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The Barbecue Bros’ 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

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Monk: For this year’s Gift Guide, we’re continuing with last year’s trend of curation. Hopefully this will give you a sense of the items we truly recommend here at Barbecue Bros, whether it be t-shirts or hats, grill accessories you’ll use in the backyard, or rubs and sauces. What else have we missed? Comment below.

Charlotte-Area Barbecue Gifts

Concord, NC-based SnS Grills recently introduced a new model “MasterKettle” combination charcoal grill and smoker and are also running a sale on grills and accessories on their website. Sweet Lew’s BBQ still has a solid selection of hats as well as shirts, sauces, and rubs available online including the above handsome baseball tee.

North Carolina Barbecue Gifts

Sam Jones has refreshed some of their merch, including this fantastic tie-dyed t-shirt available for both adults and kids and on the opposite end of the color spectrum, a camo patch hat. If you’re looking for more of a pick-me-up, Stamey’s in Greensboro sells their coffee online in addition to bottles of their dip and hot sauce. And Raleigh’s House of Swank has the always controversial “Tomato” vs “Vinegar” t-shirt. I’ve continued to use Carolina Brewery’s Carolina Dry Rub over the past year, and would recommend it as a go-to rub on pork butt, ribs, burgers, turkey, and steak.

You can also get cookbooks from North Carolina authors like Sam Jones’ autographed cookbook, Matthew Register’s “Southern Smoke” cookbook, Elliott Moss’s cookbook under the Buxton Hall Barbecue name, and last year’s release of Ed and Ryan Mitchell’s cookbook.

Books

My favorite barbecue books ever are as follows (in no particular order): Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina BBQ by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed, Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey by Robb Walsh, The One True Barbecue: Fire, Smoke, and the Pitmasters Who Smoke Whole Hog by Rien Fertel, Black Smoke: African Americas and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller, and finally, Smokestack Lighting: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country by Lolis Eric Elie.

Honorable mention goes to Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue by Daniel Vaughn, Robert Moss’ Barbecue: The History of an American Institution, Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America by Jim Auchmutey, Wyatt McSpadden’s two Texas BBQ books of wonderful photography, Aaron Franklin’s Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto, and Hardcore Carnivore by Jess Pryles.

Apparel

Perhaps I’ve missed it, but Franklin Barbecue’s merchandise is new to me and I’m digging the retro vibes, particularly this grey crew neck and this green dad hat. Weathersbeef has a few hats in a couple of designs including one that simply enough says “Beef.” Rodney Scott’s mantra is “Every day is a good day” and he has an updated t-shirt saying exactly that.

Grilling Tools and Accessories

My essential backyard grilling or barbecue instant thermometer is the Thermapen One. You’ll also likely need grill and meat temperature thermometers, and Thermapen has a version as does Inkbird, who created the world’s first 5G thermometer. The Looft Air Lighter X cordless version is once again half off. Grill Armor heat gloves are a good option to keep your hands away from heat sources. Version two of the Drip EZ BBQ Prep Tub is now available and its ingenious collapsible design makes it easy to store. Hardcore Carnivore always has good stuff, whether its butcher paper, high heat gloves, or various knives. Meat Church is another great source and also has an assortment of rubs, injections, t-shirts, and hats as well as a glencairn sipping glass if you like to drink whiskey while you smoke.

Stocking Stuffers

Are your kids sick of stopping for barbecue? Maybe this kids adventure journal from Barbecue Wife will help your cause. Cheshire Pork has a bacon ketchup, bacon jam (both regular and jalapeno), and various jerky available at their “pantry”. Weathersbeef has a combo pack of his “Bird,” “Beef,” and “Pork” rubs available online. Or perhaps a “Pig Out” coffee mug from Lexington Barbecue to pair with the coffee from Stamey’s mentioned above.

Happy Shopping!

Friday Find: Where There’s (Southern Smoke), There’s Help for Restaurant Workers

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Monk: In 2017, Hurricane Harvey interrupted what had been an annual barbecue festival thrown by Chris Shepard and friends to raise money for MS. Out of that natural disaster, The Southern Smoke Foundation shifted its purpose to become a relief organization dedicated to providing a safety net for food and beverage workers in addition to establish a full time Emergency Relief Fund.

