Catawbapalooza 2009 - College Cook Out and Carnival

The Grill Tent is always central at Catawbapoolza at Catawba College, North Carolina. After all, you really can't have a good party without good food. The guys are busy grilling burgers and hot dogs.

If you've strung a little tight with all the papers and exams as the college term winds down, then a good fun fight may be just the ticket. Place your bets on the winner.

Talk about some extreme fun. Several of my students wanted me to give this ride a try. After a big North Carolina barbecue sandwich, I thought not. Actually, I thought not before the sandwich, but the barbecue made a really good excuse in this case.

Swimmers just never get the glory, unless it Olympic time. Here are members of the swim team at Catawba College. My boys are swimmers too, so I say God Bless swimmers. I also say they sure eat more than you would expect. Throw on some extra burgers. They are also supposed to draw straws and send me a reporter from the team next year for newspaper. No. I wasn't kidding guys.

This is how excited my public speaking students get whenever they see me. OK. Not really. They do come up with some great speeches though, and I'm proud of them.

Today was our annual Catawbapoolza at Catawba College. It usually rains on the big spring party, so it was terrific that this year was sunny and warm. In fact, it felt like summer. That's always a great start to a day of grilled food and fun.

The festivities kicked off about 2 p.m. following the Blue and White football game and an Open House for students thinking about attending Catawba College. The Girl Scouts also had an event going on, so it was a very busy Saturday on campus.

I began the day at Open House but stuck around for Catawbapoolza. I've not missed a one since they started having them. That's been several years now. My boys always come with me, but this year my oldest is off at UNC Chapel Hill, and the younger one had a camping trip. I went kid-less, but that was fine. At a small college, I know most of our students, so I can bop around and visit with the college kids in a social setting for a change.

Catawbapoolza is kind of like a small town carnival. There are a variety of rides plus face painting and other fun activities. There's also plenty of food. In addition to the grill tent, they had pretzels, nacho chips, ice cream, and Frost Bites (a local favorite of shaved ice and various flavors) this year.

Various groups on campus pull this big event together. Student Government plays a key role, but other clubs also pitch in. On my end, I always take pictures. I advise for the student newspaper. Student staff photographers also get photos of Catawbapoolza, but I enjoy taking some as well. We like to showcase Catawbapoolza in the final newspaper each year.

Catawbapoolza was great this year. I need to be mowing my yard, but I think that can wait until tomorrow. Sometimes it's good to let your hair down and enjoy a beautiful day. This was a really nice one.

Char-Grill Raleigh NC - Best Burgers Not Off the Home Grill

Happy Birthday to my son. He turned 19 today!

Char-Grill on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, NC is hopping on Sunday after church. You should see it late on Friday or Saturday night.

Our Char-Grill orders are up. The boys really pig out when we make it to Raleigh and get the world's best restaurant burgers.

Now, that's a super burger. Sadly, it is upside down. Hungry guys do not spend much time primping food for photos. But, you get the idea.

Birthday Lunch at Char-Grill for my Son Who Turned 19 Today!

My boys grew up on home cooking and lots of beef on the grill. The first to leave the nest is at UNC where it appears that he is starving. No offense to the cafeteria or to the eateries on Franklin Street, but those bagels and wraps and preppie burgers just aren't doing the kid proud.

Today is my son's birthday, and his favorite place to eat (besides home) is Char-Grill in Raleigh. Yes. I know that UNC and N.C. State are rivals. I'm a State grad (turned down UNC - thank you very much), but the kid had his heart set on UNC. So, that's where he's at. He's enjoying it other than the food.

We drove over to Chapel Hill and got the birthday kid and headed on down I40 to Raleigh and to Char-Grill.

My son first got turned on to Char-Grill when he was visiting colleges. I took him up to see N.C. State and had to pick up some burgers at Char-Grill. When I was a student at State, that was the thing to do on weekend nights. Students closed the bars down and then hit Char-Grill for burgers and fries. This was back when the drinking age was 18 and when people did not shoot each other. He wasn't so keen on all those bricks at State, but he sure did like the Char-Grill burger. He was only sorry he didn't order two after we got back to the motel room and opened up our Char-Grill bags.

The original (and my favorite) Char-Grill is in downtown Raleigh. It takes only a few minutes to drive from N.C. State, unless you get lost. With all those one way streets, getting lost is a definite possibility. Back when I was in college, I was often the designated Char-Grill burger girl, but I insisted on having a co-pilot to make sure I did not end up in Virginia or Canada.

Char-Grill does not look like the kind of place where you're going to get the best burgers ever. It's a little dive. You can see in the picture. It is not fancy. There are two picnic tables to the left side, but most people either tailgate in the parking lot (so to speak) or grab and go. Inside dining - forget it. There's no room back there where they are pumping out the flame broiled burgers.

When you get to Char-Grill, you get an order form and check off what you want and what you want on what you want. If two people want the same burger but different toppings, then you need separate order forms (though can pay all the orders together at the end). Some toppings are not listed - namely mustard. Just write that in. I also write in chili, because I love that on my Char-Grill burger. You stick the ticket or tickets in the hole and wait to hear your name called.

The burgers are 1/2 pound like in the third photo above or 1/4 pound which is on an oblong bun. Then there are the smaller burgers which are easier to eat while driving, but you probably want at least two of those - or more.

The combos come with fries. They are the bigger and fatter French fries - more like Wendy's. They keep the grease fresh, so those are general fries but always spot on.

While you're waiting on your food, you can watch the grill guys firing up the burgers. Yes. You can see the flames. All the more reason for them not to have tables inside. It's fast and furious behind the glass. Those burger guys earn whatever they make.

Char-Grill got so popular that they have other locations in Raleigh. Some of them are easier to get to than the old downtown burger joint, but they just don't have quite the spirit of the original Char-Grill. Not to worry. The food is fabulous no matter which Char-Grill you visit.

Going to Char-Grill is always a blast from the past for me, and I'm glad my son loves Char-Grill as much as I did at his age. There are plenty of places to eat in Chapel Hill, but it's a treat for us to take him over to Raleigh for a real burger. My hand patted grilled burgers top them, but I can't think of any other restaurant that makes better burgers than Char-Grill.

If you are ever in Raleigh, look up Char-Grill. You won't be sorry. They cook their burgers over real fire, and you can stand there and see them making your meal. Your mouth will be watering.

UNC also made it to the Final Four today (3-29-09), so we cut out before the game, so the kid could enjoy some time with his frat friends.

We stopped by Trader Joe's on the way out of town. I love to get seasonings for my barbecue dishes at Trader Joe's One of my favorites would be the lemon pepper in the grinder. It's very inexpensive, but the flavor really pops when the lemon and pepper are fresh ground. I also have to get the Lacy Cookies at Trader Joe's, because they are the max and not good for me but are a very nice treat.

And You Thought Barbecue Sauce Was Just For Eating

Barbecue Ribs Cooked on the Smokey Mountain Bullet.

We love barbeque sauce around here. We slather up our ribs and love boneless chicken breasts with various BBQ sauces. In fact, hunting for new barbecue sauces is one thing we enjoy doing when we're on vacation. There are loads of local favorites that aren't sold at the big box stores. Some of the unique barbecue sauses are sold at little stores and some are offered at flea markets.

