Wink's Barbecue & Seafood - Salisbury, NC

I've been checking out some of my old favorite barbecue joints as well as some new ones for my Yes You Can Grill web site. You can grill all the time, but it is nice to take a break from time to time and let someone else do the work. That's especially true of slow smoked North Carolina barbecue.

North Carolina barbecue is pork, and it varies depending on whether you're on the coast (east) or piedmont (Lexington style). The main difference is that east is whole hog with vinegar sauce and piedmont is shoulders with a little tomato (ketchup etc) in a vinegar based sauce (also thin and spicy like the east but with a little red color).


Yesterday we were at Wink's which is a favorite here in Salisbury, NC. It's been around a long time. I remember when Wink's was over near the motel on Innes St. They moved over to a bigger spot on Faith Road just past Lowe's off I85.

They have been and stir are wood burners. They slow cook the pork out back. You can look and see the big wood pile and the pit. That's what we call real barbecue here in NC, and it's getting harder to find it done the old fashioned way but well worth it.


They have a lot of good old Southern side dishes to go with the barbecue at Wink's. My boys always go for the fries, but okra is my favorite when it's done right. It's done right at Wink's. Yum.


Portions are generous at Wink's, but if you have room, they have homemade desserts. You can see here that they have the classic Southern sweets. I need to go one day and just get dessert as I always get too full on the barbecue to have dessert.

For more on Wink's, see my Wink's review and more photos. I'm also adding more barbecue restaurants - mostly in North Carolina for now but branching out as I travel more and can get reviews written up.

Be sure to tip me off to any favorite barbecue joints in your neck of the woods. I'm always on the look out for great BBQ.

Cooking Out in Faith, NC for the 4th of July 2009

Faith, NC has a yearly 4th of July festival, and the entire town gets in the spirit. When ride through to the festival or to visit friends, you'll see lots of patriotic decorations and lots of cook outs.

I stopped by this one which was at full tilt when we were leaving the festival. They thought I was an old buddy but couldn't place my name (-: So, I had to confess that I was a blogger and wanted to see if I could chat and take a few photos.


The blonde lady lives right on Main Street in Faith, so she is the yearly cook out host. She does all the set up and provides the place to party, and everyone else brings the food. The guys do the grilling. Now, that's the way to do a cook out with everyone pitching in.

It looked like they were grilling hot dogs and hamburgers when I was visiting, and you can never go wrong with those. Yum!

I also gave them one of my Yes You Can Grill cards, so maybe next year they'll try out some Grill Girl ideas too.


The guys were getting the truck on down the road from the parking lot, so I had to say good bye to these friendly Faith, NC grillers. I'll look for them again next year and give and wave and see if they remember me.

Faith, North Carolina 4th of July Festival

As many years as I have lived in this area, I've never made it out to the Faith, North Carolina 4th of July festival. It's a week long event kind of like a county fair and with entertainment, contests (like the Apple Ugly eating contest), Faith Idol singing, and fireworks to wrap the week.


I'll probably crank up the grill later tonight, but the Faith NC Festival had plenty of good grilled good. There were loads of hot dogs and hamburgers at different booths. I would have to recommend this delicious grilled corn too. For the young ladies, I might add that the grill chef is a cutie as well. Just in case you didn't notice - which you probably did.

If you want to make your own grilled corn on the cob, then check out my grilled corn recipes at Yes You Can Grill. It really is easy to make.


The curly fries also looked great. I try to stay away from those, since the doc said to watch that fried food. But, yum, those are good. That's one of those things you save up for as a treat when you have high cholesterol.


I was thinking not to get on the swings after eating carnival food. I learned that early on. I also learned not to get cotton candy before visiting the cow barn, although Faith does not have a cow barn at the 4th of July festival. They did, however, have cotton candy.


Faith, NC puts on the biggest 4th of July party I know of, and I'm glad I went this year. I'll have to put that on the calendar, and since it's the week of the 4th, it ought to be easy enough to remember. They were having a good time down there, and it's only about 1/2 hour from my house. Heck. I wouldn't even need to crank up the grill. I could just go back later and get dinner too.

Happy 4th of July to all my readers (thanks) and to the good folks in Faith, NC who certainly were friendly and were very patriotic too for the 4th.

