Hard at Work Today
(Inspired by Cameron and Ayman)
Comments (2)Pork, it’s the meat of kings
So says this animated video from Weebl’s Stuff (who also produced the disturbingly catchy Magical Trevor and the classic Badger Badger Badger). An appropriate coda to Pig Pickin’ 2008 (pictures from which will follow).
Now if only I had an MPig3 player…
On the way back from a conference in Italy this spring, at the Rome airport trying to find a way to spend my copious quantities of Euro coins that the change bureau wouldn’t accept, I was poking around in one of those eclectic-housewares type of shops when something caught my eye: Pigs! Little pink pigs. Get this: as headphones. Good-quality, outside-world-blocking in-ear buds, to be precise. Of course I had to buy a pair. Check ‘em out:
That’s right, these pigs go in one ear and out the other. Are they two pigs, or one really long pig? That’s really up to you. These piggies come from a French company called La Chaise Longue — search for “ecouteur cochon” — but I think you can probably find them closer to home, too.
Words of wisdom from Dennis Rogers
Dennis Rogers was a columnist at The News & Observer, my favorite of the North Carolina newspapers (but I used to work there, so I might be biased), from 1977 until he retired in 2007. He liked to write about barbecue from time to time — he even proclaimed himself the “Oracle of the Holy Grub.”
What can I say? We take our BBQ seriously in North Carolina. We’ve had a link to the excellent Lexington Collection web site in our Hot Links section (on the right, below the categories) for a while now, but today I noticed they have a page of Dennis’ most quotable BBQ moments.
Here, he addresses one of my pet peeves:
“Y’all is plural, there is no such thing as one grit and barbecue — for the thousandth time — is a noun. It is not a verb or an adjective. You cook a pig and you get barbecue. You grill steaks and burgers. You do not ‘barbecue’ anything. So shut up about it.”
(D. Rogers, The News & Observer, April 22, 1977)
2nd Annual Pig Pickin’!
Tamar noticed that we’ve been all quiet here about this year’s 2nd Annual Pig Pickin’ and BBQ Sauce Contest Jamboree. No particular reason. Actually, I think it’s because it’s been so much easier this year. Much less uncertainty, much better planning. We’re old pros now!
Anyway, said event is coming up this Saturday, and we’re once again going to welcome 100+ people (we think) for some pork in Tilden Park. Stay tuned for wrap-up, pictures, and winning sauce recipes!
Atlanta BBQ
On a recent business trip to Atlanta, Peter and I had one solitary day to see what Atlanta BBQ is all about. Did we ever. For lunch we hit Daddy D’z. I had the pork plate lunch special, which was a nice pile of pulled pork with sides of beans and potato salad. The pork was a wonderful consistency, though not particularly smokey. What struck me most was how sweet everything on my plate was. The sauce, the beans, the cornbread, the salad – everything was sticky. Is that the Georgia style? Not sure. I’m being too critical – along with Peter’s friend Veronica we had a great meal. The consensus was that the sides were particularly great – greens, yams, slaw, and potato salad.
Not being satisfied with a 1 BBQ meal day (and, for me, not having had a rib yet), we decided to hit up the other great Atlanta BBQ institution for dinner – Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Holy hell was it good. Peter, Matt, and I sat for quite a while with pitchers of beer and giant plates of ribs listening to the Patrick Vining blues band. The ribs were some of the best I’ve ever had – tender and flavorful with a tasty but unobtrusively sweet sauce cooked on. Again, not much of a prominent smoke flavor, but I didn’t mind. Oh yum.
On the way out I noticed a big stack of ribs that looked as though they had been pre-baked before going in the smoker. Do I give a crap? Nope! There’s no purity in doing smoker-only in my book, not if it makes a better rib.
Salon Writes About Pork, We Rejoice
How have I gone this long without realizing that the editors at Salon are straight up geniuses?! This week is Pork Week at Salon, which is featuring a series of articles about the prince of meats. The first is about America’s Bacon Infatuation (ABI, for short), and the second is about the joy of curing bacon yourself. Go read.