SirPorkaLot
somebody shut me the fark up.
Do you read an article sometimes and say: dang! I wish I had written that?
This happened this morning when I was given a copy of an article written by NC BBQ blogger (and fellow Brethren) brownkw = aka Big Wayner.
I asked his permission and was granted the opportunity to post this here for the first time.
The formatting doesn't carry over real well here, so here is a http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1043405/BBQ in the Carolinas.docxlink to the original document
Enjoy.
***************************************
BBQ in North Carolina – A Primer
By Wayne Brown
http://www.bigwaynerbbq.com
bigwaynerbbq@gmail.com
When I say “barbecue,” what comes to mind? Is it the outdoor cooking apparatus that you have? Is it an outdoor social gathering where food is served? Or is it meat that has been cooked with wood “low and slow?” Technically all three are correct if you are using a dictionary as your primary resource. But to people in the Carolinas, the definition is very much only one of the above.
People always talk about Carolina style BBQ. But what exactly is Carolina style BBQ? I took an informal poll on Facebook of what comes to mind when someone says Carolina style BBQ. The answers were wide and varied, and I’ve included a small sampling below:
• Thin vinegar-based sauce
• Yellow Mustard Sauce
• Whole Hog
• Eastern or Western
• Red Slaw
The truth is that all of these encompass Carolina BBQ, but there is more to Carolina BBQ than just vinegar or mustard, whole hog or shoulder, and Eastern or Western. To outsiders, the Carolinas appear to be a truly confused sort; how can people in the Carolinas claim that their BBQ is superior to the rest of the country when they can’t even agree which type of BBQ is superior in their own state? But behind this great chasm is a rich tradition. To truly understand BBQ in the Carolinas is to understand not only the types of meat and sauce, but also the history and heritage.
(Image courtesy of Cyndi Allison)
Definition
For the purposes of this primer, I will be referring to barbecue in North Carolina. When you get down to it, authentic North Carolina barbecue has the following characteristics:
• It is cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature over heat and smoke coming from a bed of hardwood or hardwood coals.
• It is pork.
• It is sometimes basted with and always served with a thin sauce that, at most, only slightly deviates from a recipe including vinegar, red pepper and (optionally) tomato.
So looking at that definition, that’s pretty wide open. And this wide open definition is what allows for the differences in Eastern versus Western (or Piedmont – most North Carolinians exclude the mountain region from this comparison). Even though the differences in styles are minute, they nevertheless still form the basis for an intrastate feud that still rages on to this day. Below is a high-level breakdown of the variations between Eastern and Western/Piedmont styles:
Traditional Meat
Whole Hog
Pork Shoulder
Sauce Ingredients
Vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper
Vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper, ketchup, brown sugar (optional), Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Traditional Sides
Brunswick stew, corn sticks, barbecued potatoes, mayonnaise or mayo-mustard based slaw (typically for garnish only), hush puppies
BBQ Slaw (finely chopped with a vinegar sauce base), hush puppies, French fries, fried okra, macaroni & cheese
Serving Style of Meat
Finely Chopped
Finely Chopped, Coarse Chopped, Sliced
Beverages
Sweet Tea
Sweet Tea, Cheerwine (cherry flavored soft drink)
I do want to make a special mention here of South Carolina. Like North Carolina, South Carolina prefers pork. The unique thing about South Carolina is that sauce preferences are split up into four distinct regions. In the Pee Dee region of the state, the primary sauce of choice is the Eastern Carolina style vinegar sauce. Counties that run parallel to the North Carolina state line primarily use the Western/Piedmont style sauce. This includes much of the Upstate region. A few counties bordering on the Georgia state line lean towards a ketchup-based sauce. And finally, the Midlands region of South Carolina and points south use a mustard-based sauce. The map below (courtesy of Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com) gives an excellent visual of the breakdown of sauce preferences by region.
(Image borrowed from AmazingRibs.com)
History of North Carolina Barbecue – 300 words or less
Regardless of what most native North Carolinians think, barbecue did not originate in North Carolina. While some people claim that the word “barbecue” is derived from the French phrase “barbe à queue” (meaning “from head to tail”), this is generally considered false. Instead, most etymologists accept that the word came from the term “barabicu” used in the Caribbean/West Indies and entered most European languages as “barbacoa”. References to both the term and the cooking technique can be traced back to publications in the late 1600s.
The cooking techniques used in the Caribbean/West Indies were probably also used by natives in the tidewater Virginia and northeastern North Carolina areas. As a result, the term followed along trade routes and became established in the eastern part of North Carolina. The cooking techniques used there became the basis for Eastern North Carolina style barbecue.