This week we enjoyed Firefighters Barbecue Sauce. Chef Matt came up with that recipe, and proceeds go to help firefighters and their families. That makes the excellent, well-balanced sauce even more special. My boys gave it thumbs up, and I did do.

Another favorite que sauce around here is Stubbs Barbecue Sauce. We can get that one at Food Lion. For some reason, they put it on the bottom shelf. Bummer. Food Lion needs to get that up higher where people can find it.

While we eat our barbecue sauce, I found a guy who makes art with sauce. We just make a mess. This guy actually takes the sauced ribs and sauce and makes a deer. You've got to see it to believe it.

President of PETA Wants to Be Barbecued After Death

Didn't Chicken Little Say The Sky is Falling? She'd Probably Really Cluck if She Saw Ingrid Newkirk's Body Disposal Plan.

Ingrid Newkirk, the founder and President of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has launched yet another media stunt on behalf or her organization. This is just one idiotic power play in her long history of grossing out and annoying people including those who do deeply care about animals.

Newkirk has released her "Directions for the Dispostion of the Remains of Ingrid Newkirk." In addition to posting this macabe document online, Newkirk is shamelessly pumping her list of body parts to be distributed worldwide.

For those who love barbecue, she states "That the 'meat' of my body, or a portion thereof, be used for a human barbecue, to remind the world that the meat of a corpse is all flesh, regardless of whether it comes from a human being or another animal, and that flesh foods are not needed."

Such stunts make a mockery of the plight of animals and turn off people who might be inclined to contribute to a solution. Who wants to be associated with a group of nuts lead by a woman who wants her body ground into hamburger and served for dinner after her death? It makes it hard to take anything PETA says or does seriously.

If you do care about animals, you can adopt animals from your local shelter. Both our cat and dog were abandoned pets and have brought joy to our home.

If you can't adopt, shelters can always use a hand or donations. The local Boy Scouts sometimes visit on Saturday morning and wash the puppies. That makes them more appealing for adoption.

As far as grinding up Newkirk and serving her for dinner, that's just disgusting but typical of the type of gimmicks PETA uses unsuccessfully to bring attention to the organization and to the founder rather than to actually encouraging more compassion and better treatment for animals.

In fact, PETA kills 95% of animals they take in as reported by the Center for Consumer Freedom. In 2008, the death count for homeless pets was 21,339. PETA has a nonprofit status and a $32 million budget. It looks like they could actually do something for animals needing homes instead of making headlines with stupid stunts like the Newkirk barbecue manifesto.

Pickin' Pigs and Banjos Down South - Real Barbecue from a Southern Perspective

Big North Carolina Barbecue Cooker at a Country Pig Pickin'

Up north folks barbeque, which is grilling food over charcoal or gas. Don’t confuse with barbeque in the south which is pork meat slow cooked and served with sauce. Northerners use BBQ as a verb to indicate a style of cooking while southerners use the word as a noun and to mean one specific dish which is universal to the south and very much a part of the culture.

Confusing the way the term BBQ is used can be very . . . well . . . confusing.

I remember my shock when I ordered BBQ up north and got a plate of beef ribs. Now I like ribs, but ribs are ribs and BBQ is BBQ. And, it’s pretty sad to get ribs when you want BBQ.

On the flip side, I know that some of my northern students are plumb shocked when they order BBQ up here and get pork on a bun with slaw when they are expecting something grilled up like back home. That probably ranks up there with ordering a burger all the way at a southern restaurant and trying to figure out what that chilli and slaw are doing on there or having to say chilli beans to get any beans in the chilli.

Barbeque dates way back in the south.

You have to remember that the south was very poor (OK—we still are for the most part) and that pigs fend well in the wild. Pigs even made TV in the Australian outback on Survivor (though that did have that gross out factor). Those pigs are some hearty little critters that can scrounge around and make do when other critters would dry up and keel over.

When you’re talking tough and stringy critters running wild, then you have to think a bit about how to cook. Though pigs now are farmed and fed and much more mellow as far as taste and texture, we are still not talking prime rib. My apologizes to all pig farmers. That tenderloin is primo, but some parts of the pig . . . well . . . guy-friend we need to sit down and talk about that crackled skin and those pigs feet.

If you have a crock pot, then you know that slow cooking can soften up shoe leather. So, slow cooking those old pigs was the way to go. But, some folks slow cooked much better than others and BBQ became an art as well as a social tradition in the south. The cream floated to the top (as it always does) and the best pit cooks got noticed, and pit cooks figured out it was better to cook at an all day bash and have some company since pit cooking pork does take all day.

BBQ was mostly take out in mid century and centered around the smoke house and maybe a shed type addition with a few tables and chairs for travelers. This was one time when white folks crossed the tracks. The BBQ was terrific and it was seen as somewhat “cool” to slip across town and get some good eating. That’s not to say that BBQ was not done in the white communities. It was. Many a white church dinner or political rally centered around picking a pig, but most of the take out places were black owned and operated (and many still are).

The basic process at the smoke joints or at the picnics/rallies was to start cooking early and to cook all day. It was important to get the coals just right and to maintain that even and constant heat so that the meat was cooked through but not burned in spots. We’re talking a very high maintenance process which is why you don’t see fast food BBQ restaurants popping up all over. You can’t do BBQ fast, and if you do, then it is not really BBQ.

Once the meat is done to perfection, then it is sliced or chopped up. Farther west it is pulled, but in the deep south (not including FL) then it is never pulled. Pulling is along the grain and gives a stringy taste which is not southern even though some southern states on the other side of the Appalachians mostly will sell you that.

BBQ is usually bought by the tray which means that you get a cardboard container that is split with meat and slaw. Some slaws are white and some red. The red is generally spicy and has tomatoes and hot pepper while the white is mild and mayonaise based.

With the meat/slaw you get bread and hushpuppies. The bread is to make a sandwich out of the meat and is our white bread which is light and airy. Some BBQ places give you buns instead so that you don’t get soggy bread (which I hate—do not pass a tomato sandwich my way please). Those hush puppies are corn bread deep fried in the skillet in ball or oval shapes.

The thing that really sets the BBQ apart one place to another (besides the skill of the pit cook) is the sauce. Southerners get pretty prideful about the best sauce and the makers do not share those secret recipes. Those sauces are the stuff of legends with some makers taking those secrets to the grave rather than to ever tell how they do it.

The base for the BBQ sauce in the south is vinegar. We do not put thick tomato based sauce on our meat as that is like putting catsup on your filet mignon. Basically you ruin the meat and insult the cook if you put any tomato stuff on the BBQ. If you must do that, then get take out and do not tell any southern soul.

The other ingredients are usually secrets of the cook, but you can tell that most use some hot pepper to give a nip. I love it hot, so I lean toward the spicy pork places. If you don’t like spicy, then you can leave off the sauce or just use a little. The more you drip on the hotter the taste, so I go heavy (which is one reason I much prefer a bun for a BBQ sandwich). But, if you don’t try the sauce, then you really missed the southern experience as the sauce is mightily important.

