10 Lessons for Smoking Your First Whole Hog

Many of you, no doubt, are planning on cooking a whole hog (or, more elegantly, pig) for your New Year’s dinner.  You are to be commended.  I’m sure that Dan Kenney would be cooking a whole pig if he weren’t exhausted from frying turkeys for half of Lumberton. The ultimate method of cooking a whole pig — or another large part of a pig — is … Continue reading 10 Lessons for Smoking Your First Whole Hog

Make Perfect Barbecue for Christmas

Okay, you cooked a turkey at Thanksgiving, and you’re ready to try something else for Christmas dinner.  Or perhaps you’r trying to decide what to have to ring in the New Year. The answer, as so often is the case, is barbecue.  But how do you make perfect barbecue?  Well, my friend, you’ve come to the right place.  Here is a reprise of an earlier … Continue reading Make Perfect Barbecue for Christmas

Breaking Pork News!

This just in:  A deputy with the Cleveland County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office pulled over and searched a tractor trailer truck that was driving erratically on I 85.  Nothing new there, but wait!  The truck was carrying barrels marked as containing raw pork shoulders and, the deputy, being from Western North Carolina, searched the barrels and found lots of raw pork shoulders and $3 million … Continue reading Breaking Pork News!

A Look Back: Hunt’s Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant, Panama City, Florida

It’s Thursday, or at least it will be tomorrow, and that means time to re-post a restaurant review from the earlier days of the Blog.  I stepped outside today and immediately decided that a post from the sunny South was in order.  Here’s one from a wonderful seafood places: #### After meals at the Peg Leg Porker and the Golden Rule, Nancy and I continued south to … Continue reading A Look Back: Hunt’s Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant, Panama City, Florida

Doughnut-Shaped Hushpuppies at Clark’s Barbecue, Kernersville, North Carolina

A while back, I had an email from my brother, Jim, about Clark’s Barbecue.  I meant to stop by Clark’s on my last trip to Charlotte, but my plan got lost in the tall weeds of my life.   And I’ve lost Jim’s covering email and his comments on the food.  I do remember the main thing at Clark’s caught his imagination.  Behold: Those are … Continue reading Doughnut-Shaped Hushpuppies at Clark’s Barbecue, Kernersville, North Carolina

Marty’s BBQ, Wilson, North Carolina

You’ve met my good friend, Jim Oliver, here. In addition to being delightfully unconventional and hugely funny, Jim is the soul of generosity.  Jim’s from Creedmore, outside Raleigh, and his Momma still lives there.  Jim visits her often, as every son should.  When last we got together, Jim and I were talking about North Carolina barbecue, of course, and I mentioned that, Bill’s having closed, my … Continue reading Marty’s BBQ, Wilson, North Carolina

A Look Back at the Best Barbecue in Europe: Pendergast Smokehouse, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Let’s try this — on Thursdays, I plan to re-post reviews of restaurants from earlier days of the Blog as a service to our more recent readers.  Here’s a post on the best barbecue place in Europe, and a Top Place by any standard. ### Wow! That was my reaction to my first bite of brisket at Pendergast Smokehouse in Amsterdam.  I was stunned by … Continue reading A Look Back at the Best Barbecue in Europe: Pendergast Smokehouse, Amsterdam, The Netherlands