Posted on 05/29/2005 11:47:02 AM PDT by varina davis
Age-Old Debate Over N.C. Barbecue Fired Up
By MARTHA WAGGONER Associated Press Writer
10:15 AM PDT, May 29, 2005
ARCADIA, N.C. — Fourth-graders here expected a civics lesson when they suggested that the Lexington Barbecue Festival be named the state's official food festival. Instead, they got a lesson in the fierce intrastate rivalry over barbecue that pits west vs. east, tomato vs. vinegar and whole shoulder against whole pig.
"I didn't know so many people would be asking questions and wanting to know how I feel about it," said 10-year-old Kaylyn Vaughan. "You have to realize it is a very big deal."
While Texas generally unites behind beef brisket, Kansas City has its slathered ribs and South Carolina holds dear to its mustard-sauced pork, North Carolinians are divided about their two distinct barbecue styles.
Crowning one style as "official" would be a mistake, said Bob Garner, author of the book "North Carolina Barbecue," which doesn't take a stand on which version is supreme.
"The whole story of barbecue in North Carolina is about these two distinct styles and this fun, family argument that we just refuse to get rid of," Garner said. "People love to argue about this."
North Carolina's western barbecue, also known as Lexington or Piedmont, is made from the shoulder of the hog and has a red, tomato-based sauce. Eastern style takes seriously an old North Carolina adage -- "We use every part of the pig except the squeal" -- and uses a vinegar-based sauce.
The argument about which is best has waged forever, although Garner said eastern style came first. The state's tourism division even conducted an online poll in 2002. Thousands of votes were cast, with eastern winning by a snout, although the head of the Lexington visitors bureau demanded a recount.
The pupils of Friedberg Elementary School in west-central North Carolina fired up the fight innocently enough in February when they decided to undertake a civics project. They could have studied the state tree, the state bird or the state fish. They chose food.
They wrote letters to lawmakers asking that the one-day Lexington event, one of Travel & Leisure magazine's Top 10 food festivals, be named the "state food festival."
Two lawmakers obliged, but when the bills were filed, they mistakenly called for Lexington's event to become the "state barbecue festival."
The damage was done.
"Remind lawmakers that while our humble pig may not get the publicity Lexington gathers from the lying Yankee press, we still put on a pretty good show," columnist Dennis Rogers, a protector of eastern-style, wrote in The News & Observer of Raleigh.
The High Point Enterprise defended the western style, calling it barbecue from "a lean, filet of pork shoulder in Lexington, not all of Old McDonald's pig."
From there, the students' lesson became political. A House committee recommended the festival receive the state designation last month, but the bill ended up in another committee. In the Senate, the bill has been stuck in committee since it was filed.
"I don't really expect that the bill will be heard," said one of its sponsors, Sen. Stan Bingham, a Republican from the Lexington style's home turf of Davidson County.
Bingham denies the bill was meant to say Lexington-style barbecue tastes better than eastern style. "It's just indicating that 150,000 people come to Lexington for the festival," he said, somewhat unconvincingly.
That's what the Friedberg children say as well. And they manage to say it without an arched eyebrow in the bunch.
"I wish we could all get along," said 10-year-old James Lumley.
Then he gets down and dirty.
"I know that we all think western is better than eastern," he said, pointing around the table at three friends, "and I think western is better."
Garner gives the nod to western-style barbecue on two counts: its aficionados have done a better job of sticking to pit-cooked barbecue than their eastern counterparts, who have no big barbecue festival comparable to Lexington's.
But Garner believes it is heresy to pass a bill that essentially gives western-style the imprimatur of being the best.
"I just think it would be a shame to set up either eastern or Lexington as the official thing when it's all about the friendly debate."
All BBQ is blessed.
Naw easy to grill a T-Bone perfect. Shine a flashlight on both sides, call it done.
But this is a BBQ thread. Why are we talking about grilling.
Almost all commercially prepared barbeque sauces have some mustard in them. It really enhances most foods. I make a leg of lamb that I roll in dry mustard. It's great.
As I sit here with a belly full of homemade ribs, brisket, slaw, broc-cauliflower salad and beans, I'd have to say my bbq is best.