Lawry's 30 Minute Marinade Review - Mexican Chile & Lime

I've always liked Lawry's products. The boys are especially wild about the seasoning shake that's orange colored. They like that on almost anything.

When I saw that Lawry's had grill marinades out, I decided I'd better get a bottle and see what they were doing with marinades.

They had several different types of grill marinade, but I went with the Mexican Chile & Lime. I've always been a Mexican and Tex-Mex food fan.

When I took the lid off, yum. This stuff smells fabulous. You get a combo of tomatoes, lime, and just a little chile heat. It's heavenly smelling.



I was a little concerned about marinating in the Lawry's, since it's pretty thick. It must have more vinegar and less tomato and sugar though, because I didn't have any problems with burning, and I was grilling a pork loin (indirect heat on a Portable Kitchen grill).

As the pork loin cooked, I continued to mop with the marinade. Hum. I'm not sure I'd do that next time. I'd say the 30 minutes and on smaller cuts of meat like boneless chicken breasts or maybe shrimp would work out better. With the time cooking and the mopping, the marinade ended up being a little overpowering. And, that's was just on the outside and is in the photo.

Actually I liked the sauce. The boys weren't as keen on it. I think it's a good mixture and that this is just one where you want to use a light hand when marinating and probably avoid saucing other than for those who really like to do that. Just let them pour to taste as the flavors are strong on this marinade.

Happy 4th of July and Be Sure to Get Your Grill Cranked Up

The 4th of July is the biggest grilling day of the year. Remember that it doesn't have to be fancy, although it can be fun to try out some new grilled or smoked foods.

If you're looking for some inspiration, check out my grill web site Yes You Can Gril. The quickest way to see if I have what you're looking for it to check out the site map. I try to add all new articles there, and I am adding all the time. I take requests too, so let me know if you don't find what you're looking for.


Have some fun stuff going to keep your guests busy. Now, it does depend on the age of course. But, the little ones always love homemade bubbles. Old fashioned flyswatters make mega mini bubbles.


YUM! We always have way more than we can eat family gatherings. That's OK. Leftovers are nice, and that means I don't have to cook later in the day.

What to Grill or Barbecue for the 4th of July

The 4th of July is the biggest grilling day of the year, and this year should be no exception. With the economy so bad, people are finding that it's much cheaper to vacation at home and also to do meals from scratch rather than buying all the heat-and-heat meals or drive through.

Simple and Traditional - Grilled Burgers and Dogs

If you're a new griller (go you!) or have a big group to feed, then I'd suggest hamburgers and hot dogs. It's hard to go wrong on those.

One tip I'd give is to buy the meat and hand pat the burgers. Better yet, if someone offers to give you a hand, put them to making up the burgers.



Want to keep it super simple? Then, add chips and have watermelon or other fruit for dessert.

Brats are Easy and Make a Nice 4th of July Meal

Some people avoid brats, because there's a lot of confusing information about how to grill brats. Are they raw or pre-cooked? Do you poke them or not? If you're just not sure, check out my basic Brats Guide at Yes You Can Grill.

Can't Go Wrong with Steak

Yes. It's expensive, but most stores run specials on steak for the 4th of July. If you have deep pockets or a smaller group, then by all means, stick that steak on the grill. But, be sure to do it right. See my basic Steak Grill Guide if you need a bursh up.

Lighten Up but Don't Feel Any Pain

If you've had overcooked chicken on the grill, then you may not be keen on that for your 4th of July grill out. But, chicken and be very moist and delicious off the grill.




Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts on the Grill

Grilled Chicken Legs

And, this is a fun one, but you probably don't want to try it for a large group, since it takes a while to cook and takes a lot of grill space.

Beer Butt Chicken

Don't Let Grilled Seafood Scare You Off

One the quickest and easiest things to do on the grill is seafood. A lot of folks think they can't do it. They're probably either never tried, or they cooked the seafood too long.




Basic Shrimp Grill Guide

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp on the Grill

Fresh Clams on the Barbecue Grill

Snow Crab Legs on the Barbie

Grilled Lobster

Mug Root Beer Cooler and BBQ Sauce Kit Contest Winners - June 2009

My sons are here with their Dad who enjoyed the Mug Root Beer sauce on ham and country style smoked pork ribs on the Traeger.


The guys drew the names for the contest before leaving for a week long kayaking trip on the coast.



