Corporate money and the cutthroat “do anything to win” attitude has ruined BBQ cook-offs. And artisan barbecue is becoming rare in restaurants. But cook-offs and restaurants aren’t where American barbecue came from anyway. The oldest barbecue tradition in America, the community barbecue, continues largely unnoticed in churches, clubs and lodge…
On Friday, March 23, Vencil Mares of Taylor Cafe in Taylor, Texas received the 2nd Annual Foodways Texas Lifetime Achievement Award at that organization’s symposium in Austin. In World War II, Vencil served as corpsman during the invasion of Normandy. When he got home, he took a job at Southside…
The first whole hog I ever barbecued came out amazing–but then again, I had a lot of help. Starting with Morgan Weber, my pig farmer/butcher. The meat had a melt-in-your-mouth texture, thanks to the marbling on the Red Wattle/Mangdalista heritage hybrid Morgan bred for his Houston store, Revival Market. Morgan’s…
Is injecting a great technique–or a nasty habit? My traditionalist barbecue friends think injecting a pork shoulder or whole hog with brine or flavorings is heresy. The pitmasters of yesteryear certainly didn’t do it. But injecting is standard procedure on the barbecue cook-off circuit. Most competitors, like Chris Lily and…
At El Hidalguense, the Huatecan restaurant on Long Point Road in Houston, barbacoa de borrego is the special on Sundays. The seasoned lamb is cooked in a built-in pit lined with maguey leaves. The rich broth from the bottom of the pot is the first course, followed by barbecue lamb…
My friend Richard Flores, a veteran barbecue cook-off competitor, has always wanted to cook whole hogs in a classic Southern pit. And I have to come up with a whole hog recipe for my upcoming Southern barbecue cookbook. So we decided to work together on the project. I showed him…
Houston “Where the Chefs Eat” Culinary Tours are offered by the Houston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Sunday, February 26, 2012: World BBQ with Chef Chris Shepherd and Robb Walsh Underbelly’s Chef Chris Shepherd and Cookbook Author Robb Walsh team up to showcase the best—and culturally-inspired—BBQ Houston has to offer. Of…
Sorry! If the Black Cowboy BBQ Cook-Off gets rescheduled, we’ll let you know!
The Southern Foodways Alliance filmmaker, Joe York, has been working on a big project for the last few years. The feature length project formerly titled “Southern Food, The Movie” and now called “Pride & Joy” is nearing release. Looks like its going to be shown first on Public Television stations…
At Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro, North Carolina they cook whole hogs over wood coals in the pit house out back behind the restaurant. The pit house actually has a built-in fireplace, but it is no longer used. “It feels like 400 degrees in there with all the pits cooking and…