OK, here it is! Ralph's Barbeque in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. at exit 173(I-95) --- about 1/8 of mile east off the exit. Vinegar based Barbeque at it's best, Brunswick Stew and Cold-Slaw like nowhere else in the world. Try it and say that preacher knew what he was talking about.
I just got back from Greenville, SC, and had the best BBQ of my life at Henry's Smokehouse. The Hash & Rice was to die for. I also tried a mustard-based sauce at another area restaurant that was really good.
A quick technical question: is an electric smoker worth getting or do I have to get a charcoal version. The electric sounds a lot easier to deal with, but the most important thing is some great-tasting BBQ.
bbq pign
Because we can?
This is the best recipe that I have ever found for barbecued ribs. Use real pork spareribs, not phoney "baby back ribs".
Authentic Barbecue Pork Spareribs
You will need a few items before proceeding with the recipe: A covered kettle charcoal grill, charcoal briquettes, hickory wood smoking chips, aluminum foil (preferrably heavy duty, extra wide) and a large brown paper bag.
Serves about 4
Ribs
2 slabs pork spareribs , about 6 pounds total, trimmed of extraneous fat
Dry Rub
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons celery salt
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1. Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a medium bowl. Measure out 3/4 cup of the dry rub and place in separate bowl. Reserve remaining rub for future use. Rub 3 tablespoons dry rub on each side of the 2 racks of ribs. Let ribs stand at room temperature for up to an hour.
2. Light a chimney starter 2/3 full with charcoal briquettes and burn until covered with thin coating of light gray ash, about 10 - 15 minutes. Empty coals onto half of the grill, leaving the other half empty and arrange about 2 or 3 briquettes high. Keep bottom vents of the grill completely open.
3. Wrap about 2 cups of hickory wood chips in a foil packet and poke packet with a fork. Lay foil packet on top of the charcoal. Put the cooking grate in place. Position the ribs on the grate opposite the fire (on a 22-inch grill, you should be able to cook two full slabs of ribs side-by-side). Put the lid on the grill, with the top vents two-thirds of the way open, directly over the ribs. This will help draw the heat and hickory smoke past the ribs. Initial heat will be about 350-degrees, and should drop about 250-degrees over the course of cooking.
4. Turn the ribs every thirty minutes for a total cooking time of two to three hours. At 1 1/2 hours, check the cooking temperature and add an additional 15 coals to keep temperature constant at 250 degrees. If the meat is nearing doneness, the meat will start pulling away from the bones and have a distinct rosy glow on the exterior.
5. Immediately after taking the ribs off the grill, completely wrap them in aluminum foil. Put the foil wrapped ribs in a brown paper bag and fold the paper bag over the ribs. Allow to rest at room temperature for one hour or more.
6. Unwrap ribs and cut into individual servings. Serve
IMHO ribs taste better if you peal the silver skin off the bottom of you ribs before rubbing.
Man, that sounds good. My cheap grill doesnt have a temp guage..in fact the bottom rusted out and I have a flat rock there to keep my coals from falling out! lol
Time for an upgrade.
Rudy's sauce is awesome. I love a spicy and not too sweet sauce.
Their cooks sometimes seem to smoke the meat either too hot or too long.
Give me pork with dry rub. Or if its good smoked pork, I don't even need sauce....just coleslaw, hush puppies and freedom fries.
Mustard and Mustard seed are the #1 and #2 ingredients.
I do remember a couple of spots for the best barbeque and seafood in Elizabeth City (for most traffic heading toward the Outer Banks): Tuck's Restaurant on Hughes Blvd, and the Marina Restaurant on the Camden Causeway.
I have eaten at both Henry's Smokehouse in Greenville SC and HoneyBears in Phoenix AZ, both are outstanding!
Then there is Melton's which is out of town on the famous Tar River.
I live in mtns now and the ONLY thing I miss about living in an eastern NC city is the BBQ. It is sooo good.
I haven't been east in over five years.
I'm kind of partial to State Line BBQ just outside of El Paso but I've never been to Betty's. How are the beef ribs?
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