‘Cue the applause
Hub chefs put New England spin on BBQ
Andy Husbands has competed in hundreds of national barbecue competitions with IQUE, his expotrotting team of chefs. Years of experience and accolades — IQUE was the first New England team to win the Jack Daniel's World BBQ Championships, the genre's Olympics — have culminated in the Smoke Shop, Husbands' barbecue restaurant that opened in Cambridge in June. It's a rib-slinging, rock 'n' roll roadhouse riding the latest crest in barbecue's wave of popularity.
Though Yankees aren't known for barbecue, more ambitious Boston chefs are honoring a deep-rooted American culinary craft with many regional variations, even undertaking elaborate cross-country road trips as research. They're also developing new ideas that could coalesce into a barbecue style that finally reflects New England's food culture.
“We're in the middle of a craft revolution, and people are finally starting to see barbecue for what it is: a craft,” said Husbands, whose second 'cue cookbook, co-authored with IQUE teammate Chris Hart, is due next spring. Husbands, also behind eclectic South End restaurant Tremont 647, believes the laborintensive nature of barbecue — reliant on many hours' worth of perfectly smoking, seasoning and otherwise deftly managing methodically sourced meats — resonates in a landscape where diners increasingly appreciate the personal handiwork that goes into what they consume.
The Smoke Shop reflects its well-traveled chef-owner, culling multiple traditions while interjecting individuality. Memphis-style dry-rub ribs are smoked over New England-sourced cherry and oak wood, rather than Southern mesquite. An unconventional brisket sandwich, topped with kimchi and gochujang ranch, playfully references Husbands' Eastern cuisine interests.
Locally, the 'cue craze was catalyzed partly by “Top Chef” runner-up Tiffani Faison. When she opened Sweet Cheeks Q in 2011, a few popular outfits, such as Blue Ribbon BBQ and Redbones BBQ, were already diligently representing barbecue in Boston.
But Faison, raised as a “military brat” with stints living throughout the South, brought celeb-chefinfused buzz. Sweet Cheeks was a hit for its star power and sourcing that “lets the meat quality shine,” said Faison, who works with heritage pork, Montana-raised beef and other superior cuts. With chef de cuisine Dan Raia, Faison also traveled the so-called “Texas
BBQ Trail” for additional inspiration, even naming her 4,700-pound smoker Tootsie after Texas' Tootsie Tomanetz, one of the country's pioneering, preeminent female pitmasters.
“There was a market for barbecue out there,” Faison said. “We saw that opportunity. Barbecue is part of a larger pride you're seeing in Americana culture.”
“You're definitely seeing a lot more attention paid to barbecue,” added chef John Delpha of Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar, who discovered barbecue during his days as an Army helicopter pilot and once conducted a three-week road trip researching regional barbecue, traveling down the East Coast, across the Deep South and through Appalachia. Rosebud's strong smoking program covers everything from sauce-slathered St. Louis ribs to Texas-style brisket.
Rosebud, which serves down-home fare out of a historic neon-lit diner car in Somerville, isn't strictly a barbecue restaurant, but it's among several spots newly stressing the stuff: South Boston's Coppersmith, the West End's Causeway and famed Fenway sports bar Cask 'n Flagon have all turned up the heat on 'cue.
Expect to see more. Bergamot chef-owner Keith Pooler and chef de cuisine Scott Schuyler just launched Scott Brothers New American Meat Co., a barbecue-focused pop-up dining concept and catering biz. The team had its Bergamot-based public rollout with dinner and takeout service over July Fourth weekend, with still-formulating plans to hit the barbecue festival circuit, eventually open a brickand-mortar restaurant and maybe expand into meat processing. Though the team undertook a Texas trip for inspiration, Schuyler says Scott Brothers' barbecue philosophy will embrace New England, whether that means braising meats in apple cider or basing sauces in molasses, maple syrup and other ingredients with roots in our region's cooking.
“We'd like to do something unique, and take into consideration barbecue's focus on regionality,” said Schuyler. “We don't want to be just another barbecue joint.”