The slow cooking of meats over various types of wood and charcoals has been around since the 1800s and can trace its roots overseas to locales in Africa and Asia and locally to Native Americans. The technique of using low temperatures over long hours created a way to turn what were once considered “tough” or undesirable cuts of meat into smoky delicacies. But its more than just the finished product that is so important, it’s also the process.
The Passing On of Knowledge and Tradition Creates a Bond Between People.
-Me
Food has always brought folks together and good BBQ is no different. You put out a fine spread of juicy pulled pork, perfect beef brisket and those fall off the bone ribs and you will have friends you never knew you had. Best of all, some of those friends are going to want to learn how to BBQ for themselves. Like a person wanting to know how a good magician pulls off sleight of hand, a potential pitmaster will get the bug to smoke his own brisket and share his great food with others.
I admit to having been somewhat ignorant about how BIG BBQ has become. Travelling through North Carolina with my bookend from our old football days one thing we noticed was how the pitmasters at the various eateries we visited spoke about one another. BBQ has become a big-time sport with money contests throughout the country every year, Events like the Great BBQ Battle in Washington DC in June or the American Royal World Series of BBQ in Kansas City in September will literally draw hundreds of competitors and thousands of visitors this year. Even with the obvious competitiveness in BBQ we noticed a distinct camaraderie even among those who didn’t know each other personally. One of the questions that we inevitably asked at every restaurant was:
Ok So Other Than Your BBQ Who Else Do You Like?
Who Else Should We Talk To?
I fully expected the people to be very tight to the vest about suggesting any place other than their own. After all business is business and you don’t expect people to send potential customers and $$$ to the competition. To our surprise EVERYONE shared someplace that they thought did things right. If we talked to Debbie at Clyde Coopers she’d tell us to head over to Speedy’s and once at Speedy’s Buzz would say “hey you’ve got to try Bridges” and so on and so forth. This went on the whole time we were in Carolina. No matter if it was eastern Carolina or west, despite the distinct differences between the two regions and their BBQ philosophy there was a tangible bond.
Hey Not Everyone Does This
Only those who have can truly understand what the experience is all about. Pitmasters respect the effort of their peers. They respect the difficulty of the process and how important it is for your product to be CONSISTENT. Instead of pettiness we found recognition. Instead of jealousy we found admiration. .It was surprising, genuine and thoroughly enjoyable.
As we returned home I remember asking. “Did we meet any ass@#les the entire time we were down here?”
We couldn’t think of one. Amazing.
Stay Tuned
Our next BBQ safari will bring us further south and eventually west as Rhode Island BBQ News continues to explore the fascinating and diverse BBQ landscape and bring back our tales of smoked meat adventure.
I expect to find the unexpected, but I am also pretty sure of one thing we will find. A culture of respect and admiration amongst all those that share the passion of making great food for customers friends and family.
chip@ribbqnews.com