While Eastern North Carolina style may not have an exact pinpoint for its origins, those of Western/Piedmont style can definitely be placed with a certain degree of accuracy. Around the time of World War I, men of German background and descent started barbecue joints along the rail line in Rowan and Davidson counties where they cooked only parts of the hog – loins, hams, and shoulders. These pioneers – John Blackwelder, Jess Swicegood, George Ridenhour, Sid Weaver, and Warner Stamey – all contributed to the spreading of this style of cooking throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Their influences so often intermingle with one another that instead of referring to their heritage as a family tree, it’s often called a briar patch.
(Picture is from “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue”)
Culture of ‘Cue in North Carolina
Regardless if you prefer your Carolina style ‘cue in the form of whole hog or pork shoulder, there is no denying that barbecue has permanently engrained itself into culture and society in North Carolina. The nature of barbecue has always lent itself to large gatherings, and politicians definitely took notice. Many a political candidate would serve up barbecue to the masses before and after an election. There was hardly a better way to gather a crowd of people to a single area to shake hands, kiss babies, and ask for votes.
Barbecue was not just limited to politicians. It was often the tool of bosses to keep their laborers happy and content. With the prevalence of textile mills in post-war North Carolina, rewarding workers with pit-cooked meat was an often used morale booster.
There is also a close correlation between barbecue and religion. Many an “underground church service” was often accompanied by barbecue. The most often occurrence is the use of barbecue as a fund-raiser, with the largest in the state of North Carolina being put on by Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte in October. Twenty thousand visitors are served over 15,000 lbs. of pork, 2,500 gallons of Brunswick stew, and 2 tons of cole slaw. The timing of this event combined with the number of visitors naturally makes this a destination for campaigning politicians.
And finally, there is barbecue for barbecue’s sake. Lexington, NC is home to the second largest number of barbecue restaurants per person in the country. When you have an area that is such a cornerstone for regional barbecue, you have to have a festival. On the 4th Saturday in October, over 100,000 people migrate to Lexington to participate in the Lexington Barbecue Festival. To give a comparison, the population of Lexington is approximately 20,000. Thus you can see the kind of economic impact barbecue has on this region.
Required Reading
There is so much more to tell in the history of barbecue in the Carolinas, but I simply do not have any more room to do so. So what I have done is picked out a couple of books that are excellent resources if you are interested in continuing research into this subject.
• The first book is Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue written by John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney. The three authors trace through the origins of North Carolina barbecue as well as shed light on the history of the Eastern vs. Western feud. Also included in this book are recipes for authentic barbecue dishes.
• The second book is North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time written by Bob Garner. While Bob does not include any recipes in this book, he provides excellent insight into the roots of barbecue in the Old North State as well as conveys the importance of barbecue in the realms of politics and religion.
This happened this morning when I was given a copy of an article written by NC BBQ blogger (and fellow Brethren) brownkw = aka Big Wayner.
I asked his permission and was granted the opportunity to post this here for the first time.
The formatting doesn't carry over real well here, so here is a http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1043405/BBQ in the Carolinas.docxlink to the original document
Enjoy.
***************************************
BBQ in North Carolina – A Primer
By Wayne Brown
http://www.bigwaynerbbq.com
bigwaynerbbq@gmail.com
When I say “barbecue,” what comes to mind? Is it the outdoor cooking apparatus that you have? Is it an outdoor social gathering where food is served? Or is it meat that has been cooked with wood “low and slow?” Technically all three are correct if you are using a dictionary as your primary resource. But to people in the Carolinas, the definition is very much only one of the above.
People always talk about Carolina style BBQ. But what exactly is Carolina style BBQ? I took an informal poll on Facebook of what comes to mind when someone says Carolina style BBQ. The answers were wide and varied, and I’ve included a small sampling below:
• Thin vinegar-based sauce
• Yellow Mustard Sauce
• Whole Hog
• Eastern or Western
• Red Slaw
The truth is that all of these encompass Carolina BBQ, but there is more to Carolina BBQ than just vinegar or mustard, whole hog or shoulder, and Eastern or Western. To outsiders, the Carolinas appear to be a truly confused sort; how can people in the Carolinas claim that their BBQ is superior to the rest of the country when they can’t even agree which type of BBQ is superior in their own state? But behind this great chasm is a rich tradition. To truly understand BBQ in the Carolinas is to understand not only the types of meat and sauce, but also the history and heritage.
(Image courtesy of Cyndi Allison)
Definition
For the purposes of this primer, I will be referring to barbecue in North Carolina. When you get down to it, authentic North Carolina barbecue has the following characteristics:
• It is cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature over heat and smoke coming from a bed of hardwood or hardwood coals.
• It is pork.
• It is sometimes basted with and always served with a thin sauce that, at most, only slightly deviates from a recipe including vinegar, red pepper and (optionally) tomato.
