Barbecue Sold by the Bucket

The Daily Ardmoreite, May 23, 1906



I ran across an advertisement for barbecue that was run in The Daily Ardmoreite of Ardmore, OK back in 1906. It tells of barbecue that was cooked fresh every day and informs the reader to bring a bucket. So, barbecue was sold by the bucket decades before chicken was sold by the bucket. Sorry, Colonel.

Old Virginia Barbecue Sauce Recipe - "Shack Sauce"

Old Virginia "Shack" Sauce

Here is a delicious version of an old VA BBQ sauce inspired by a 19th century VA BBQ man named Shack. It has no sugar in it, so sweet sauce fans may want to stay away.

1 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup of your favorite hot sauce (I use Texas Pete)
1 Tablespoon (TBS) Paprika
1 TBS Black Pepper
1 TBS Kitchen Salt
2 TBS Yellow Mustard (French's)

Mix well, let sit in the refrigerator for at least 24 to 48 hours before serving for best results. I blend it in my food processor, that's why it's about 16 ounces total.

By the way, I will be telling Shack's incredible story in my upcoming book about the history of Virginia barbecue. So, stay tuned!

The Great Boston Barbecue of 1793 - Roast Ox and the French Revolution

Southwest view of the Old State House on State Street as it appeared in 1793.

(Illustration from State Street: A Brief Account of a Boston Way)

State Street (named King Street in 1770) in Boston, Massachusetts, in front of the Old State House, is where the first blood of the American Revolution was shed during the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. Twenty three years later, Bostonians were celebrating not only their own freedom from oppression but also the belief that liberty was sweeping France in the 1790s as a result of the French Revolution. Here is an account of the great State Street barbecue that took place on January 23, 1793 excerpted from State Street: A Brief Account of a Boston Way by State Street Trust Company, Boston, 1906.

The strangest scene that State Street has witnessed was the barbecue at the time of the French Revolution. America was full of its partisans, and nowhere was this friendly sympathy keener than in Boston. Bostonians of this era delighted in calling each other “citizens,” and strove in many other ways to show their sympathy with the spirit of liberty then sweeping through France. The feeling found expression, two days after the execution of Louis XVI in the barbecue. A thousand pound ox was killed, and its horns gilded and placed on an altar twenty feet high. Drawn by fifteen horses and preceded by two hogsheads of punch pulled by six horses, and accompanied by a cart of bread, it was escorted through the streets of Boston, and finally deposited in State Street. Tables had been spread from the Old State House to Kilby Street, and the citizens feasted upon roast ox and strong punch, to the subsequent confusion of many. Boston’s fair women decked the windows of the neighboring houses, and amused themselves by throwing flowers upon the feasters, until the scene culminated in what some of the best citizens characterized as a “drunken revelry.” When the news of the execution of the king reached America, there was a sudden revulsion of feeling against his executioners.

The Barbecue Trees

Harper's Weekly, July 27, 1861 (Illustration courtesy of harpersweekly.com)

Can you spot the barbecue trees in the above illustration? In the early 19th century, during the administration of president Andrew Jackson, two groves of trees were planted on the Capitol Grounds for barbecues. After lots of research and a labor of love, I can now tell their story. You can read about them in this month's issue of Smoke Signals Magazine beginning on page 4. Here is the link - Smoke Signals Magazine Issue 11.

Intervention!

Slow Smoked Meat!

Here is the official theme song and video for Obsessive Compulsive Barbecue and its competition cook team Man vs. Pig.

The Pie Town Fair Barbecue of 1940

Pie Town, peacefully resting in Catron County, New Mexico was apparently founded as follows: Sometime in the early 1920's, Mr. Clyde Norman, a tall Texan and World War 1 veteran who "liked to bake", "broke down" on the side of the road and began making dried apple pies at his upstart business on a piece of ground that lay along a little rocky ridge and the "Coast to Coast Highway" later to become U.S. 60. The word got around that the best pies anywhere were to be found at "Pie Town" hence the name Pie Town.

In 1940, near the end of the Great Depression and just before the dawn of the United States' entry into World War II, a photographer named Russell Lee, an itinerant, government photographer employed by funds from Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, captured stirring photographs of the people of Pie Town. The images he captured are nothing less than national treasures. Here, I post some of the photos of the Pie Town Fair Barbecue of 1940 made available by the Library of Congress. The photographs need no commentary. The images tell the story better than any words ever could.



