Eater visits pitmaster James Woodard at Smokin Woods BBQ in Oakland
*DISCLAIMER: Smokin Woods BBQ has moved! New address is at 4307 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA, 94609*
Cooking in America is back and in Oakland, California! On today’s episode, Sheldon Simeon is at Smokin’ Woods BBQ to meet James Woodard and a lot of his family.
– The origin story of the great Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque, the next great pitmaster (who’s already here)
Though he’s been a restaurant owner and full-time pitmaster for just four years, Furman, 37, already sits among the greats. Maybe it’s because he swaps out typical commodity pork for whole heritage-breed hogs he raised himself. (“Nobody else was doing that,” Furman says, “Not in a barbecue restaurant.”) Maybe it’s his unique Carolina-meets-Georgia style sauce, a sweet and tangy blend of mustard and fresh peaches. (“He does everything different,” says Nikki Furman, his wife and business partner.)
Been working on this piece since I was still in #ATL and v excited to finally share it! A look into the indomitable Bryan Furman of @bscracklinbbq — not only imho the world’s best bbq but also “revolutionary” according to @KosherSoul. And there’s a video! https://t.co/qXRtgwgZwF
— Hilary Cadigan (@hilarycadigan) June 25, 2018
– B’s Cracklin Barbeque and a few other Barbecue Bro faves are on this Eater list of best Atlanta barbecue
– Eater’s got a list of barbecue in New York City, too
– Meet the Executive Pitmaster for Midwood Smokehouse’s 4 locations, Matt Berry
Meet the executive pitmaster and the upscale executive chef behind the craft barbecue at Midwood Smokehouse. https://t.co/xFIeLzsQ4d #Partner #CLT5 @MidwoodBBQ @aliciarthomas pic.twitter.com/ixVeWwu42F
— CharlotteFive (@CharlotteFive) June 26, 2018
– Noble Smoke is one of Charlotte Agenda’s 9 most-anticipated restaurants and bars opening in Charlotte by the end of 2018 (wow that’s not a brief title)
– The Takeout has a crash course on Chinese barbecue, which isn’t wood-smoked like American barbecue
– Houston foodwriter J.C. Reid on the expanding role of the pitmaster
Another responsibility is that of barbecue ambassador. Pitmasters are asked to travel to distant locations to cook for an event or speak on a panel. In this case, the pitmaster isn’t just drawn away from working the pits — he’s often absent from his barbecue joint for days at a time.
– 8 Austin barbecue sandwiches that break the mold
– This Travel + Leisure list of the 25 best places for barbecue in the U.S. is based on Yelp and is…certainly a list
– Reminder: Daniel Vaughn’s Smokelandia airs its pilot episode tonight
– Registration is now open for October’s Tour de Pig in Lexington
Ready. Set. Ride! 27th Annual Tour de Pig-Saturday, Oct. 13th
Registration is OPEN! #letsride🚲#tourdepig #bicyclesandBBQ #100K #50k #35k #20k https://t.co/i8efjVs2SE
— Tour de Pig (@tourdepig) June 26, 2018
Barbecue legend Rodney Scott is eyeing New York for next whole hog outpost https://t.co/t8vgkFOQda pic.twitter.com/FnftV45DbS
— Eater NY (@EaterNY) June 14, 2018
Fresh off his James Beard Award win, Rodney Scott was in town earlier this month for the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party and stopped by Eater’s NY office for a quick chat about barbecue and a potential expansion to NYC.
Link to podcast in above link or here
…the only reason he hasn’t opened up in NYC already is that he hasn’t found the right building yet. “The space is very important as well as the people around it,” he says. “You want the residents and the neighbors to be comfortable with what you’re bringing.”
Unfortunately I didn’t make it to any barbecue restaurants in Memphis eventhough Payne’s, Central, German Commissary, Bar-B-Que Shop all would have been worthy excursions from the festival. Here’s a taste of what I missed.
The birthplace of Southern barbecue as we know it is almost impossible to nail down; cities from across America’s “barbecue belt” are responsible for different flavor profiles and techniques that have grown and shaped the cuisine’s history. Today, we visit Memphis for an inside look at the smoky, meaty dishes coming out of Tennessee.
Arrogant Swine in Bushwick demonstrates a Carolina whole hog technique on a whole lamb.
On today’s fresh episode of Prime Time, Ben Turley and Brent Young head to a barbecue restaurant called Arrogant Swine, to meet up with Tyson Ho, an expert in North Carolina barbecue. The guys talk whole animal barbecue, and why cooking whole lambs makes so much sense.