So looking at that definition, that’s pretty wide open. And this wide open definition is what allows for the differences in Eastern versus Western (or Piedmont – most North Carolinians exclude the mountain region from this comparison). Even though the differences in styles are minute, they nevertheless still form the basis for an intrastate feud that still rages on to this day. Below is a high-level breakdown of the variations between Eastern and Western/Piedmont styles:
Eastern
Western/Piedmont
Whole Hog
Pork Shoulder
Sauce Ingredients
Vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper
Vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper, ketchup, brown sugar (optional), Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Traditional Sides
Brunswick stew, corn sticks, barbecued potatoes, mayonnaise or mayo-mustard based slaw (typically for garnish only), hush puppies
BBQ Slaw (finely chopped with a vinegar sauce base), hush puppies, French fries, fried okra, macaroni & cheese
Serving Style of Meat
Finely Chopped
Finely Chopped, Coarse Chopped, Sliced
Beverages
Sweet Tea
Sweet Tea, Cheerwine (cherry flavored soft drink)
I do want to make a special mention here of South Carolina. Like North Carolina, South Carolina prefers pork. The unique thing about South Carolina is that sauce preferences are split up into four distinct regions. In the Pee Dee region of the state, the primary sauce of choice is the Eastern Carolina style vinegar sauce. Counties that run parallel to the North Carolina state line primarily use the Western/Piedmont style sauce. This includes much of the Upstate region. A few counties bordering on the Georgia state line lean towards a ketchup-based sauce. And finally, the Midlands region of South Carolina and points south use a mustard-based sauce. The map below (courtesy of Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com) gives an excellent visual of the breakdown of sauce preferences by region.
(Image borrowed from AmazingRibs.com)
History of North Carolina Barbecue – 300 words or less
Regardless of what most native North Carolinians think, barbecue did not originate in North Carolina. While some people claim that the word “barbecue” is derived from the French phrase “barbe à queue” (meaning “from head to tail”), this is generally considered false. Instead, most etymologists accept that the word came from the term “barabicu” used in the Caribbean/West Indies and entered most European languages as “barbacoa”. References to both the term and the cooking technique can be traced back to publications in the late 1600s.
The cooking techniques used in the Caribbean/West Indies were probably also used by natives in the tidewater Virginia and northeastern North Carolina areas. As a result, the term followed along trade routes and became established in the eastern part of North Carolina. The cooking techniques used there became the basis for Eastern North Carolina style barbecue.
While Eastern North Carolina style may not have an exact pinpoint for its origins, those of Western/Piedmont style can definitely be placed with a certain degree of accuracy. Around the time of World War I, men of German background and descent started barbecue joints along the rail line in Rowan and Davidson counties where they cooked only parts of the hog – loins, hams, and shoulders. These pioneers – John Blackwelder, Jess Swicegood, George Ridenhour, Sid Weaver, and Warner Stamey – all contributed to the spreading of this style of cooking throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Their influences so often intermingle with one another that instead of referring to their heritage as a family tree, it’s often called a briar patch.
(Picture is from “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue”)
Culture of ‘Cue in North Carolina
Regardless if you prefer your Carolina style ‘cue in the form of whole hog or pork shoulder, there is no denying that barbecue has permanently engrained itself into culture and society in North Carolina. The nature of barbecue has always lent itself to large gatherings, and politicians definitely took notice. Many a political candidate would serve up barbecue to the masses before and after an election. There was hardly a better way to gather a crowd of people to a single area to shake hands, kiss babies, and ask for votes.
Barbecue was not just limited to politicians. It was often the tool of bosses to keep their laborers happy and content. With the prevalence of textile mills in post-war North Carolina, rewarding workers with pit-cooked meat was an often used morale booster.
There is also a close correlation between barbecue and religion. Many an “underground church service” was often accompanied by barbecue. The most often occurrence is the use of barbecue as a fund-raiser, with the largest in the state of North Carolina being put on by Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte in October. Twenty thousand visitors are served over 15,000 lbs. of pork, 2,500 gallons of Brunswick stew, and 2 tons of cole slaw. The timing of this event combined with the number of visitors naturally makes this a destination for campaigning politicians.
And finally, there is barbecue for barbecue’s sake. Lexington, NC is home to the second largest number of barbecue restaurants per person in the country. When you have an area that is such a cornerstone for regional barbecue, you have to have a festival. On the 4th Saturday in October, over 100,000 people migrate to Lexington to participate in the Lexington Barbecue Festival. To give a comparison, the population of Lexington is approximately 20,000. Thus you can see the kind of economic impact barbecue has on this region.
Required Reading
There is so much more to tell in the history of barbecue in the Carolinas, but I simply do not have any more room to do so. So what I have done is picked out a couple of books that are excellent resources if you are interested in continuing research into this subject.
• The first book is Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue written by John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney. The three authors trace through the origins of North Carolina barbecue as well as shed light on the history of the Eastern vs. Western feud. Also included in this book are recipes for authentic barbecue dishes.
• The second book is North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time written by Bob Garner. While Bob does not include any recipes in this book, he provides excellent insight into the roots of barbecue in the Old North State as well as conveys the importance of barbecue in the realms of politics and religion.
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