The Pie Town Community Church

Harvesting Corn

Main Street, Pie Town

Starting the Fires

Pinto Beans: Pie Town's Main Crop in 1940

Giving Thanks Before The Barbecue Meal

Slicing the Pies!

Serving up Pinto Beans

Barbecue Being Served

A Homesteader Feeding His Daughter at the Barbecue

The Crowd Enjoying the Barbecue

A Homesteader and his Children Enjoying the Barbecue

Groundhog Day Barbecue

For over 125 years people have been gathering in Punxsutawney, PA to celebrate the amazing weather forecasting talents of one Punxsutawney Phil Sowerby. The day is filled with a festive surrounding of good food, fun, friends, and family. The most amazing thing about Punxsutawney Phil's ability is not that he only exercises his weather prognostication talents for a few brief seconds  on the second day of February each year. The truly amazing thing about Punxsutawney Phil is that he is a groundhog with weather forecasting talents.

Early in the morning on the second day of February each year, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his hole. If he sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he is predicting six more weeks of winter weather. If Phil doesn't see his shadow, he has predicted an early spring. That's pretty much all Punxsutawney Phil does. Not a bad way to make a living.

As good as ol' Punxsutawney Phil has it nowadays, things weren't always so easy for groundhogs on Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA. There was a time when the highlight of the day was the barbecued groundhog! Here is an excerpt from a newspaper article that appeared in Fair Play on February 14, 1920.

A community celebration of a somewhat different character but equally effective in its advertising power, is the Ground-Hog day picnic at Punxsutawney, PA. At this novel annual event farmers, politicians and former residents to the number of many thousands gather to share in eating a splendid repast, the principal feature of which is groundhog meat. The meat is cooked in barbecue fashion and invariably wins the praise of the celebrants. Speeches and informal hearty greetings of old friends occupy the afternoon. While this event is not designed to advertise a farm product, its distinctive character and the fine spirit of hospitality that obtains puts Punxsutawney and the surrounding country on the map.

The folks in Punxsutawney, PA don't serve barbecued groundhog on Ground Hog Day anymore. I'm sure no one is happier about that than Punxsutawney Phil. People used to really enjoy their Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary barbecue sandwiches. Not so much nowadays.

Virginia Barbecue Sauce Through the Centuries

Virginia barbecue sauce evolved throughout the centuries in a way that reflected the prosperity of the times. Early on back in the 1600's, the English colonists in Virginia didn't like the gamy flavors of the native game so they used vinegar mixed with lard or butter on meat in order to cover up the gaminess.



Old School Virginia Vinegar
Based Barbecue Sauce

Soon after the English arrived, Native Americans taught them their techniques used to smoke meat. When enslaved people from Africa and the West Indies arrived starting at around 1619, they refined the smoking/cooking process into the barbecue cooking technique we are familiar with nowadays that calls for a bed of coals with the meat suspended above it.

While chili peppers originated in the New World, they had to go around the world and back to end up in the colonies. The first chili peppers to enter the English colonies were sent to Virginia in 1621 from England by the governor of the Bermuda Islands. At that point, the foundation was laid for the development of the classic vinegar, butter, salt, pepper, cayenne based barbecue sauce. As a result, it was in Virginia during the 17th century that "American Southern Barbecue" was born. The four influences for the recipe and the cooking technique, the English, Native Americans, Africans, and people who were brought to the colony from the Caribbean all converged in 17th century Virginia and from it America's unique cuisine was born.

As prosperity increased, wealthy people in Virginia began to use more spices and even sugar when cooking barbecue. Poor people and enslaved people didn't have that luxury and continued to use the vinegar, butter, salt, pepper, cayenne sauce. In fact, that sauce remained as a main component in just about all barbecue cooking by African Americans and poorer white people in Virginia until at least around the 1920's. That recipe was passed down from generation to generation and that was just the way people cooked barbecue.

