Looking for Smoke and Finding Barbecue

A pulled pork sandwich by pitmaster Joe Kelso.

[Note: This post, prepared originally for Sandhills Magazine and published in its April-May 2021 issue, is hosted on the magazine's website, with excerpts and a link to the website posted here.]

When family members and guests visit from out-of-state and want to taste authentic N.C. barbecue, where do you take them? The choices are more numerous than you may realize. Do you want to impress, go to a casual Sandhills spot, take a short road trip to a legacy location, search for one of the ubiquitous barbecue food trucks, or visit a competitive cookoff? 

The Impressive 

Nothing is more impressive than watching small planes land and take off on an active runway next to where you are enjoying hickory-smoked barbecue slowly cooked over hot coals. Head to Carthage where Pik-n-Pig, located at Gilliam-McConnell Airport, has created a dedicated following for its pulled pork that is smoked for up to 10 hours. Although the meat is served naturally moist, you can enhance the flavor with a homemade hot-spicy (vinegar-based) sauce or a sweet honey sauce (that is tomato-based). The sides are excellent, but make sure to save room for banana pudding. 

Because some out-of-towners want to combine barbecue with a craft beer (or two), Pinehurst Brewing Company in the century-old steam plant building is a favorite destination to impress. Smoked over hickory and oak coals, its pulled pork shoulder pairs well with its signature barbecue sauces, which include a creative blueberry habanero, as well as its distinctive beers.

Continue reading at Sandhills Magazine and also see an earlier post about pitmaster Joe Kelso and Smok'n Joe's BBQ that are mentioned later in this post ...

A Barbecue Food Truck Rolls into a Small NC Town

Up in Smoke BBQ sets up in Southern Pines, NC.

 Barbecue food trucks seem to be multiplying. They serve an increasing number of people wanting their beloved barbecue while the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the restaurant industry are brought under control. Although the restrictions that limit how many customers on-site that restaurants can serve are slowly being lifted, trucks may have found a long-term opportunity to connect with barbecue fans even after the pandemic has ended. 

Trays of pulled pork inside the truck are ready for orders. Photo: Up in Smoke via Facebook.

Up in Smoke BBQ 

In downtown Southern Pines, NC, on the premises of Hatchett Brewery Co., Up in Smoke BBQ set up one weekend to offer good-tasting barbecue to beer fans who otherwise wouldn’t have had anything substantial to eat. Also known as the BBQ Bus (although it’s really a trailer with a bus logo painted on it), Up in Smoke BBQ and other barbecue trucks that locate at a craft brewery have found a good partner, and all can benefit from mutual promotion. The menu varies with each event, but barbecue is always served. 

The menu usually includes ribs but always includes pulled pork.

Although Southern Pines restricts food trucks in its central business district, permits can be obtained in advance with a little thoughtful planning. The restrictions are designed to protect brick-and-mortar restaurants that pay property taxes from competition with trucks that have lower expenses. However, a barbecue food truck isn’t competition for restaurants and bars that generally don’t serve barbecue. If a truck doesn’t roll in, barbecue is not available. 

My pulled pork order with two servings of coleslaw.

Truck Menu

When I was at Up in Smoke BBQ, the truck was continually busy serving customers who were entering and leaving the craft brewery. Most customers probably were more focused on beer than barbecue, but for me, my concentration was totally on the pork. The popular choice was pulled pork, which is what I ordered. It was excellent, and several sauce options were available. 

The BBQ bus logo is very prominent on the trailer of Up in Smoke.

Finding good barbecue on food trucks is no longer a rare experience. Let’s hope that they keep rolling.

Smokehouse at Pinehurst Brewery

Most barbecue restaurants I visit are usually historic or legendary. However, for the Smokehouse at Pinehurst Brewery, I wanted to visit before it opened and earned its reputation.

The new brewery occupies the historic steam plant building.

A few days before it opened to the public, I had an opportunity to have lunch as well as take a tour. Beer lovers will appreciate the 10-barrel microbrewery, the focal point of the taproom. More interesting to barbecue fans will be the smokehouse for the restaurant.

The brewery combines old and new architectual features.

Meats -- pork shoulder, beef brisket, chicken, and sausage -- smoked on site with local oak, hickory, and pecan woods are the primary menu items to be enjoyed as sandwiches or plates. They are complemented by four signature sauces: eastern N.C. (spicy vinegar and pepper), western N.C. (sweet and tangy), S.C. mustard, and blackberry habanero. Smoked mashed potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, mac ‘n’ cheese, and collard greens are among the sides.

A plate of ribs comes with cornbread and two sides (collards and mac 'n' cheese were my choices).

For the Smokehouse at Pinehurst Brewery, another reason to visit is to see its facilities, which occupy the old steam plant for the Village of Pinehurst. Built in 1895, it was decommissioned in 1998 after providing power and heat for homes, businesses and hotels of the village for decades.

Four sauces are available to add flavor to the smoked meats.

The building was fully renovated, but the original brick, façade and steel windows have been kept. Old piping and other artifacts reclaimed in 2016 by Black Dog Savage, an architectural salvage company, are displayed as artwork.

Black Dog Savage saves original features of the steam plant in 2016.

Having another barbecue restaurant that cooks meat slow and low over wood is much appreciated. Even though it’s brand new, it will soon become a destination. The smoked barbecue by itself is reason to visit, but the craft beer and scenic setting are additional enticements.

Original fixtures of the steam plant add to the interior decor.

The smokehouse uses oak, hickory, and pecan wood.

A new smokehouse was built next to the brewery, which occupies the old steam plant building.

An Inaugural Success in Wake Forest

When I arrived in Wake Forest, NC, for a barbecue cookoff, I followed the signs for “Judges Parking.” As I exited my car, the attendant greeted me with “Good morning, Your Honor.”

Because I looked quizzically at him, he asked, “You are a judge, right?” “Oh yes,” I said, realizing that his greeting was his way to confirm I was authorized to park in the lot reserved for contest judges. This encounter was the first of many with contest organizers and volunteers that was very cordial and friendly, a mark of a great contest.

Judges who arrived early relax in the taproom (but no beer) next to the exposed brew house.

At White Street Barbecue Experience, I was continually greeted in such a positive manner, a surprise because this event is its inaugural one. For its first cookoff, the contest was structured as a “backyard” cookoff and competition was limited to two categories: ribs and chicken. However, the contest offered more than $13,000 in prize money, a large sum for any event particularly a backyard contest. Slow Smokers was declared the grand champion after placing first in ribs and second in chicken.

Voting for the People's Choice contest was a popular activity of the event.

The contest takes its name from White Street Brewery Company, the sponsoring organization, which opened for business in 2012 in a 1930s car dealership that was transformed into a production brewery. The building retains its century-old original character. All judging activities took place in the large taproom with exposed bricks, beams and brew house. Customers at the oak bar enjoyed sipping their craft beer and looking on as barbecue entries were judged.

Oinkers BBQ placed third in the ribs category.

The heart of downtown Wake Forest was blocked off for a day-long BBQ block party, and it was well attended. Music, demonstrations, vendor food, and a people’s choice contest kept the crowd amply entertained and fed. In addition, beer trucks were strategically placed throughout the festival area and always seemed to have someone standing in line.

Judging activities took place inside White Street Brewery Company.

For its inaugural event, White Street Barbecue Experience was very successful and popular. With such a solid foundation, the cookoff is ready to turn “professional” and permit the teams to compete in all four meat categories standard in events sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

Cooking teams set up in areas off White Street in downtown Wake Forest. 

Taproom customers unwind as judging activities conclude.