Around here, Lexington NC is the king of BBQ (and YES most BBQ cooks are men and not women). That is about a 45 minute drive. Here in my town, places will advertise as Lexington style BBQ to draw in crowds though some just build on the skill of the specific pit cook or the sauce like Richard’s of Salisbury. The Salisbury style barbecue includes a little ketchup in the vinegar sauce, and there's always a debate about that.

Only really good BBQ survives around here and in most of the south.

If you’ve never tried southern BBQ, then you are missing out on a food that has become an icon of the south. It cuts across all social lines—black/white, rich/poor, male/female, grown ups/kids.

Although you may not see this mass-produced across the country, that has nothing to do with the taste. The only reason BBQ has not mainstreamed is that it takes a long time to make and the meat cooking and sauce are arts.

BBQ just can’t be reproduced and packed in foil packs at the airport. But, maybe that is a good thing!

Check out this funny and educational video. You'll enjoy some Southern string music and learn more about Southern barbecue as the guys cover it state by state.

Top 10 Things NOT to Say at a Backyard Barbecue

You Will Never Hear Grill Girl Say Any of These Things

Ignorance can be bliss especially at a backyard barbecue with some tanked up buddies who end up sidetracked and sometimes even with the sober ones who do not have a clue how to barbecue.

The Top 10 Things Not to Say at a Backyard Barbecue is dedicated to all my friends who have dropped the meat, grabbed it up, blew on it, and stuck it back on the grill. This seems to be male pattern behavior.

A female friend dropped the hot dogs at a group cook out. She took them inside to wash them. That sounds good, but unfortunately she used the dish washing liquid to wash the wieners. I will not comment on the taste, but I do think the hot dogs were clean.

Top Ten Things You Don’t Want to Hear When You’re at a Cook Out

1. Does anyone know where the fire extinguisher is?

2. How can you tell when this gas tank is empty?

3. Has anyone seen the cat?

4. No. That isn’t pepper.

5. Who needs a recipe?

6. Cut off the burned parts and no one will know.

7. No. It isn’t a grill brush. It’s the dog’s brush.

8. Ten second rule.

9. BOOM!

10. Anyone have the number for Dominos?

Food Lion Barbecue Prizes and Hamburger Toss Game - 2009

Hand Patted Hamburgers with Meat from Food Lion


The grocery stores are getting geared up for grilling season, and Food Lion is no exception.

Food Lion is our local grocery chain. It’s not just down the road, the company was started and is headquartered out of Salisbury, North Carolina.

“Get Fired Up” is the theme for the 2009 backyard barbecue promotions at Food Lion which started on March 4. Every Thursday through September 3, 2009, Food Lion will draw a name weekly for a barbecue prize package.

The barbeque prize package includes a Masterbuilt charcoal grill, bag of Kingsford charcoal, Kingsford tent, store brand lighter fluid, store brand grilling brush, and a $50 Food Lion gift certificate to get some meat and vegetables to go on the grill.

To be entered you need to sign up the Food Lion Shopper’s Companion email which comes out weekly on Wednesday mornings. You then check your email and look for the Get Fired Up sticker logo and follow the directions for that week.

Personally I like getting the grocery store emails. If I’m at work and think about stopping by to get groceries, I can glance there on email and see about specials. If you’re not keen on emails, then you can still play the Grill Game weekly at the Food Lion website.

Just press the Grill Game button. You click to toss grilled hamburgers onto buns that come out from the sides of the page. If you run out of burgers, click the grill to get more.

After you finish the game, you get a coupon you can print out. The coupons are grill themed of course.

Either the game is not working right, or I really stink at computer games. It could be both. In any case, I think I landed some of those burgers on the bun, but my score was 0. When I got home from work, I tried again. I made 0 again.

The good news is that you get the coupon even when you score 0. The one this week was for 360 cups and plates - $1.00 off. There are more coupons if you click around, and those don’t require the burger toss game.

I buy the bulk of my food for grilling at Food Lion. It’s a local company, and there’s one on the way home from work – very convenient. The guys in the meat department are super helpful. They will cut meat to order and also have excellent tips if you’re trying out a new cut of meat.

If you don’t have a Food Lion near your home, try checking the home page for your local grocery store. Most grocery stores start offering grill specials in March. Then, be sure to visit my Yes You Can Grill page for outdoor cooking tips and recipes.

Chef Matt's Firefighters Barbecue Sauce - Really Great Sauce

My Son Wearing the Firefighters BBQ Shirt and Using Chef Matt's Sauce

Chef Matt told me about his barbecue sauce project where firefighters can raise funds to support firefighting or other needs of the community firefighters and families. I grew up in an area with a volunteer fire department and know it can be hard to keep that going - but so important. My family would help with community dinners to raise money. My cousin went on to be a professional firefighter. Bess him.

I always like to support great causes. When someone takes the time to give back, it's important to do your part. I'm always glad to make desserts for the dinners and that sort of thing.

This week we decided to smoke a Boston Butt. Just for the record, a Boston Butt is not the butt. That's the ham. The Butt is the top part of the shoulder.

Since we're from North Carolina, we tend to use the vinegar based sauce with pork. That's a North Carolina tradition.

But . . . I was wanting to check out Chef Matt's barbeuce sauce.

Chef Matt is from out in Arizona, so I was expecting a more Kansas style BBQ sauce. That's OK. The boys' Dad is from Kansas, so we swing both ways. Shhh. Don't tell any of my North Carolina people that.

I must say, "Wow!" Chef Matt kind of hits it in the middle with his Firefighters Barbecue Sauce. It's not as thin as our NC vinegar sauce but not as thick as the Kansas type tomato sauce. It's just a nice balance between those.

The flavor is just out of this world, and I seldom say that. The sauce is kind of tangy with some spice - but not over the top. Again, it's all about the balance. Chef Matt hit it.

My boys are picky on the barbecue sauces. They both gave Chef Matt the thumbs up. My youngest son just had leftovers (the other one has gone back to college now), and we have a variety of barbecue sauces open, but he went with the Firefighters BBQ Sauce. "That's really good," he said. I agree.

In the picture, you'll see that my little guy (who is not so little now) has on the Firefighters t-shirt. That comes with a gift box including the sauce and also bracelets like the Lance Armstrong bracelets. He liked the shirt so much that he now has a new shirt. It was going to be mine. But, you know how it goes with kids. He'll wear it to school and get the word out better anyway, so that's OK.

I'm now looking at the Chef Matt's Arizona Honey Habanero BBQ Sauces. Those come in hot, mild, and raspberry. The sauces have no fat, no cholesterol, and are low in sugar. That's good news, since my doctor tells me that my cholesterol is not looking great currently. Also, my boys especially love honey.

If you enjoy outdoor cooking and smoking, try out some different sauces. You can get totally new flavors with sauces from various areas.

I'm glad we got a taste of the west with Chef Matt's sauce, and I tip my hat to him for supporting our firefighters with this project.

Are Your Ribs Tough - Remove the Membrane

Don't you just hate to spend the money on ribs, season them up, cook them for hours and then have tough meat?

One quick tip for having tender barbecue ribs is to remove the membrane. That's the shiny white coating on the bottom side of the ribs.

It would certainly be nice if the rib membrane was removed at the butcher shop, and you can ask for it to be removed (and pay more), but it's not difficult to do it yourself.