As enslaved people moved around the colonies in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries because of inheritances, sales, trades, etc., the barbecue cooking technique and the vinegar based sauce was spread all over the South. Another factor that helped spread Virginia barbecue was the fact that the only way to get into North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, etc. during colonial times was from either Virginia or Pennsylvania using Indian hunting/trading paths that led from Pennsylvania, through Virginia, all the way down to about Augusta, Georgia. As settlers in Virginia set out to find new lands to settle, they took their barbecue recipes with them. These facts are some of the reasons that the vinegar, butter, salt, pepper, cayenne sauce is so universal throughout the South. And, keep in mind that a nickname for Virginia is "the Mother of states". West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and, even a part of Minnesota were all a part of the original Virginia territory.

Here is some further information you may find helpful regarding the sauces and flavors used in Virginia barbecue -

From the 1600's onward - Butter or lard, vinegar, salt, pepper, cayenne.

Early 19th century - vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, butter, mushroom ketchup, walnut ketchup, garlic, honey, peach syrup, molasses, and, starting around the 1830's, tomato ketchup.

Late 19th century - Worcestershire sauce was added in some recipes.

Here is a recipe for an early to mid 19th century Virginia meat flavoring sauce -

2 chopped onions
3 pods of red (cayenne) pepper chopped
2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS celery seed
1 TBS ground mustard
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Add 1 quart of cider vinegar and mix well.

So, if you want an authentic Virginia barbecue sauce nowadays, I'd suggest that you get to work using some of the ingredients I listed above. Of course, just as it always has been, the Virginia barbecue sauce you create will reflect the prosperity and tastes of our time. But, that's just as much a part of Virginia barbecue sauce as vinegar.

In closing and on behalf of all Virginians, I'd like to say to our Eastern North Carolina friends who enjoy vinegar based barbecue sauce, "You are welcome. We are delighted that you like our barbecue sauce."

Old Virginia Barbecue For Sale in Texas

Newspaper advertisement from the El Paso Herald - July 18, 1914

There was a time in this country that when someone thought of barbecue they thought of Virginia; and that was true even in Texas. Virginians have always loved barbecue but it never really caught on in Virginia with famous restaurants like you see in other states. In Virginia, barbecue was a community food not so much a restaurant food. To a Virginian in the 17th - 19th centuries,  "Old Virginia Barbecue" was as much a community event as it was delicious barbecue. The phrase "Old Virginia Barbecue" encompassed family, community, fellowship and unity. How do you start a restaurant like that?

Cut/Chop/Cook

Here is the essence of American barbecue. Scott's Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, SC is nothing less than a national treasure. The method of cooking barbecue employed at Scott's goes all the way back to the very beginnings of American history even to the first successful English colony in the New World: Virginia. A whole hog is slow roasted over wood coals and mopped with a peppery vinegar based basting liquid and served with love and care. That, my friends, is Americana in its purist form!

 

Scott's Bar-B-Que was founded in 1972 by Ella and Roosevelt "Rosie" Scott in Hemingway, SC.  Rosie's uncle taught him the downhome technique of slow cooking whole hogs over a wood-burning pit.  The community just couldn't get enough of Rosie's barbecue. After hand crafting his own barbecue pits, Rosie Scott has spent all of his adult life serving some of the best barbecue the Carolinas have to offer. 

Today the legacy continues with Rosie, Ella and their son Rodney.  Rodney Scott cooked his first hog when he was just eleven.  Now 27 years later, Rodney serves as the Pitmaster at Scott's Bar-B-Que. Rodney is proud to tell the family's barbecue secret, "we put a whole lot of love into what we do."  And indeed it's true. Critics have been raving about the authenticity of Scott's Bar-B-Que for decades.  It's not just the barbecue, but it's that old fashioned, "mom & pop" feel you get when visit Scott's Bar-B-Que. 

Forever greatful to the Hemingway community for their success, The Scott family shows their appreciation every spring by hosting a free community picnic.  The event has grown so large that the Scotts now schedule their own family reunion to coincide with the annual event. They do this to ensure that they have enough hands on deck to serve the community.  They've done this for the past 13 years.  Now that's love!

Melissa Cookston's Barbecued Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Melissa Cookston - Three Time World BBQ Champion

So, have you been wanting to learn how to cook barbecue like Melissa Cookston? Who wouldn't? She is a three time world champion barbecue cook. Fortunately for us, she has also shown the world a glimpse into how she cooks baby back ribs. Here is what she has generously shared about her process and my comments.

Here is Melissa's Quick and Easy rub recipe she shared at this link - Click Here.