According to its website, to date the Southern Smoke Foundation has granted $528,600 to 367 F+B workers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton with more than 3,000 applications in process.

In the below podcast from Southern Foodways Alliance’s Gravy Podcast, Evan Stern tells the story of the foundation and its Houston-based chef and founder Chris Shepard.

Link

Can a Nashville honky-tonk have true ‘cue?

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Name: Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ at Chief’s
Date:10/12/24
Address: 200 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Order: Pork belly skewer, smoked wings, Whole hog Combo with whole hog, ribs, brisket, turkey plus fries, hush puppies, collards, and mac and cheese; Lil Piggie Combo with whole hog and ribs plus fries and baked beans (link)
Pricing: $$

Speedy: Seven years into my life as a Nashvillian, I’ve learned a few things: 

  1. The hottest level in a hot chicken joint isn’t worth it 
  2. Stay far away from Broadway during CMA Fest
  3. Don’t expect much from the Titans
  4. You’re in for a rough next day if you find yourself on Printer’s Alley late at night
  5. The barbecue is (sadly) better in Memphis, and finally…
  6. Don’t trust the food at the honky-tonks 

Finding out that the whole hog king Rodney Scott was teaming with Eric Church (a North Carolina boy originally from Granite Falls) to open a barbecue joint on top of a honky-tonk right smack in the middle of Broadway gave me hope that the last two might change.

Monk: The Rodney Scott/Eric Church joint venture (backed by the Pihakis Restaurant group on the food side) was originally announced in January 2022. It would open in a location that formerly housed another honky-tonk Cotton Eye Joe, which was owned by John Rich of Big & Rich fame. It was expected to open sometime in 2023 but didn’t actually open until April of this year. While the top two floors are the actual restaurant, they do have a walk-up window on the street level that serves food to hungry patrons on Broadway from breakfast through dinner. 

Speedy: Our group of six got to Rodney Scott’s ahead of the dinner rush and were seated pretty quickly on the 5th floor of Chief’s (the lower of the two floors devoted to Rodney Scott’s). The dining area is fairly small but there are seats at the bar too as well as a smoker room right off to the side. Definitely not your typical barbecue joint. In true Barbecue Bros fashion, Monk and I ordered a bit of everything on behalf of the group, which they happily obliged. Food was delivered quickly, so we dug in.

No surprises here, but the whole hog took the proverbial cake and was the crowd favorite. Peppery and tender, every bite had a bit of smoke and was as good as I’d had from Rodney Scott in Charleston (alas, I have not been to Hemingway). The whole hog alone is reason to visit Rodney Scott’s. It is a must order item and I am ready to declare it the best smoked pork in Nashville.

Monk: Best in Nashville? That’s high praise! The ribs were the consensus second favorite meat of the meal, or perhaps even 1a to the whole hog depending on who you asked. The man just knows his way around a rack of ribs. What was less successful, and perhaps expectedly so, was the brisket. Compared with the rest of the meats, it simply failed to measure up.

Turkey may not have been the crowd favorite but it was a very solid meat that gave us a respite from the other, richer meats. Another mark in the “pro” column for ordering turkey at barbecue joints.

Speedy: The wings were another standout meat, with solid seasoning and good smoke. I preferred this as an appetizer to the pork belly skewer. While I do love a good meat on a stick, I thought the pork belly was a little overcooked, and slightly tough.

Monk: As for sides, we got a few different options: collards, baked beans, mac and cheese, fries, hush puppies, and cornbread. All were above average and our group more or less finished what was there between the two platters. 

Next time I’m honky-tonkin’ on Lower Broadway, I’m going to steer the group towards both Chief’s for the drinks and music as well as Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ for food. Not to mention the rooftop bar for drinks if the weather’s nice. I mean, at what other bar can you get food from a James Beard Award-winning pitmaster?

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Whole hog – 4.5 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 4.5 hogs
Turkey – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

How the BBQ Community Rallied Around Western NC in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene

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Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.

