Photos from a Real North Carolina Pig Pickin'

If you've never had a chance to see a whole smoked hog, this whole hog has been butterflied. That just means that the pig has been spread across the grate for quicker and more even barbecue smoking.

I'm in the Piedmont of North Carolina where we more often smoke pork shoulders or Boston butts, but folks around here (especially in the country) often do full smoked pigs and often on homemade barbecue smokers, since it takes a really big smoker to do a whole hog. This smoker is a little unusual in that it has the grate that flips, so there's not need to try to lift and turn the barbecue pig.

In the eastern part of North Carlina you can see and eat more whole hog barbecue as that's the popular style there. Whole hog means that you get a mix of meat rather than just shoulder.


This barbecue whole hog was just pulled off the bbq smoker after resting and cooling a bit. Whole hogs are hot, of course, when they come off the smoker. So, it's a bit of a challenge to get one over to a chopping table. But . . . well worth the effort.

Then, you wait a bit or get some chopping gloves (good ones) and either pull the pig meat (pickin as we say here with smoker chefs and guests doing samples off and on).


The barbecue gurus are all ready to start picking the pig here. It's a messy job, but it doesn't take as long as you might expect. The meat is so tender and moist that it just falls right off. Or, that's the way the barbecue is when it's done right, and these pigs were primo.



The pickin' begins, and the barbecue guys have this pig picked clean in no time at all. Helpers ran the meat into the garage where everything was set up for one heap good barbecue meal.


Right before I left the pig pickin', one of the guys asked me if I'd like a slice of the apple that had baked along in the pig's mouth. Well sure. I'd never had pig baked apple, so I was game. I wasn't sure what it was going to taste like, but I must say I've never had a tastier apple. It picks up some of the sweet pig flavor as well as the smoke. Maybe we need to stuff more apples in there next time. It really was yummy.

Gearing Up for the Big Pig Pickin' for Jim's 50th Bday

My college buddy, Jim, is gearing up for his 50th birthday pig pickin' which will be later today. He is going "whole hog" on the barbecue and the pigs were dressed and ready to be fired up early this morning at 2:30 a.m. Whew! That's an early wake up call, but it takes a long time to do a whole pig.



I generally do shoulders or Boston butts, becuase whole pigs are heavy and hard to handle. Also, you need a really big smoker to do a full pig. Whole pigs do look impressive though, and you have that nice ratio of dark and lean as well as plenty of outside brown. So, whole pigs make some mighty fine barbecue.



In addition to all the traditional sides for barbecue (slaw, potato salad, beans), I know we'll be eating some southern pecan pies. Jim talked his sister into baking those up yesterday, and they look fabulous as you can see. I've never had pecan pie at a pig pickin', but it's hard to beat pecan pie for a dessert. Thumbs up!

Backyard BBQ Pit - Durham, NC - Wood Smoked Barbecue

The Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham Has Great Barbecue and Home Style Side Dishes


Pitmaster Marquis Egerton II Hand Chops the Wood to Smoke the Meats

My son and I took a road trip and stopped at the Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham, NC. It's right off I 40 at 5204 Highway 55.

This is a real North Carolina wood burning barbecue joint, and they also smoke ribs and chicken. Side dishes are like Grandma used to make.

The food was amazing, and they had a special for a barbecue sandwich and two sides for $4.99. Can't beat that.

For more about Backyard BBQ Pit, check out my BBP story at Yes You Can Grill.


Here's What it Looks Like in a North Carolina Barbecue Pit in Case You've Ever Wondered

Directions: If you're driving from Chapel Hill toward Durham, take exit 278 and turn right. Go three stop lights - just past the Golden Corral. Backyard BBQ Pit is beisde the Aamco and the ABC store. It's on the right hand side of the road.

Barbecue to Celebrate the Farmers Taking on the State of NC and Winning - No Hazardous Waste Dump in These Parts

Mack loaned his big deluxe barbecue cooker for the 18th year celebration of the farmers keeping the hazardous waste dump out of Rowan and Iredell counties.


The farm guys planned the party and cooked up some fabulous smoked barbecue pork shoulders.



This is a very traditional Southern barbecue meal with smoked pork, slaw, and beans.



The big barbecue party was held at a local farm and was relaxed and informal.


Papa Clyde and Jones were honored for their work in keeping the hazardous waste dump out of the middle of farm country.


Back in 1990, the state (NC) decided they'd plop a hazardous waste dump along the Rowan and Iredell county lines in North Carolina. This did not sit well with the farmers in the area. They didn't want to lose their land and lifestyle and sure didn't want a hazardous waste dump right there where the kids would be growing up and where everyone would be getting possibly tainted milk. Really now . . . who knows what that hazardous waste does to an area and to the food supply.

The hazardous waste dump was supposed to be a done deal, but the state officials underestimated the locals. The state guys thought they were dealing with country bumpkins and that they could roll right in with their big machines and put in a big dumping ground.

Country folks banded together and determined that the government wasn't running right over them and taking their land. They signed petitions, called the government, talked to the media and literally joined hands for a human chain to stop the development.

This show of solidarity was quite serious.

One sign read:

Guns are loaded.
Clocks are tickin'.
Pick this site.
And, see who's chicken.

And, the area farmers weren't kidding.

After a few months, the state gave up and left.

This was all 18 years ago. Those involved in stopping the hazardous waste dump from being plopped in the edge of the county out on our farmland still get together to celebrate the victory and to make sure their kids know about this part of our history.

