The Washington Post’s report on North Carolina BBQ has brought out the “long knives” in the comments section, as some Texans have taken exception to Carolinians turning down their noses at Texas style BBQ brisket.
I’ve only tasted poor imitations of TX brisket in the north, and I prefer the sacred smoked hog anyway. I’m willing to give the NC Lexington style BBQ another try…if they go easy on the vinegar. LOL. So for the time being I will just have to continue live with the scorn that my southern and old grad school buddy heaped upon me; “don’t listen to him, he likes that sweet NORTHERN barbeque.” Guilty as charged!
One of the more fun parts of our trip down south in the summer of 2014 was tasting the BBQ in different states-we were in GA, NC,SC and Tennessee. H, who grew up in Seattle, but was raised by Louisiana natives, is not a fan of BBQ that requires you to add sauce after cooking (Texas), nor of mustard based (some in GA) or vinegar based (NC). Our favorite was found at two small places in Atlanta, in parts of town where I was the only white person, where the sauce was decidedly NOT mustard-based. One place we went back to the next night. You chose the heat level on ordering, and could then add more sauce at the table from a choice of several. There’s a place in the CD in Seattle with very similar BBQ.
Edited to add-H has become something of a brisket expert-makes his own on a pellet smoker. I anticipate special occasions with glee, knowing there will be brisket.
Have Seattle folks finally taken to BBQ? Back in the day there seemed to be no BBQ shops in town and every family I knew grilled their own meat for summer cookouts, usually ribs. Never saw pulled pork in the Pacific Northwest when I was a lad. There was a joint on Capitol Hill that tossed hot links on the grill with sauce and sold it as BBQ. I think it was called ‘Brothers BBQ.’
Oh, this place was there 50 years ago. You just had to know where to go, bring cash, and know not to bother on Sundays. There are various places around town now, but this place and a guy who was taught by the owners with a spot down in Columbia City are the only 2 H will pay to eat BBQ. Home of Good BBQ, once served MLK, Jr. and Willie’s Taste of Soul.
BBQ hit NYC in a big way 10 or 15 years ago. Most of it is pretty good now.
I got introduced to real BBQ in 1979 when I was on a roadtrip with a friend and were eating at all the restaurants mentioned in Calvin Trillin’s Alice Let’s Eat. (His favorite BBQ is Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City.) I have to admit that’s still the gold standard BBQ for me. I introduced DH to it when we drove my stuff from NYC to LA - and then we explored all the BBQ in LA. (I’ll never forget a women in Watts telling DH who had innocently asked if the ribs were beef or pork, “There’s only one kind of ribs, white boy, and that’s pork ribs.”) DH and my younger son like brisket best as long as it’s fatty enough to pick up plenty of smoke flavor. We also like pulled pork with a vinegary sauce. The only sauce I really don’t like are those yellow mustard sauces, but I don’t run into them too often.
I would never get in a war over BBQ it’s all good, rubs, sauces, pulled pork, ribs, brisket.
@sseamom In Texas, if you are adding sauce, you are doing it wrong. Before cooking, after cooking…it doesn’t matter. Sure, you will see some people use sauce, but that is just hiding poorly smoked meat.
For me, it is all good. This is America. We can have it all!