Monk: On September 27th, Hurricane Helene made its way to the mountains of North Carolina and wreaked once-in-a-hundred years worth of damage, referred on some accounts as “pure devastation and chaos.” Entire towns were reduced to rubble, roads and highways washed away from landslides, and hundreds of thousands of lives were changed forever.

Having grown up in North Carolina for nearly all my life, I (along with many others) have a fondness for that part of the state which is approximately 2+ hours west of Charlotte. Not only Asheville, the most well known of the affected cities, but smaller communities like Linville Gorge, Chimney Rock, Hot Springs, Hendersonville, Little Switzerland, and countless other towns set amongst the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

The barbecue community has unfortunately become quite good at responding to these types of events. The bad news is that the road to recovery is only beginning but the good news is that help is coming from a number of places: international and national organizations, barbecue restaurants from the unaffected parts of the state, and local restaurants in western NC that are in a fortunate position to help out.

As has become an unfortunately regular occurrence, World Central Kitchen and Chef José Andrés were on the ground pretty much from the beginning, much as they have done over the past 14 years in places such as Haiti, Türkiye, Syria, Gaza, as well as throughout the US. They have been offering hot meals to anyone affected by the natural disaster as well as first responders such as the National Guard, Army, and FEMA. In western NC they’ve set up their hub at Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ in Asheville and with help from Goldsboro-based Cheshire Pork they are feeding the communities of Asheville, Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Bat Cave, Bakersville, amongst others.

Similarly, Operation BBQ Relief is on the ground in Florida, Georgia, and NC offering free meals to individuals as well as bulk meals for churches, schools, or neighborhoods and Big Green Egg is also matching donations to Operation BBQ Relief’s Rally for Recovery fundraiser up to $50,000. And in an unfortunate circumstance, they are already on the ground for the next storm, Hurricane Milton, which is set to hit Florida this week.

In the central and eastern parts of North Carolina that weren’t affected as much by Helene, barbecue restaurants are also coordinating donations to bring safely to the mountains. In the Triangle region, both Lawrence Barbecue in Durham and Dampf Good BBQ in Cary collected donations of essential items such as bottled water, diapers, baby formula, while Clyde Cooper’s BBQ in Raleigh collected pet food and supplies and Blues on Franklin in Chapel Hill donated pre-cooked barbecue in addition to essential supplies.

Similarly, in the Charlotte Midwood Smokehouse collected essential items at their Plaza Midwood location for donation while Sweet Lew’s BBQ and the Carolina BBQ Festival used their already-planned Fall Pig Pickin’ on October 6th to collect donations and supplies for the relief effort before Sweet Lew’s set up at Regina’s in west Asheville on Tuesday to feed those in need. Jon G’s Barbecue conducted a blanket drive in preparation for the coming winter and also donated wood and supplies directly to Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue for their efforts (more on that later).

Then there are the barbecue restaurants in the western part of the state that are doing their part even as they were in the affected areas. In the small town of Little Switzerland off the Blue Ridge Parkway, the NC Historic Barbecue Trail joint Switzerland Cafe and General Store are not only offering free snacks, water, and over-the-counter meds in front of their cafe but are also acting as a central distribution center as well as a Starlink hotspot with a generator so folks can charge phones and make calls to reach loved ones.

Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue is a firefighter-owned barbecue trailer that regularly operates in cities between Asheville and Bryson City towards the far western part of the state. They too are also feeding people in need, in part from generous donations from Sysco, TMG Pits out of Knoxville, Jon G’s Barbecue, and even individual citizens.

Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue has also partnered with Unkie’s Seasoning out of Franklin, VA to donate a portion of sales of their seasonings and rubs to the Team Ryan Project to support firefighters and their families.

I will add, this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the barbecue restaurants and individuals throughout the state are conducting similar efforts, whether it be feeding those in need or first responders, collecting donations, or donating supplies. The road to recovery and rebuild in western NC is only beginning and will be marked in years instead of months, but one thing I’m certain of is that the barbecue community will continue to do its part long after the nightmare that was Hurricane Helene has left our memories.

If you are inclined to send money, you can donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund here.

North Carolina State Parks and Recreation staff raised the flag back at Chimney Rock on September 30th