T (Cleopatra) Speaks: Chapter 1
9/29: Pig Pickin’s: Before we go any further lets add a bit of history to our tour of gluttony. Southern style barbeque as we know it consists mainly of pork for a few simple reasons. In the 19th century pigs were low maintenance, inexpensive and could be released in the forest to graze on their own. Later, when food supplies were low the pigs were easily captured. These efforts of capture and slaughter were reason enough for celebration and gathering, also known as “pig pickin’s.”
The pulled pork technique, famous throughout the south, originated from rural slaves who were often given the less desirable parts of the pigs to consume. Southern slaves would cook these parts in a pit for hours at a time until tender. When the meat was finally done the slaves were so hungry they would pull the meat off the pit. (Thank you Wicapedia, I welcome any alternative and colorful theories you may have.)
N. Carolina style BBQ- There are many different kinds of “Q”, smoked,dry, pulled, dry rubbed just to name a few. What stands out however is the tenderness and flavor of the meat, the tangy sweet and spicyness of the sauce. BBQ in N. Carolina is characteristically dry- meaning the meat is cooked in absence of any sauce waiting suculantly to be dressed just moments before consumption. The challenge here is to create a tender and moist vehicle for sauce and slaw. The sauce is light consisting usually of cider vinegar, spices, sugar or honey. As a character builder hickory is used when cooking the meat which can add a distinctive blush color to the meat.
That said, the past two days have yielded some interesting results. The most surprising were the chicken wings. Full sized wings that were lightly smoked, deep fried and then seasoned. These were divine. While not traditional BBQ fare these wings had a delightful flavor and texture and a distinctive mouth feel that only comes from something fried.
Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ “ Gimmie some sauce”: The selection of sauces was well…staggering, 14 different selections to choose from. It almost seemed as though the proprietor was inspired by the daquiri bars in Louisiana . I figured Louisiana because of the prominently displayed mural of the owner in a jester costume ridding a bucking pig adorned with Mardi Grass beads. But I digress…We set out to taste all of these sauces while waiting for our succulent vehicles to arrive. Placeholders on notebook paper were used to keep the names straight and the sauces organized. Spicy along the top, next worcestershire and mustard based sauces, next the eclectically spicy and finally something sweet. At this point there were definite favorites, Texas 2-step a more tomato based selection, Memphis , a nicely integrated sauce spicy and sweet, Mole Poblano- notes of chocolate and cinnamon with some kick and Rebel uprising a mustard and Worshtershire combo. Then the meat arrived, racks of ribs mounds of pulled pork, chopped brisket and stacks of fried wings. Let the tasting begin. It was surprising how the sauces changed when paired with different meats. Also surprising, the more simple sauces were more distinctive.
Favorite pairings:
Ribs w/ Rebel Uprising: the smokiness of the pork ribs is a natural compliment for the tangy mustard flavors in this sauce.
Brisket w/ Rebel Uprising: This was also a good pairing but for different reasons. From what we could identify it seemed the brisket was cooked with a light wortershire mop which was enhanced by the sauce bring out a more robust flavor.
Pulled Pork w/ Memphis : I like a sweet tangy spice with my pork.
Fried wings w/ Ragin Cajun: The Cajun spicy punch from the sauce nicely complimented this crispy texture.
To sum it up the saucy gimmick was a fun way to explore their BBQ though the meats were not as succulent as I would have liked. The wings and brisket were clear winners but the ribs were a bit dry and the pulled pork was lacking.
The Woodlands Barbeque & Pickin Parlor: Sweet tea and fried sides abound at this little roadside destination in Blowing Rock N. Carolina. The short pork ribs were succulent little morsels that fell off the bone. There were three different sauces to choose from here, one sweet and caramel in appearance, the other was a heavily spiced vinegar and the third, the equivalent of Tabasco sauce. A nice balance was achieved by combining the sweet with the spicy which went well with the ribs. The other tasty morsels were the chicken wings and the brisket. Unfortunately the sides here were a perfect example of trying to be all things to all people. Many of the sides were lacking….and nothing really stood out as exceptional. Still in search of a pulled pork favorite.
Scrubbs Barbeque; Knoxville Tennessee : The setting of this barbeque destination is exceptionally colorful, enhanced only by the adjacent package store. The atmosphere of Scrubs is one where time stood still but the plants kept growing. Pickled pigs feet adorn the front counter and ribs are sold by the number of bones you can consume. Even though many things (bathrooms and video games) carried hand written “out of order” labels what was in order was the pulled pork and ribs. Finally some pulled pork that was indeed tasty even though it was smashed between a bun that looked like it had a former life as a butt cushion. The ribs were just smoky enough and very tender. While they weren’t my personal favorite they were pretty good and brought out some definite baking spice qualities in the BBQ sauce. The sauces came in three different levels of heat although they all seemed to taste the same. The BBQ sauce was very similar to those generic sauces right out of the bottle very different from the vinegar based sauces we have been experiencing lately. One of my very favorite sides to date we had here…the fried green tomatoes. They were in a cornbread batter and cooked to just right…very crispy and golden brown. I think this is the closest I will get to a vegetable for the next four days…..