Basically you just get the membrane edge peeled up and then just keep easing the membrane away from the meat. It may or may not come off in one piece. If it breaks, just start a new peeling edge and keeping work toward the bottom of the rack.

For those you learn better by seeing a technique done, this You Tube video from the BBQ Pit Boys is quite helpful.

Just Call Me Sparky - And Support Your Local Firefighters

Matt told me about a great project that helps our firefighters. It's a program to benefit those brave guys/girls who risk their lives both in fighting fires and with EMS. It's FireFighter's Barbecue Sauce as well as t-shirts and those neat wrist bands that get the word out about worthy causes.

Firefighers Barbecue is now featured at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show. Sure wish I lived near there. I'd be there in a heartbeat. But, I'm way out in North Carolina, and that's a long road trip.

In any case, the idea is that you can have a unique fundraiser with barbecue sauce (and the cool shirts and armbands). Isn't that much better than some of those awful things they send kids out to sell like dust catching knickknacks or popcorn that costs $15 for a mini can? Really, who doesn't love some good barbecue sauce? Count me in on that.

I am pleased to say that I have never caught my grill on fire other than in the way intended. I did, however, I am sad to say, burn up a tree in my yard. I thought it would be too much work to try to get those limbs out from under that had sharp needles. The tree was evergreen, so I thought, "Hum. I'll just burn those gross brown limbs under the tree. Green stuff won't burn." Hello! That's not a good plan. The tree was a 100 foot or so tall and the fire went about double that. It was quite amazing. Take my word for that.

I called 911 and got out the water hose. A policeman drove by and saw the problem and helped me water down the side of the house. The firemen were there in 5 minutes or so. One fire guy said, "Man, I thought that could not be a tree fire. We could see the flames and smoke across town." But, yes, it was that gross old evergreen tree in my yard that I always hated. They make really big and amazing fires - old pine trees of some strange sort. My brother, a landscape engineer, said it was some sort of special everygreen from China. All I know is that it cut my fingers picking up limbs and stopped up the lawnmower.

The neighbor kids got in from school to see this smouldering trunk in my yard that was charred black. I told them a space ship landed on it (-: In a small town, your stories must be more interesting than just you set the limbs on fire under your tree and burned it all to heck.

Since the firemen came fast, I did not burn my house down - about 30 feet away. I do not have to worry about those old limbs jamming up my mower now, since I sure killed that tree in the process. For my birthday (by request), the family came out and got that old trunk cut down and out of here.

So, I say God Bless Firemen, and if you see some Firefighters Barbecue Sauce out there, buy some. You'll get some great sauce and help out a super group of folks who are there when you need them, although I hope you never do.

I still get teased now and again about being "Sparky" and lighting up the whole town with my tree fire. It could have turned out really bad, but the firefighters were right on it and got that put out. I also have a cousin who is a professional firefighter. So, I have a real special place in my heart for those who put out our fires, and I promise to never again burn up a tree in my yard. Cross my heart.

Rotisserie Chicken Looks Ready to Take Flight

Mr. Chicken Was Flipping and Flapping on the Hibachi Rotisserie

I got a wild hair and decided to grill a rotisserie chicken. This is not something I do - obviously. I grill. I smoke. I pit cook and Dutch oven cook. I even cook on sticks. But, I've never done rotisserie.

Not So Easy

Putting together a rotisserie is not that easy for starters. There are a lot of parts, and the thing has to be counterbalanced to run smooth. OK. Got all that. The thing was turning like a windmill - slow steady. Yippee.

The directions did not say anything about the chicken specifically. So, I jammed that little bird right on the rotisserie and turned the button on. And, the fun began . . .

Mr. Chicken was flipping and flopping all over the places. As the chicken rolled over, the wings and legs began to wave. It appeared this bird had come back to life and had plans to fly away.

Hum . . .

I called the grill company. They thought I had assembly problems with the rotisserie and were explaining counterbalance and so on.

I said I had all that down.

"So, it's turning then," they asked.

"Yep," I said.

"Now, what's the problem with the chicken?"

Chicken Prep is Important

I really needed a video of this, but it would proably be a YouTube classic and forever haunt me. So, I was trying to verbally describe how the wings and legs were flapping and hitting the grill and making quite a calamity out on the porch. I pray the neighbors were not watching, since this was a very odd sight.

The grill guy finally figures out what I'm trying to tell him and asks if I tied up the chicken.

Huh? Well, no. I never tie those chickens when I grill them, smoke them, or convection grill them. And, I sure don't tie up the chicken when I make Beer Butt Chicken - one of my best recipes.

Of course, the chickens are not spinning with these other techniques, so there's no reason to truss up the birds. They just sit there and cook.

If You've Ever Made an Outdoor Grill Mess . . .

I thought I'd share this, although I hate to admit I did not tie up my chicken and had it almost went airborn on that rotisserie. If you do decide to rotisserie anything, you want some cooking string or metal ties to hold down floppy parts. Otherwise you have quite a show out in your yard - especially amusing to kids.

If you make this mistake and check in here to find a solution, the grill company guy said that my best bet was to cut off the wings and legs and grill them while rotisserie cooking the chicken body. After all, I did not have the stuff to tie up a chicken right on hand, and this cook was in progress.

I'm not so sure I'm going to be a world class rotisserie outdoor cook, and I'm not sure I want to be. That old flopping chicken was enough to scare the dog. Flip. Flop. Bang. It was something to behold, so if you do want to freak everyone out, then rotisserie your chicken without securing the floppy parts. It really does look like it's come back to life, and that's not a good thing when you're trying to fix dinner.

I share the good times, so I figure it's only fair to share the bad times. If you've ever had a grilling disaster, don't feel bad. It happens to the best of us. And, I may decide to get a handle on rotisserie. I'm sure it's not all that hard. But, I sure made one mess of it this weekend.

Foodie Link Exchanges or Reciprocal Links

Don't Act Ugly When You Want An Online Link - That Doesn't Work

I'll always remember the first foodie to hit me up for a link exchange. She sent an email telling me that she had linked one of my recipes. "You don't have to link me this time, but I expect return links in the future," noted my fellow food writer.

Not Impressed

I was not impressed. I did not ask for a link and never have. If my work helps readers at another site, it's great to be linked. If I'm linked simply with the idea that I'll link back, then I'd rather not be linked. I take pride in my work, and a straight link exchange feels like cheating and that I don't think my work is good enough to stand alone.

Bad Link Requests

Anyone who has been writing online very long has probably had some really wacky link exchange requests. I must say, "Why would I link to a site on martial arts on a barbecue site?" Does the site owner think my readers are going to kung fu cut their chops or something?

Michael Bluejay has a great article called Why Your Link Exchange Request Failed. It is definately worth reading, and it may explain why many site owners are not excited about link requests.

Yes! I Do Link

My blog and web sites include a lot of links. It's rare that I even notify the owners. I just link good stuff that I know my barbecue readers would enjoy.

In some cases, I do contact site owners for extra information. But, I'm linking because I think the other person has good content and not because I want or expect anything in return.

An example here would be that I got in touch with Leslie Haywood about her Grill Charms. In addition to noting those on my blog, I spoke with her about a feature article for my web site Yes You Can Grill. Leslie is now one of my Barbecue People featured on my site.

