Friday Find: Raleigh’s Dampf Good BBQ on The NC F&B Podcast

Monk: Dampf Good BBQ has recently come onto the Raleigh barbecue scene, bringing a distinctly Texas take to the pork-centric capital. Here, Nick Dampf sits down with The NC F&B Guys and describes, among other things, his background, approach to barbecue, and the intricacies of smoking on a dual 1000 gallon behemoth of a pit.

Description: We sat down with Nick Dampf himself to talk about his transition from Cisco sales rep to a full-time pitmaster (a term Nick’s too humble to use). We learned:

  • What do you get when you mix weekend pop-ups, Texas style BBQ, and a 2000 gallon smoker? Dampf Good BBQ of course!
  • How to work on a behemoth smoker
  • why the interest in pork steak is.

Monk’s Favorite Barbecue of 2021

Monk: While my hunch is that I had roughly as much barbecue as last year, I suspect the ratio of mediocre barbecue to great barbecue was higher than in past years. There’s always highlights to pick out, but let’s hope next year is a more favorable ratio.

In alphabetical order:

Jon G’s remains the gold standard for the Charlotte area. And it seems that the rest of the southeast is starting to catch on with Eater Carolinas naming them “Barbecue Restaurant of the Year” and Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn raving about them in an article from mid 2021. The future for Garren and Kelly remain bright.

Chopped pork sandwich from Noble Smoke – Charlotte, NC

Some of the meats at Noble Smoke can be a little hit or miss for me, but the Lexington-style chopped barbecue sandwich is ever reliable.

Speedy has said he often thinks the ribs at Peg Leg Porker are the best in the state of Tennessee, and who am I to argue? The full wings are also a must-order.

Randy’s ribs are a sub-regional variety with a sauce that I understand is found primarily in the Savannah area. It expanded my framework as to what barbecue is in different parts of the US.

Life-changing whole hog. So far I’ve only made it to Sam Jones’ outpost in Raleigh but I can’t wait to try this same tray at Skylight Inn this spring.

Sausage, wings, hash and rice, ribs, brisket, and turkey from Sweet Lew’s BBQ – Charlotte, NC (link to post)

Between the house-made sausage, the barbecue hash, and Lewis Donald’s ever-constant tweaking of his main meats, Sweet Lew’s continues to evolve, and I’m here for the the journey.

It’s a shame that Whispering Pines was takeout only but I’ll make the hour drive to Albemarle again I’m sure. Great Lexington-style barbecue.

Linkdown: 10/13/21

Featured

Campbell won the inaugural BBQ Bowl against Gardner-Webb this past Saturday, pulling ahead late in the fourth quarter after recovering a muffed punt before scoring the go-ahead touchdown. They would go on to tack on another touchdown making the final score 42-28.

While the initial image of the trophy (which was likely a mockup instead of the real trophy) roused the ire of Iowa fans for allegedly being a copy of the Floyd of Rosedale trophy between Iowa and Minnesota, it turns out that the actual trophy was something much more cuddly.

Initial mockup:

Floyd of Rosedale trophy:

Actual trophy:

Back to barbecue matters…after the game the teams were treated to a post-game dinner of Red Bridges Barbecue as a result of Gardner-Webb losing the barbecue bet. Better than the White Swan that would have been served had Campbell lost.

More details of the game here

Native News

The NC State Fair starts this week

Clark’s Barbecue in Kernersville was the last stop on John Tanner’s barbecue tour of the piedmont

At Mac’s Speed Shop, beef ribs and bacon-wrapped jalapenos are two of the prep-intensive items that are being taken off the menu for now

Non-Native News

Whole-hog continues to catch on in Texas

Tales from the Pits tries to guess the next Texas Monthly Top 50; the list is published later this month

Roegels is expanding to Katy

Hecho in Texas is a Cameron, TX joint trying to feed its locals the best way they know how

Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire, TX , Eem in Portland, and Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, AR make The New York Times’ Restaurant List

Friday Find: “How Pitmaster Matt Horn Developed His Signature ‘West Coast-Style’ Barbecue in Oakland”

Monk: Eater’s Smoke Point continues to roll out the content, this time going behind the scene with Matt Horn of Oakland’s Horn Barbecue. Instead of the tri-tip one might expect in California, Horn is putting out Central Texas-style barbecue mostly cooked by feel instead of temperature. Horn BBQ finally opened last fall to a lot of hype and by all accounts is delivering. For more eater

Description: Horn Barbecue pitmaster Matt Horn fell in love with barbecue from a young age, when he learned to get a feel for how to make juicy, tender, and smoky brisket, ribs, and other meats from his grandfather’s smoker without even using a thermometer. Now, he cultivates his “West Coast-style” barbecue, inspired by a combination of Central Texas barbecue, traditions from the deep south, and Horn’s Bay Area roots, at his restaurant in Oakland.