The next generation of barbecue has arrived
One weekend last October, some of the America’s top young pitmasters gathered on a pig farm just outside Durham, North Carolina, to participate in an event called the N.C. Barbecue Revival.
On undulating farmland, the cooks, veiled in wood smoke, tended their creations while Duroc and Berkshire pigs trundled freely in the surrounding woods. Without setting out to, these pitmasters — they’re all in their 30s and opened their places in just the past few years — were making a statement: the next generation of barbecue has arrived.
Tyson Ho of Brooklyn’s Arrogant Swine slow smoked a lamb, which he would season with fermented red chiles, fennel and Sichuan peppercorns. John Lewis of Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, S.C., prepared gargantuan beef short ribs. Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., kept a watchful eye on several glistening beef briskets.
In the past, such contributions would be shunned as invasive species in pork country.
Meanwhile, Sam Jones, the scion of a prominent North Carolina barbecue family, and Wyatt Dickson, who helped organize the event, supervised the cooking of a trench-cooked whole hog.
The hog was a reminder of where barbecue had come from, while the other offerings showed where it was going.
“There are less and less rules,” said Elliott Moss, a co-owner and pitmaster at the retro-modern Buxton Hall BBQ in Asheville, N.C.
Moss was cooking Brussels sprouts seasoned with cider vinegar, onions and garlic in a wok over a wood fire in a burn barrel. The coals from the burned wood were shovelled beneath the hog in the trench. Drippings from the hog then flavoured pots of vegetables, a technique Moss uses at his restaurant.
At his restaurant, the Smoked Pimento Cheese appetizer modernizes the traditional Southern dish by using smoked cheese and fermented red bell pepper, which replaces the pimento. “It adds an extra layer of umami,” he said.
It’s hard to imagine an older generation of pitmasters throwing around the word “umami.” But the Revival, so-named to reclaim a cuisine once seen as dying in the state, was intended to showcase the up-andcomers, new lingo and all. “I feel like I’m a steward of North Carolina barbecue,” said Dickson. “It’s an extremely large part of our culture. So, I want to respect tradition but not let tradition blind you, which is something that can happen in the South.”
Dickson is the pitmaster at Picnic, a barbecue restaurant in Durham that opened in 2014. He co-owns the business with chef Ben Adams and financial adviser-turned-farmer Ryan Butler. Together, they epitomize some of the new approaches.
Butler owns the pig farm where the Revival took place. He pasture-raises the heritage hogs that Dickson smokes. Adams creates a mix of traditional and upscale side dishes — think Brunswick stew and marinated kale salad. Dickson smokes the whole hog in a heavy-gauged, doublewalled steel pit completely unlike traditional brick pits.
“I knew I couldn’t stand there, chained to the pit, with a shovel in my hand 24 hours a day,” Dickson said. “That’s why North Carolina barbecue was dying out. Nobody wants to pick that shovel up. They’ve seen that lifestyle and they’ve said, ‘No, thank you.’ I wanted to find a way to make this more sustainable. Sometimes, you have to change to stay around.”
This year, Houston Chronicle barbecue columnist J.C. Reid wrote, “In many ways, the millennial generation I’ve observed is good news for the future of barbecue.”
He cited several pitmasters, among them 29-year-old Laura Loomis at Two Bros. BBQ in San Antonio, Texas. “You picture a pitmaster with leather skin and all that,” she told me by phone. “Now, it’s just younger kids. It’s really cool. We talk about how we want to get together and maybe do a festival in a year or two. Because we’re new, it’s like, ‘Can they do it?’ “
Two Bros. BBQ uses six wood-fueled offset pits. The menu skews traditional, but the cherry-glazed baby back pork ribs break with the Texas norm of no sauces or glazes. Cherry is very different from the usual tomato-based sauces. And spare ribs are far more common than baby backs.