Content Based Links are Much More Valuable

My style is to include links on my content pages where they will be much more effective. Unfortunately, some web site owners or bloggers don't seem to understand this concept.

One food writer got really huffy when I offered to link one of her pages in an article rather than list it as one of those "see also" links that are popular (but get very few clicks). She didn't bother to send over a solid dessert link to round out a barbecue meal.

Oh well. I linked one of my own desserts. I'm still working on desserts (obviously), but I'm not looking through someone's collection after being asked for an exchange (and getting blown off). She wanted the favor. I didn't. And, I offered a better deal than she requested. She just didn't know it.

Michael sums this up with an example and this explanation:

"Notice something else: I didn't put his link on a links page, I put it on a content page. That was the most logical place for it. And the link is 100 times more valuable for him on the content page rather than a links page. And that works out a lot better for him, both for the number of clicks he'll get and for transferring Google PR power, which is what most link requesters are after in the first place."

Message Board Requests

I write for a couple of larger sites (covering multiple topic areas), and I'm always amazed when someone starts a thread about trading links. There will be return posts saying, "I added you." Then it's, "Thanks. I added you back."

Seriously, how much good does a link to knitting do for someone who writes on mountain biking and vice versa? There's not much overlap on those topics. Both sites end up with those long link lists that are virtually worthless to readers when the trades don't make any sense.

Bad Google Juice

Google does factor in links, and they should. That can be a good measure of quality content when the links are related and based on providing good supplemental content.

I'm more than glad to link Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn and his Amazing Ribs web site. He knows his smokers, and I know readers interested in outdoor cooking will benefit by dropping by his barbecue site.

I'm not linking to sites on fashion and make-up on a barebecue blog, because that just doesn't make any sense.

Google, of course, is aware that a lot of link exchanges are made online. In fact, there are sites that will just randomly link your site all over the web (not a good idea). As the system continues to get more sophisticated, I'd guess that random link trades will heavily impact on page rank and incoming ads.

Getting Off the Grumpy Bus

Yes. I do understand. Trust me I do.

Most food writers do it, because they love to cook and love to share recipes. (If not, then someone needs to look for another topic area.) Food and cooking does not pay well - at all. Just stating a fact.

When you work hard and put your heart into a blog or space, it's very discouraging when no one visits and no one comments. Well, they can't comment if they don't visit. Duh. You get the picture, and if you're new at this, you've probably found that it's really hard to get a foodie blog or cooking site off the ground and getting traffic (other than your Mom).

Some Tips for Foodie Writers and Cooking Bloggers

Focus on putting up quality information. Just ignore stats and such in the beginning and put your energy into making a space you'd personally want to visit.

Check out other foodies and interact. This is different from shooting out loads of "link me - link me" emails. Just hang out now and then and get to know others who share your passion for cooking and for writing about food.

As people get to know you and check out your site, you'll start to get those coveted links. I know that I link when I'm writing something and someone comes to mind who writes in the area I'm covering. It might be a while. But, that perfect moment will happen, and I'll hit someone with a link that I know my readers will like. Often, it's someone I know from online, but it can also be a random writer who is just simply doing great work.

Are You Tired of Getting Those Grill Special Orders Mixed Up?

Mark Your Meat with Grill Charms and Get Those Special Grill Requests Right Every Time

If your family is anything like mine, then you get special orders off your barbecue grill. One kid loves spicy sauce. The other hates spicy and wants the mild BBQ sauce. Mom likes her steak rare. Cousin Ben prefers his steak burned to a crisp (although I can't explain that).

Now, there is a solution - grill charms. If you're familiar with wine charms, you get the idea. If not, don't fret, and I won't tell anyone you don't know about wine charms. Basically, grill charms are indvidual markers (about the size of a dime and with a toothpick-like stick in piece) that you press in the meats so that you know what's what on the grill.

Leslie Haywood invented and designed these neat grill chef accessories. She told me that she doesn't actually "man" the grill. That may be a good thing. It's nice to have a break from cooking. Leslie does, however, help with the barbecue party planning, and she came up with this neat idea that helps keep things in order out on the deck.

If you have a barbecue or grill geek on your holiday list or if your favorite griller has a birthday coming up, then Grill Charms are unusual and also useful items that will put a smile on the BBQ chef's face as well as making the party guests happy when they actually get what they wanted off the grill.

Grilled or Smoked Brined Turkey

Moist and Flavorful Brined Turkey

If you want a really terrific turkey this year, try brining the bird. You do have to start a little earlier, but it's worth the extra effort.

Here's my basic Brined Turkey directions and basic recipe plus some ideas, so that you can doctor up your own turkey and have a unique flavor this year.

Once you brine your turkey, then you smoke it like you would other meats. But, don't add the water to the smoker. You want a higher temperature, similar to oven cooking. Aim for around 350 degrees F and about the same cooking time as in the oven.

The reason for the quicker cooking for a smoked turkey is that turkey meat dries out if cooked really low and slow. The texture is simply different from beef or pork. It still takes a while to cook a turkey on a smoker or on a grill with a lid and on the cool side of the grill (not directly over the flames or heat). The smoke flavor gets in there fine with the shorter cooking time.

If you don't want a whole turkey, you can do a bone in turkey breast. Just make less brine if doing a breast or breasts. Cooking time is less as well, since the size is not as large.

Also note that you want to go with the basic water brine recipe in the guide rather than the fruit juices, because the skin may get too dark with the extra sugar in the juice.

We plan to smoke a turkey breast and a spiral ham for Thanksgiving this week. I think we'll plan to do the smoking on Wednesday, so we're not trying to cook both indoors and outdoors on Thanksgiving day. Turkey is fine served cold but can also be heated up for the meal. The smoked flavor is actually more obvious the second day.

Barbecue Twelve Days of Christmas

Brrrr! Yes. It is cold outside, but that's half the fun (sort of).


You may not think of Christmas as barbecue season, but grills sell well around Christmas time. Why? Grills make great gifts as do the various accessories needed for super outdoor parties.

In the spirit of the season and for all those grilling fanatics out there, I've written a song highlighting those grilling gift wish lists. This song must, of course, be sung very loud and off key.

It is also most fun sung when cooking up some Beer Butt Chicken, but any grilled food will do. Just slap something on the grill, and belt out this new holiday classic.

Barbecue Twelve Days of Christmas
by Cyndi Allison

On the first day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
A smokerwith cherry wood chunks


On the second day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips

On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor glovess,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips

On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eight outdoor cookbooks,
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine Weber gas grills,
Eight outdoor cookbooks,
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Ten Char-Broil caddies,
Nine Weber gas grills,
Eight outdoor cookbooks,
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eleven grain fed beef steaks,
Ten Char-Broil caddies,
Nine Weber gas grills,
Eight outdoor cookbooks,
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips


On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Twelve ice cold Bush beers,
Eleven grain fed beef steaks,
Ten Char-Broil caddies,
Nine Weber gas grills,
Eight outdoor cookbooks,
Seven bags of charcoal,
Six chimney starters,
Five Big Green Eggs,
Four kabob sets,
Three rib racks,
Two outdoor gloves,
And a smoker with cherry wood chips!