Today, there was a barbecue to honor Papa Clyde of Iredell County and Jones of Rowan County. Both men were "generals" in this fight against the state and helped organize the protests. Today they were given plaques for these efforts.

One farmer said, "We did things that the State didn't think we could do. This community come together 100%. Maybe we ought to go to Washington and get them all straightened out."

The response to that was a resounding, "A-men."

Tazewell Virginia Barbecue and Mountain Blues Music

Here's a farm outside of Tazewell. The area is really beautiful.

Mom is headed to the Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell, Virginia today for barbecue and to see the new exhibit "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music."

The museum is right on 460 in the southwest tip of Virginia. It's close to Bluefield, Virginia (West Virginia) and not a real long haul from Bristol, Tennessee. Really pretty mountain country. Great road trip views.

The new exhibit is provided by the Smithsonian Institution and is a traveling collection. It features blues music which is not usually associated with the Appalachian mountains but can certainly be felt in a lot of the songs.

My great grandpa, W. E. Myers, wrote a song that will be featured. He wrote a lot of songs including what was probably the original version of "House of the Rising Sun." That was made famous by The Animals. Some words are changed around, but my Grandpa's song sure sounds like "House of the Rising Sun." Grandpa took a boat trip down the Mississippi to New Orleans when he was a young man, and he visited the House of the Rising Sun. He also met my great Grandma, so maybe he stopped visiting cat houses after that.

The barbebue (North Carolina style) is tonight (June 7, 2008) from 5 to 8 p.m., but the exhibit will be available through July 13, 2008. If you're not around during that time, still put Crab Orchard Museum on your "visit" list and check the museum calendar. They have a lot of great music events including the Old Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers' Convention.

Lexington NC Barbecue Festival

Lexington, NC will host the 24th annual Barbecue Festival next Saturday (October 27, 2007). This is one of the biggest and best barbeque festivals in the South. Heck, it's one of the best festivals in the country period. They even have the awards to prove it.

I live about 45 minutes from Lexington, and we make an annual pilgrimage to Lexington. We go other times of the year for the fabulous local vinegar based barbecue, but we make sure to mark the calendar for the official food festival. Government officials were going to name it the state barbecue festival, but barbecuers in other parts of the state got their panties in wads. They just named it the state food festival, but it's definately barbecue.

Don't confuse the festival with a barbecue competition. You don't have to haul in your cooker, and you won't see all the hot dogging. Locals managed to come up with a representative trademark sandwich which is served at the festival from several large tents. That's just for starters on the food. You'll find all the carnival type foods plus some Southern favorites like fried apple pies. The line gets long for those, so don't wait until afternoon. You'll never get one if you do.

Even if you aren't a fan of barbecue and other fast foods, there's plenty to see and do at the Lexington Festival. They have entertainment on several stages. Some of the entertainment is music. Some programs are for the kids but fun for adults too. There are small rides and games and lots of merchant booths. I get a lot of my Christmas shopping done at the festival and have unique items that I can't find in stores.

Lexington is a small southern town, but it's busting at the seams come barbecue Saturday. They have buses running from the Wal-Mart parking lot, and that's the best bet. Just park and catch a ride over. The buses run just every few minutes.

Be sure to look for the cheese ball mix ladies. Yum. Those mixes are wonderful. I always stock up. And keep an eye for the marshmallow shooters. Those are made with PVC pipe and shoot mini marshmallows. My boys had a blast with those the year we picked some up.

If you miss the festival this year, mark your calendar. The Lexington Barbecue Festival is always one of the last two Saturdays in October. They have a web page. Check that out for details.

Grilled Chicken with White Sauce

If you've never tried grilled chicken with white sauce, then you've got to whip up a batch of White BBQ sauce. It's a neat zippy sauce that really gives chicken an interesting twist.

Be sure to make plenty of sauce. It's good for dipping once the chicken is done too. When we made this last week in the mountains, we had to make up a second batch before we finished our chicken.

White BBQ Sauce is very popular in Alabama and probably originated there, but it's also a hot recipe in North Carolina where we raise loads of chickens and grill year round.

North Carolina Settles Barbecue Food Fight

Some elementary kids wrote letters to Congressmen in North Carolina requesting that the Lexington Barbecue festival be the "official" BBQ festival of NC. Well, that set some tongues to wagging and articles flying. Barbeque is pretty serious business in NC where everyone minds his, her and everyone elses business (but not in a bad way).

The issue with the que festival request was that there are two styles of BBQ in North Carolina. We've got the tomato based barbecue fans and the vinegar sauce fans. And, minds don't much meet between these two groups.

State leaders did reach a compromise. Politicians are good about those things (sometimes). The Lexington Barbecue Festival will be the "official" Food Festival of North Carolina. See -no mention of barbecue there. But, you head over to the October festival, and I can tell you what you'll be eating. Yep. Barbecue - Lexington style (vinegar). Yum!

Polar Bear Grilling - Pork Loins

Yes! It's cold. And, yes, I am grilling.

Grab a jacket and join the Polar Bear Barbeque Club. It's really not that bad, and the food sure tastes great.

Tonight I'm grilling a pork loin on my small travel Weber. The big Weber is next door, and well . . . you know.

The last time I got a pork loin, my son wanted to know if it was the pig's leg. Guess I need to get him outside and learning more about barbecue. A visit to a farm might be in order too.

If I ever make BBQ pigs leg, I will take pictures and let everyone know.