Events, Newport | Leave a comment »
Happy Meat Week everyone! Meat Week is one of the greatest ideas ever–ranking right up there with cooking whole hog over coals and the invention of vinegar–but the only North Carolina chapter is in Charlotte. Obviously folks need to step up and start other NC chapters by next year. Who’s going to take on this awesome responsibility? I call not it… but I will be happy to participate.
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Charlotte, Events, Mecklenburg County, Outside NC | 3 Comments »
The quaint waterfront town of New Bern, birthplace of Pepsi, turns 300 years old this year. If that’s not reason enough to visit, check out the oddly named “BBQ In Blue Jeans” fundraiser this Friday night.
According to the Downtown New Bern blog, “The very popular annual fundraiser benefits the New Bern Firemen’s Museum and will be held on Friday, January 22, 2010, beginning at 6 p.m. in New Bern’s Riverfront Convention Center. Barbeque master Tommy Moore of Moore’s Barbeque is the event’s major sponsor, donating barbeque and all the fixings. Tickets are only $25 per person and include all food and beverages, as well as dancing to some of the area’s finest bands. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner is at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at New Bern Firemen’s Museum, New Bern’s Riverfront Convention Center or Mitchell’s Hardware.”
I visited the Firemen’s Museum a couple years back and took the below picture of one of several vintage fire trucks featured at the museum. It’s nice to photograph something besides BBQ once in awhile.
I'm glad they're not fighting fires with these anymore
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Craven County, Events, New Bern | Leave a comment »
The NC BBQ Society is offering a great, albeit pricey, opportunity to learn to cook real NC barbecue. See the Raleigh News & Observer’s food blog for details. Note that registration for the three-day class ends August 15. As for the event itself, suffice it to say that one of the instructors is Steve Grady of Grady’s BBQ, one of the best barbecue joints in the state. Oh, and the event is being held in NC’s beautiful Outer Banks. If you attend, please give me a full report. Better yet, give me $500 so I can attend myself. Deal?
The pit and woodpile behind Grady's tell you all you need to know.
Filed under: Cooking | Tagged: Eastern style, Events, Wood-cooked, Yuppiecue | 5 Comments »
BBQ Jew 