Now, somebody's dad definately needs some more grill gear. I'm thinking perhaps a big drop cloth or perhaps one of those side fence things like they put around trampliines these days.

Worst Foods of Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving Food Fun

We Americans are funny. We will cook and serve foods we detest, because that's what you do on Thanksgiving. It doesn't matter what it tastes like. It's the spirt of the season. It's the rule.

In celebration of Thanksgiving icky foods, I've gathered a list of foods people love to hate at Thanksgiving. Ironically, these are some of my favorites. Or, that's what I tell the boys when I plop these on the table come turkey day.

Top Ten Worst Foods on the Thanksgiving Table

10. Sweet Potato Marshmallow Melt - The very worst is when the marshmallows are hidden. You take a big bite of sweet potato, and then . . . ick . . . there's that melty marshmallow.

9. Green Bean Casserole - I suspect people just say they hate green bean casserole with those dried, fried onion rings on top. The bowl is always empty, but still people talk junk about this one. Where does it go? Does it just evaporate? No. I think not.

8. Jell-o with Fruit - Jell-o is supposed to slide down like ice cream. When you add fruit (like especially fruit cocktail), then you have to chew Jell-o, and that's just WRONG. Even the dog won't eat this.

7. Cooked Carrots - I don't think carrots were meant to be cooked. That's why you put orange juice in there when you're boiling them. Then, you ruin your carrots and your orange juice.

6. Cranberry Sauce - You know that hunk of stuff in the can. You shake it out, and it still looks like the can complete with the can ridges. Oh yes. It's Thanksgiving when you have canned cranberry stuff.

5. Giblets - Boy, I was sure surprised the first time I found that bag of spare parts in the turkey - after I cooked it and put it on the table. These are supposed to be used to make your gravy and dressing. Just don't look in the pan when you're boiling the turkey neck. That's enough to scare anyone.

4. Dressing or Stuffing - This is a good way to get rid of the stale bread. Some of it is very good. Some of it is dreadful. Take a small portion first and proceed as indicated.

3. Fruitcake - You knew that one was coming. There are enough fruitcake jokes out there. I'll just let that one rest other than saying the birds won't eat it either. Toss some in the yard and see. Sad.

2. Pumpkin Pie - The idea is good. Sadly, most people don't get it right. The crust is white and soggy, and that't not a good thing.

1. Turkey - OK. I said it. Why do we need a giant bird that takes up the whole oven on the one day of the year we're trying to cook a ka-zillion other things? Then, it's turkey leftovers for days and days. No wonder no one wants another turkey for a whole year.


Mostly we smile and gobble up the Thanksgiving feast or pretend our plate is too full when the bowl gets passed with the worst of the holiday fare.

Kids, on the other hand, know what they know. This poor kid didn't think much of those carrots.



My oldest son still reacts like this to foods he hates. In fact, he threw up in his friend's hand in high school when the other boys put peas and mashed potatoes in the milk and shook it up. Just looking at that did him in. My son's buddy stuck his hand out for high five. My son tried to turn but threw up right in his hand. So, when he says pass on the Jell-o, I don't push it.

Now you have an excuse to break out the grill and make something everyone will love from Yes You Can Grill. But, then again, it's just not Thanksgiving without all the old classics.

Holy Smoke - The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue

North Carolina Smoked Barbecue Shoulder

UNC Press has just come out with a great book about North Carolina barbecue. Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue
features how to cook barbecue as well as tracing the history of BBQ and includes information about famous que restaurants and pit masters from NC.

You can read more about Holy Smoke at my outdoor cooking web site - Yes You Can Grill.

I don't really excited about most books on barbecue. They usually just have recipes and try to improve on or add odd ingredients to classics. No. I really don't especially want to put mango on my chicken. I like that in my fruit salad. Thanks.

Holy Smoke really isn't a cookbook, although you do get a lot of inside secrets to making North Carolina barbecue and also directions for some sauces, slaws and even desserts like the famous Pig Pickin' Cake. It's more like walking back in time (and up through today) and getting to meet and talk to everyone who played a part in making barbecue big in the Tar Heel state.

You don't have to be from North Carolina to appreciate Holy Smoke. It's a fascinating story for anyone who enjoys barbecue in general or who likes great stories of people and places.

Holy Smoke would be a great book to give to anyone on your gift list who enjoys outdoor cooking or for family and friends from the South. It's also a fun read for general history buffs.

Free Kraft Food & Family Magazine Now Online

Kraft Food and Family has always been one of my favorite online freebies. It's a glossy magazine from the Kraft Kitchens sent out quarterly. It's not a barbecue magazine, but they do include some great grill recipes in the summer issues.

When I first signed up for Kraft Food & Family, I thought it would be a booklet or something. But, it turned out to be a real magazine and packed with lots of ideas, directions, tips, and recipes. I really looked forward to getting the free cooking magazine.

My new issue of Food & Family came in this week, and it includes an "important notice" on the side flap. The next issue will be an online edition. They included a coupon code and promised $5 in Kraft coupons to go to the online form and sign up for the online magazine. Well, actually you don't get to the magazine. You get signed up for the weekly emails and then notification when the online magazine is actually ready.

I must confess I was bummed. I'm just not as likely to sit down and read a magazine or check out recipes in an online magazine format. It's kind of like those e-cards. They just don't feel real like the ones someone takes the time to buy, write on, and stick in the mail with an actual stamp. Sure. I enjoy e-cards that folks send, but it really is not the same as getting a card I can hold in my hands. Same thing with a magazine. It's not really a magazine, in my mind, when it's online.

The economy is bad, and printing is expensive. I noticed that Christian Science Monitor is going to the online format as well. Whew. What a week. Print is looking pretty shaky these days.

I generally roll with the flow. I clicked over to the Kraft online form. I put in my coupon code and my zip code as requested. No dice. It didn't work. I changed the zeros to regular old letter O's in case I was reading them as numbers instead of letters. There were two of those, so I tried each on separate and both together. That didn't work. I checked the zip code. We don't use the extra four around here, but I looked at my label and then tried zip plus dash plus four as on my label. Nope. That didn't do it either.

There is a click to sign up as a new member at Kraft on the home page of Kraft. I suppose I could do that. I don't know if I'd get the $5 in coupons if I went that route. I'm also not sure I'd even read the online magazine. So, it's kind of annoying that I spent time to do the shift as they requested (and then we on a weekly email list to boot) and then the form did not work. This is not Mom and Pop down the road. It's a major food company. They should have the form right before sending bad news about the Kraft magazine being cancelled and then asking for subscribers to stay loyal with this change of format to online.

I don't know if the new online magazine is available yet, because I can't even get signed up. The print magazine says that I'll get a "sneak peek." I guess I won't if I can't sign up.

Food Vendors - Don't Turn Down Free Advertising

Grilled Turkey Legs - Weren't Selling Very Well Yesterday Morning

I was at a local food festival recently and noticed the beautiful grilled turkey legs one man was cooking at his food vendor tent. I snapped a couple of pictures, introduced myself and gave the food vendor my business card. I told him that I do some online food and cooking writing.

"You don't know my name or my business, so you can't really write anything," he said. "You need a notebook and a pen and need to ask some questions."

In fact, I had a notebook and four pens (always good to have back ups) in my backpack. Since I had a camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other, it was a tad difficult to get everything juggled around.