1 cup granulated raw sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper (coarse ground if available)
2 tsp ground mustard
4 tbsp light chili powder
4 tbsp paprika

In the How to BBQ like a World Champion interview, Cookston explains the process.

“We’re going to show you exactly what we do to our ribs for competition to make your ribs world champion ribs too,” Cookston begins.

First, you want to remove the membrane that is on the back of the ribs. “You can’t chew through that. So we want to remove that, so that all of our flavors can get in the back of the rib as well as the top of the rib, and it’ll make it much more tender.  You just slide your fingers underneath the membrane, pull up, and bam it’s gone.”

After that, liberally coat both sides of your ribs with rub, and be sure to rub it all in so the meat gets lots of good flavor.

Then spread on a coat of secret ingredient #1, mustard.

“The mustard acts as a sealant on top of the rub, which will help force that rub down into the pores; as well as it contains Vinegar, so it will help these ribs tenderize,” she explains. “You will never taste the mustard in these ribs, I promise.”


"Now your ribs are ready for the smoker at 225 degrees for two hours."


OCBBQ NOTE - I seriously doubt that she cooks ribs at 225 degrees. Bump your smoker temperature up to 275 degrees F and you will be closer to the actual cooking temperature.

“After two hours, these ribs will be a nice, red color and they almost look like they’re done.  But guess what?  They’re still tough.  So what I’m going to do is, I’m going to wrap this up in some foil,” she says.

While appearing on BBQ Pitmasters, Cookston added some further details -

Cookston described the color of her ribs before wrapping them in foil as a really dark red color on the ribs so that when she glazes them they will have a nice pretty mahogany shine.

"Wrapping your ribs in foil will help them tenderize and keep them from over-smoking. Before you wrap them up, shake some more rub on both sides and cover it with another thin layer of mustard.

Then comes secret ingredient #2, apple juice. Add a cup or two of apple juice to your foil-wrapped ribs to ensure your ribs are cooking with moist heat and not a dry-heat.  The juice will also keep your ribs tender, and add a little bit of sweetness."

OCBBQ NOTE - I think that is too much AJ. Too much liquid in the foil can cause the ribs to lose flavor. At the link with the rub recipe (above) she specified 1 tablespoon of apple or orange juice. And if you watch the video of her at the How to BBQ like a World Champion link you can see that she used a very little bit of apple juice. Looked like about 2 tablespoons to me.

"Before you wrap them up, shake some more rub on both sides and cover it with another thin layer of mustard."

"Make sure the ribs are wrapped tightly, and put them back in the smoker for another two hours.

When your ribs are done cooking is when you add your barbecue sauce, not earlier."

OCBBQ NOTE - Start checking baby back ribs after about 1.5 hours of cook time after being wrapped. They are done when you can easily twist the bones or when they bend at a 90 degree angle when being picked up from the middle with a pair of tongs.

“BBQ sauces all contain some sort of sugars which will caramelize and actually burn through the cooking process, so you only want to put the sauce on at the very end of the cooking process,” Cookston says.

After you've sauced your ribs you’ll add the final touch of Cookston’s last secret ingredient, honey.

“It’ll give your ribs a great shine, and it’ll give them just that sweet taste, which is really good if you like sweet BBQ.”  Plus, “If it looks good, it tastes good.  So shiny ribs are better than dull ribs.”

"Put your ribs back in the smoker for 10-15 minutes to let the barbecue sauce soak in, and then your ribs are ready to enjoy."

OCBBQ NOTE - If your sauce has a lot of sugar in it, 10 minutes is the maximum time that you will need, especially at 275 degrees.

Now, if you want to make even more authentic Cookston style baby back ribs, order some of her barbecue sauce and rub from her online store. Click here for the link.

The Original Allman's Bar-B-Q Style Cheeseburger - Circa 1975

Old School Allman's Bar-B-Q Cheeseburger in all its Cheesy Glory!

Back around 1975 when I was in elementary school, I used to love to visit Allman's Bar-B-Q in Fredericksburg, VA not to eat the barbecue but to eat the cheeseburgers. Those cheeseburgers were  among the most delectable treats that I could enjoy back in those days.

They didn't look delicious. In fact, they were "squashed" because Mr. White (the owner) would heat the buns in his "meat press" which was a device that looked like a clothes pressing machine you see in dry cleaner shops. They were cooked in the kitchen by the chief cook Mary Brown. Mary didn't cook the barbecue. She made the coleslaw and cooked burgers, dogs, and fries, etc. And, the cheeseburgers she cooked were nothing short of master pieces.