Drum Roll please . . .

Here are the winners and entries. All the memories shared were fabulous, and you can see the full list and all the stories in the contest entry post.

Jan

My dad was a great griller in his day. At 92, he just supervises my brother who is a pretty fine griller himself as is his son in law. Grilling is a family tradition around here.

I remember my dad grilling tomatoes when my mother was in the hospital having my brother. That would have been over 60 years ago. His grill was homemade, of course, but served us well until we both went off to college.

Shaun

awesome idea for a contest. chef matt sent me. anways, i normally wouldn't consider nominating myself as the best griller. but boy do my kids do. there is nothing in the world ( next to taking them fishing) that my 4 boys, 9, 4(twins), and 2 love more than when dad (me) fires up the grill. they love the way i make them burgers and hotdogs in all different ways. mom even gets in on the action when i make her favorite chicken. tendy, juicy, and with the right spices. so thanks for coming up with this contest. thanks for letting me share my story.

Rob

I guess my "grilling dad hero" for the weekend would be one of my longest-term friends (~35 years) Reggie Smyre ... This father's day weekend he drove all the way down to NC from PA to attend his daughter's high school graduation, and at the large family cookout afterwards (100+ people) the cook didn't show up, so he volunteered to do all the cooking ... this involved burgers & dogs, deep-fried fish, and shish-kabobs (with his own special sauce), grilled veggies & sweet potatoes, etc. He had 2 grills going, and a kettle of oil to deep fry the fish - he went through two bottles of gas!

So, if this one wins the drawing, send the cooler to Reggie please! :)

Jim

I nominate my oldest son, Jonathan.

After my good fortune to participate in the Weber TV ad campaign, they left the new weber gas grill that was used for filming. That was in addition to the new Weber grill of my choice per the original agreement with Weber. So, I gave him that "once used" grill.

He was delighted and began to expand/extend his repertoire beyond just grilling steaks and burgers. I had taught him the basics of high heat searing and the art of judging the various degrees beyond rare through well-done. That was the easy part.

He uses marinades and dry rubs well beyond hiw dad's experience level. He has the creativity to experiment and has hit some home runs.

One was a dry rub mixture of salt, pepper, paprika, fennel and garlic. Another was marinating beef tri tip overnight in Italian Dressing spiced up with Coleman's Dry Mustard!

So I am proud to say that he is not just a "chip off the old block," but has gone beyond his dad in the use of the grill.

However, he still can't do the low/slow, genuine smoked BBQ ribs or pork butt like his father!!! :)

Thanks for the opportunity to appear on your site!

Hondaray6

I'd nominate my son Buck for the Hot griller! He's a father of 3, weighs 240, stands 6'3" and is a pussycat- except when grilling! Stand back and drool he says! LOL He likes doing roasts on indirect heat for hours...and the smell is amazing. His fav is a garlic/butter rub that he came up with (can't share the recipe cause he won't)! He also says kabobs are for sissys...but he makes them just to get the kids to eat veggies! Dang I'm tickled I raised a great griller! Now all I have to do is the corn on the cob! WooHoo!


Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering the contest. Thanks also to Mug Root Beer for providing the coolers and barbecue sauce sets to help celebrate Father's Day.

Last Call - Win a Free Mug Cooler and BBQ Sauce Pack (June 20, 2009)

Today is the last day to enter the Mug Root Beer Father's Day Contest. Just click to the giveaway page and leave a comment. That's it. Very simple.

Tomorrow, the boys will shake up the names, and their Dad will pull the five (5) lucky winners who will all get the cooler you see above along with a Mug apron and the ingredients to make a root beer barbecue sauce.

I'll post the winners once I email the ones the boys' Dad pulls and let them know. Don't you just hate to be the last to know when you win something (-: So, the emails first . . . then the winners go up.

If you've been reading along here at Barbecue Master (the title at the top clicks you to the newest content), then you'll see where I made up a batch of the barbecue sauce and had a grilled ham and country ribs.

Know someone who rocks the grill or just enjoys grilling? Or, does this describe you? Feel free to enter. You can nominate your father or any other special man or woman in your life.

The contest wraps up at midnight tonight (June 20, 2009). That's EST, since I'm in NC.

Again - here's the page to enter and GOOD LUCK!