Generally food vendors are friendly and have business cards. I can get details as needed by going online or by emailing or calling. I often mention various vendors here on the blog. One funnel cake guy emailed and asked to use my blog post on his web site. Sure. He even linked back which was terrific. I didn't ask though. I just blog and link things that I think readers would enjoy.

Perhaps the Jerky Turkey guy thought that I'm getting rich writing about food. I do know one online foodie who makes a living writing about cooking online. Actually, he sells e-cookbooks and hard copy cookbooks, so that's where he turns his profit. The rest of the online foodies I know do it, because they enjoy it. They are not earning much (if anything) with online food writing. I can't fill up with one tank of gas during the month with online earnings. That's across a food blog and two websites. A decent day would be 30 cents on income. I'm not complaining. I'm just stating facts there.

I go to various festivals and write about the food (and crafts and other things), because I enjoy doing it. It's my hobby. I have a day job. This is what I do for fun. I grill and share recipes and tips and also check out what others are doing as far as outdoor cooking.

The festival was a day out with my family. I carried my camera along as I usually do. I spoke with several vendors at the festival and blogged with the event still taking place. People headed to the festival later in the day were reading and likely checked out some of the vendors I mentioned. The turkey leg guy might have sold some turkey legs to people who were reading and then attending. This would have been free advertising pure and simple.

I didn't need or want anything from the Jerky Turkey guy. I just thought his turkey legs looked good. He was off the main drag at the festival. He didn't have any customers at the stand. A blog mention might have helped him out. Certainly, it wouldn't have hurt his business that day or in the future.

I was thinking all this, but life is too short to worry about turkey legs. I thanked the guy and started to move along. If he didn't want advertising, that was fine by me.

"Hey," he said. "You ought to get a leg. Then you can write a better story."

"It's 10:45 in the morning," I said. "We haven't decided what we're having for lunch yet."

Actually I'm not a big fan of turkey legs. They are OK, but they are not my favorite. My son does, however, love grilled turkey legs. He also lets me sample his food, so I can share more about what we see and do when we're out and about.

Seriously now, did Mr. Turkey Jerk think that I'd want to do business with him after he'd been rude? Sure. I do some professional writing. It's not writing about turkey legs though. And, it's not on my free time out with the family.

The turkey leg vendor lost a sale, and he lost free advertising.

If you are a food vendor, maybe this post will help. It only takes a second to hand a food writer a card. If you don't have business cards, most food writers would be glad to write down your information or even let you write it down on the back of our own business cards. I know I've done that before. Everyone starts somewhere, and some vendors are new. They are usually very glad to get noticed and mentioned.

I'm not saying the turkey leg guy owed me anything. It's his business. He can run it however he likes. But when someone is not asking for anything (and I never do) and when it could help sales, it really doesn't make much sense to be a jerk.

Fortunately, this is the only food vendor I've ever spoken to who has been rude. Most food vendors are glad to meet and talk to people and are interested in getting some media attention (even when it's informal). There are several vendors that I look for every year and mention in my blog and on my websites. One guy that I always mention asked me this year if I sell grills or something. I smiled and told him no and that I'm JUST a writer. I really hate to put it that way - just a writer - but that's the reality. I don't have a stash of grills, sauces, rubs, cookbooks or anything else. I have a camera and a notebook, and I have fun talking to people and spreading the word about good eats. Well, I usually do anyway. I didn't much enjoy talking to the turkey guy.

Fried Apple Pies at the Lexington Barbecue Festival

Happy Fried Apple Pie Baking Crew at the Barbecue Festival, Lexington, NC.

Fried apple pies always make me smile. If I see or smell fried pies, I think of my Grandma. She was from the mountains of Virginia. There was an apple tree out behind the farmhouse. She'd cut up apples for the year when they were in season and make her fried apple pies for special occasions.

Grandma is gone now, so it's a treat to get fried apple pies at the Lexington BBQ Festival. That's a yearly festival featuring - of course - barbecue but also lots of other great goodies like the fried pies.

Fried pies are kind of like the ones served at Hardees and at BoJangles, but the homemade are so much better. Not throwing off on the fast food chains. But, it's hard to beat home cooking.

I chatted today with the fried pie people. I would say fried pie ladies, but they did have a man back there and also a younger guy who looked to be in his teens or 20s. Thumbs up on that.

The group comes down every year to make the pies. It takes a couple of hours. One of the women told me she got up at 2 a.m. this morning to get everything ready, on the road, and cooking at the festival.

These fried apple pies are the real deal. You can see the can of Crisco and the flour. The pie makers are lined up and making pies as fast as they can. Other members of the group are out front frying. You can watch the whole thing from start to finish.

The only real difference in the Barbecue Festival fried apple pies and my Grandma's is that they deep fry. Grandma used an electric skillet and flipped hers. That takes longer but uses less Crisco or oil. The crust part is a little crisper on deep fried versus pan fried apple pies.

If you ever get out to the Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival, be sure to get a fresh fried apple pie. You may have to wait a while in line depending on the time of day, but it's definately worth the wait. If you don't live in the area, then look for my fried apple pie recipe coming soon on Yes You Can Cook. That's my newest web site. I'm plugging away, but it takes a while to get everything up. I'm slowly adding the family recipes, and I really need to get the fried apple pie directions up there. If there were just more hours in a day . . .

Barbecue Sandwiches at the Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival

This is one of the three tents at the barbecue festival. Area barbecue restaurants join together to make the barbecue for the annual Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival.



This is the 25th year for the Barbecue Festival, but it still has a down home feel. The barbecue signs are made by hand and taped on the plywood sides of the barbecue tent booths.



Behind the tents, they fry up curly tail French fries and also tend the sauce which has a vinegar base and a hint of tomato. The sauce at the festival is generally mild. For hotter sauces, you have to hit some of the barbecue restaurants in Lexington.



You get your pork barbecue, slaw, and curly tail fries at the main booths. Pick up drinks from the various non-profit groups selling along the street.



Is it just me, or does it look like this guy is swiping a barbecue sandwich? I know he wasn't, but it sure looks like it from the photo.


Lexington, North Carolina is a big barbecue town. You will find many restaurants serving pork barbecue cooked over wood. Some restaurants cook with gas which is cheaper and easier, but those are not considered real barbecue restaurants in the area. Two good barbecue restaurants to check out are Lexington Barbecue and Jimmy's. There are lots of other good ones too, but those are especially popular in Lexington.

You can also visit at the end of October and try Lexington barbecue at the annual Barbecue Festival. They have three tents serving chopped pork on buns with sauce. They wrap those up, put them in a brown bag, and you are ready for a good Southern lunch.

Most Southerners like slaw on the barbecue sandwiches or as a side with a barbecue tray. Barbecue slaw is different from regular slaw. It has more spice and a tang. It does make the bun a little soggy though. I'm not a big slaw fan, and that's something I don't usually tell. If I do eat it, I like it as a regular side dish and not running on my barbecue or dripping out of my bun.

One thing I do miss when I eat at the festival is the hush puppies. Most of our barbecue restaurants serve hush puppies with barbecue. I guess it's too much work or they just don't have room to fry hush puppies at the festival.