I had a real craving for one of those delicious cheeseburgers recently. I was almost wishing I had a time machine just so I could go back in time, visit Allman's, and order a cheeseburger. Yeah, they were that good. But, after doing a search on Google and eBay, I realized that there are no time machines to be had. So, I had to get to work and try my hand and at replicating a 1975 style Allman's Bar-B-Q cheeseburger. To my surprise, it turned out very close to the real thing. It was pretty tasty! I ate mine plain, but you could also get any of the standard burger toppings if you wanted. Here is how you can make one too.

Ingredients
1/4 to 1/3 pound of 73/27 ground beef (Allman's wasn't a burger joint. They used inexpensive ground beef.)
2 slices of American cheese (I use Kraft Deli Deluxe)
1 soft burger bun (I used Blue Ribbon brand)
A griddle or iron skillet
A lid that will fit inside the iron skillet or big enough to cover the burger patty on the griddle
Aluminum Foil
2 TBS of water
Salt & Pepper

Form the beef into a thin patty. Touch the meat as little as possible. Mary used to cook a lot of these things, especially on weekends, and I can tell you that she didn't spend a lot of time forming the patty.

Put the meat on the hot griddle or in the hot skillet. Use a little vegetable oil, if needed. Add a little salt & pepper and let the patty cook. When it's time, flip the patty over. Just as it has reached well done, put the cheese on top, pour the water near the patty and cover it with the lid. The steam produced from the water melts the cheese. Let it stay covered until the cheese is melted.

The Original Circa 1975 Allman's Bar-B-Q Style Cheeseburger

Once the cheese is melted, remove the cheesy meat patty from the skillet/griddle. Remove the excess grease from the skillet/griddle being careful not to burn yourself.

Put the bottom piece of the bun on the skillet/griddle, put the meat patty with melted cheese on it and, finally, top it off with the other half of the bun.

Take the lid that has been wiped of liquid/grease and use it to push down on the cheeseburger to "squash" it. Let the bun bottom get good and hot. Flip it over and repeat.




Remove the cheeseburger from the pan/griddle and wrap it in aluminum foil. Let it sit for about 3 to 5 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy.

No, it's not like taking a journey through time in a time machine but it's very close.

One Mile Long Barbecue Pit!

If you do a lot of reading about BBQ history, you have probably heard of the world's largest 
barbecue ever held. It was in honor of the January, 1923 inauguration of Oklahoma governor
Jack Walton. He put out a call for  donations for the barbecue and received an overwhelming
response. The Dallas Morning News reported that thousands of cows, hogs, sheep, and chickens
plus 103 turkeys, 1,363 rabbits, 26 squirrels, 134 opossums, 113 geese, 34 ducks, 15 deer, 2
buffalo, and 2 reindeer were donated for hundreds of thousands of people that were expected
to attend.

But, to me, the most impressive thing about the barbecue was the part that everyone seems to
leave out of the story: the barbecue pit. It was a hole dug in the ground that spanned one
mile!

Mile-Long Trench Prepared For Inauguration Barbecue;
Cowboy Chef Almost Ready

The Morning Tulsa Daily World - December 28, 1922

"We'll be ready to start cooking meat pretty soon," was the declaration today of
I. R. McCann, nationally known cowboy chef, who is in charge of preparing meats for
Oklahoma's big barbecue to be held here January 8 at the inauguration of Gov.-Elect
J. C. Walton. "You know it  takes about 30 hours to barbecue meat properly," McCann explained. 

"A mile long trench over which the carcasses will roast was reported complete today and work on emergency houses and tents to house overflow visitors estimated to exceed two hundred  thousand are under way," he said. 

"It will be the biggest feat in the history of the world of its kind," continued McCann, "and it's going to go off like clock work. On the morning of January 7, there will be more than one thousand carcasses all nice and brown awaiting consumption by the hungry hordes. 

A trainload of wood is expected in soon and a carload of pepper has been ordered. I'll see the pepper is used with discrimination and there will be a feast of beef like your mother used to cook."  

Thirty meat cutters, 1000 waiters, 52 fire handlers and 500 assistant chefs will prepare the feast.