Before this video, I wasn’t aware that Cuba had a lechon tradition somewhat similar to the Philippines. Now La Esquina Del Lechon in Miami doesn’t cook over a wood fire, but even though this isn’t technically barbecue they look to achieve the roasted whole pig with crispy skin not too dissimilar to Filipino lechon and some places like Skylight Inn that chop the crispy skin into the whole hog.
In the first episode of Dining on a Dime Miami, Lucas heads to La Esquina Del Lechon to check out a whole-roast pig that is a local favorite, and always starts a party.
I’ve still yet to go to Pecan Lodge (Rudy liked it a lot) but when I do go I plan to bring some friends and get The Trough.
Ask a Texan what their favorite smokehouse is and the answers will span the state. Ask someone from Dallas, and chances are you’ll hear the name Pecan Lodge thrown around. With the help and desire of their following, Pecan Lodge owners Justin and Diane Fourton turned their brisket out of a truck business into a brick and mortar restaurant that’s hard to miss thanks to a constant line out the door.
– A promising new barbecue joint has opened up in Manteo on the Outer Banks, Carolina Bar-B-Que Company
Behind the smokehouse, owner Mike Weaver raises an axe in an arc over his shoulders. The blade comes down sure and fast and cleaves a broad section of pecan trunk in two. This is barbecue at its most basic level, starting with the wood. Weaver is in his element, living his dream, but it was a long time in the making.
– Virginia is still at it:
#Virginia is the true motherland of #Southern #barbecue #BBQ https://t.co/FgLa1vPXYB #WednesdayWisdom #food #smokeandsalt #virginialiving pic.twitter.com/tGiPsL6nMv
— Virginia Living (@VirginiaLiving) November 8, 2017
– The story of how a Benson, NC man went from a NC State Barbecue Camp to a state whole hog champion in about 18 months
– The Greenville-Pitt Community Visitor’s Bureau continues to advertise the Pitt County Brew and ‘Cue Trail
– Wisconsin-style barbecue? Really?
“It’s going to be tangy with a little bit of sweet, but not mustard tangy, not Carolina barbecue,” Stahl said. “I focus on my rub. I use European spices that reflect my Czech and eastern European heritage. I personally don’t like sauce on my barbecue. I put a lot of work into the smoke and rub, so I don’t think it needs that much sauce.”
– Franklin Barbecue remains in Bill Addison’s 38 Essential Restaurants in America
– Great story on Stan Hays, the man behind Operation BBQ Relief
Vote for the CNN Hero of the Year https://t.co/MkgzSomt7H – Meet Top 10 CNN Hero STAN HAYS! https://t.co/KcGhirMmUg@OpBBQRelief#CNNHeroes
— CNN Heroes (@CNNHeroes) November 2, 2017
– Good use of Twitter’s new 280 character limit or great use?
🍖🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖🍖🍖🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖🍖🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖 🍖
🍖🍖🍖— Jimmy Ho (@TheSmokingHo) November 8, 2017
Barbecue and free beer on top of a mountain in Hawaii? That definitely sounds like paradise. Eater’s Dining on an Dime makes the trek.
In this episode of Dining on a Dime, host Lucas Peterson heads to Hi-BBQ, food truck on top of a remote wind farm in Kahuku, Hawaii. This couple-owned truck is serves up brisket, pulled pork, and smoked pineapple sausage, and free beer. It also comes with quite the view.
Why Franklin will never open a second barbecue restaurant:
“There aren’t enough cows,” Franklin says. It takes 53 cows per day to keep up with current operations, and these are a special kind of cow. “I even struggle now to get enough [brisket],” he adds. The market is so small that when fast-food chain Arby’s hopped on the brisket trend, it drove up the cost of brisket for Franklin by $2. “We don’t use commodity brisket at all,” he explains. “But once the commodity supply runs out, then people start trying to upgrade, and that’s where we got into trouble.”
Additionally, this podcast was the first I had heard about the way that Franklin is branching out – and that’s in the custom-built barbecue pits for the backyard barbecue enthusiast. He has hired 2 fulltime welders in Austin (and may be hiring up to 2 more as of the time this podcast was recorded) who are helping to fabricate the pits made of high quality steel and weighing in the range of about 600 pounds. Right now you can sign up for the newsletter at franklinbbqpits.com and they will go on sale next Spring/Summer.
Read more on the conversation and podcast here