Cherry-Glazed Baby Back Ribs
2 to 4 servings In San Antonio, Texas, at Two Bros. BBQ, pitmaster Laura Loomis serves baby back ribs in a cherry glaze; this recipe makes a cross between a sauce and a glaze that can be served at the table. You’ll need 1 cup of apple, pecan, oak or cherry wood chips or 6 fist-size chunks; replenish coals as necessary. MAKE AHEAD: You’ll probably have spice rub left over. It keeps well in a sealed container in the pantry for up to a month. Ingredients For the rub and ribs 3 tablespoons sweet paprika 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon granulated garlic (garlic powder) 1 tablespoon granulated onion 1 tablespoon ground ancho pepper 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper 1 rack (about 2 ½ pounds) baby back ribs For the glaze 1 cup cherry preserves 6 ounces tart cherry juice ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest and 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon) 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 chipotle pepper in adobo (from a can), diced ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Steps For the rub and meat: Whisk together the paprika, salt, granulated garlic and onion, ancho chile pepper, light brown sugar, and the cayenne, black and white black peppers in a bowl, until lump-free. The yield is about 2/3 cup.
For the glaze: Combine the cherry preserves, cherry juice, lemon zest and juice, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, butter, diced chipotle, salt and pepper in a large pan over medium heat, stirring until well incorporated. Once the mixture begins to bubble at the edges, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to form a slightly thickened sauce.
Transfer to a food processor; purée until smooth. Pour into a bowl for use later to baste the ribs. The yield is about 2 cups.
Place the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet, meat side down. You’ll see a thin membrane on the bone side; some say this prevents flavour from penetrating the meat and is papery to chew on. But pulling it off can be a little tricky, and a lot of ribs are served with the membrane still on. The choice is yours. If you opt to remove it, slide a small, sharp knife beneath the membrane to cut it enough so that you can grab it with your hands and pull it off. The best place to insert the knife is in the midsection, so that you can tear off one side and then the other.
Coat both sides of the ribs with the rub, working it into the meat. (You may have some rub left over.)
Prepare the grill for indirect heat. If using a gas grill, turn the heat to high. Drain the chips and put them in a smoker box or foil packet poked with a few fork holes to release the smoke; set it between the grate and the briquettes, close to the flame. When you see smoke, reduce the heat to medium (375 to 400 degrees). Turn off the burners on one side.
If using a charcoal grill, light the charcoal or briquettes; when the briquettes are ready, distribute them on one side of the grill. For a medium fire, you should be able to hold your hand 6 inches above the coals for 6 or 7 seconds. Drain the chips and scatter them over the coals. Have ready a spray water bottle for taming any flames.
Set the rack of ribs meat side down directly over the coals; grill for 5 minutes, then turn them over (bone side down) and repeat.
Move the ribs to the cool side of the grill, bone side down. Close the lid. Smoke the meat until it is browned and tender, 3 to 3 ½ hours.
In the last half hour, baste the meat with the cherry glaze at least three times, or every 7 to 10 minutes.
Use tongs to transfer the ribs to a cutting board; let them rest for about 10 minutes before cutting them apart between the bones.
Pile onto a platter. Serve warm, drizzled with more of the glaze.
Smoked Pimento Cheese
8 to 10 servings (makes about 3 ½ cups) Smoked cheddar, fire-roasted peppers and herbes de Provence go into this cheffy makeover of the Southern classic that is common to contemporary barbecue. Serve with crackers or toast points, or as a sandwich filling. MAKE AHEAD: The cheese can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Adapted from “Buxton Hall BBQ Book of Smoke,” by Elliott Moss Ingredients 12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3 packed cups) 4 ounces smoked mild cheddar, shredded (1 packed cup) 2 tablespoons finely diced roasted red pepper ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s 3 tablespoons sour cream 1 tablespoon spicy whole-grain mustard 1 tablespoon Texas Pete hot sauce (may substitute Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce) ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon herbes de Provence 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder) 1/8 teaspoon onion powder Steps Combine the extra-sharp cheddar, smoked cheddar, roasted red pepper, mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, hot sauce, black pepper, herbes de Provence and garlic and onion powders in a mixing bowl, stirring until well incorporated.
Serve or store in an airtight container (for up to a week).