They do have curly tail French fries at the festival. Most barbecue joints do fries, but they don't put a lot of focus on those. You'll generally get frozen fries dropped in oil. The meat takes so much work and is really the focus, so the side dishes are usually just that - sides.

Some barbecue restaurants serve Brunswick stew with the pork. In my area, we don't see that often. We're more likely to have Brunswick stew as a main dish or for a fundraiser. I've never seen Brunswick stew at the annual Barbecue Festival. It's a great dish though, and I do keep an eye out for churches cooking up stews in the fall.

If you're looking for real North Carolina barbecue, then look for a wood pile and smoke in the morning. Actually, you don't even have to look. You can smell good barbecue.

25th Lexington, North Carolina Barbecue Festival

Pig Sand Sculpture at the 25th Annual Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival


Day Starts Off Wet and Rainy for the Barbecue Festival . . . But Gets Sunny Later


Festival Crowd Decked Out in Rain Coats and Carried Umbrellas


Checking Out the Tin Can Man Again This Year - He Has Added Shuttle Planes


Yes. Fine Wine Goes with Barbecue. Try the Special Swine Wine by Childress Vineyards


We're just back from the 25th annual Lexington, North Carolina Barbecue Festival. It's one of the largest one day festivals in the state and is rated as one of the best festivals in the nation.

Things started off wet and cool this year. It wasn't raining hard when the festival opened, but the rain was coming down steady enough to need raincoats and umbrellas. We wore jackets, but it was warm enough to shed those by noon. The rain had also moved through by then.

Generally we park in one of the lots outside of town and catch the bus in, but we went early enough that we got right downtown and in a lot for $5. It was a bank parking lot, and they let the humane society do the parking with the money to charity. There were several lots with various groups hosting the parking. The Boy Scouts were doing one lot and so on. The smaller lots right close the main street were full by lunch time, so I'd say it's a good idea to plan on one of the big parking lots and a bus ride in. It's only $2 to catch the bus, and they run about every 15 minutes all day.

Since it was raining, it was a little hard to juggle everything. I wore a backpack, and that was a good plan. They usually give out samples of varius products, so it's nice to have a free hand and also a place to stash samples or things you might buy at the craft booths.

The set up at the festival is that the main street is blocked off. In the center of the street are booths. You can go up one side and then back down the other and see everything. Off to the sides are entertainment tents and then other little booths on the sidewalks and up some of the side streets. The festival seems to spread out a little more each year. It's a small town, and it's a big festival. I keep looking for them to shift to a full weekend, but they haven't so far.

The barbecue is served in the center and then at each end - or close the ends anyway. These are not different barbecue types. Several of the local restaurants come together for the festival. So, don't expect to try a variety of barbecues. If you want to do that, then visit at another time and check out all the local barbecue in Lexington.

At the barbecue tents, they have barbcue which is chopped pork in Lexington. It's served with a slightly spicy sauce that has a vinegar base. There's a little tomato in there which sets it apart from barbecue closer to the beach. There's a long running debate about the best barbecue. Lexington, of course, claims to be number one. The eastern crowd will tell that their sauce is better. I like it all.

The barbecue tents also serve hot dogs or that was on the sign. I don't recall ever seeing anyone getting hot dogs at the barbecue tents. But, I guess some people do. I hate to get right up on folks and stare at their food.

For the sides, they have slaw. That's very traditional served with barbecue in the South. Most of the barbecue slaws have a bit of sauce and a little twang. The color is usually reddish versus slaw with a mayonnaise base served on hot dogs in the area.

There are curly tail French fries. They remind me a bit of the ones they had at Burger King for a while. There's some type of coating with seasonings. The fries which are cut in spirals are frozen (I'm sure) and then cooked in large vats of oil at the festival. Those are usually good. We got a cup cooked way too long and sitting too long today. They were rock hard and not soft inside at all. A lady working at the barbecue tent swapped those out for us. My son was really glad, because he really likes the curly tail fries - but not when they're hard.

A lot of people sit on the court house steps to eat the barbecue, but they also have tables set up. It's very informal. So, it's a good idea to wear jeans and t-shirts. You may end up sitting on the ground. That was a bit more difficult this year with it wet outside. We just stood and ate this time.

This is the 25th year for the festival, so they were expecting a really big crowd. I heard that the estimate was 100,000. Things were slower than expected I'm sure during the morning. But, it was picking up.

I enjoyed the day at the Barbecue Festival. It was a little messy with the rain. There weren't as many food booths like previous years. I always look for the homemade breads, dip mixes, honey, hot sauces, and salsas. This year, it was mainly crafts.

I did see the Tin Can Man. I got an airplane from him four or five years ago. It hangs in my office. We always stop by to say hello and to see what new creations he has come up with.

We brought home some fried apple pies to have later and got a couple of loaves of homemade bread - rosemary and sour dough.

Count Down on Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival - Looks Like I'm Going

Family Fun at the Lexington, North Carolina Barbecue Festival

I've been waffling on the Lexington, North Carolina Barbecue Festival. It's been my birthday trip for a number of years, since my b-day is October 24th which is always close to the festival date - near the end of October.

This year (2008) is the 25th anniversary of the Barbecue Festival. That makes it appealing in terms of the history, but I am not that keen on huge crowds. A big street party is one thing. When you can't hardly walk for all the people - that's another thing.

We go early to the festival. I'm not talking 6 a.m. or anything like that. But, we shoot for 9 to 10 a.m. and when it first opens up. By noon, it's like a madhouse at the festival. The lines at the parking lots outside of town (where you catch the shuttle buses) are backed way up. I'm always glad we're leaving rather than coming when it gets backed up like that.

I also have issues with the Port-o-Johns. They are not awful early, although last year I had to try three before I could manage it. It was hot last year though, and it's supposed to be cooler this year. Thank goodness. I'm not a total prude, but smells can do me in. Put me in a hot porta-potty with some packages, and I bust out of the door like the Incredible Hulk. Arrhhhggg. Then, I have to get in another potty line and hope for better. The other waiting people do find this amusing. I cough and gag and then my eyes water. Everyone then knows which line not to wait in.

I will make a note to self not to drink much on Barbecue Festival morning and hope I can hold it. If this is not possible, then I must decide if I go before getting barbecue and maybe not having much of an appetite after or waiting and then maybe adding to the bad juju in the port-o-pots.

As long as I am not jam packed in waves of humanity or fumbling for the porta-potty door handles (to get out fast), then I enjoy the heck out of the Lexington BBQ Festival. They have a lot of great music and shows. I like to meander along the main stretch and hear various types of music and see the magic shows and characters like Dora and Superman.

I generally do some Christmas shopping at the Barbecue Festival. They have various booths with crafts and with barbecue sauces. I pick up some new flavors for my barbecues and to give to friends. I usually get some local honey and some dip mixes. I've also found some great crafts like a spider made out of car parts that was quite unique. We also have enjoyed the PVC pipe marshmallow shooters and get more for kids on our gift list.

This is the 25th year, so it may be bigger than I enjoy. Guess I'll find out in two days. I was back and forth on whether to go, but I called around. Right now, it's a go. Will check back in later with the details. Hoping for a great birthday trip. Making sure to use the bathroom at home beforehand though.