THE PLEASURES OF BARBECUE
BY DAN MILLER
July 21, 2006
The word "barbecue" used to be a transitive verb, describing a process of cooking meat.
Nowadays, it's a noun.... a food unto itself.... and one of the staples of my diet.
In fact -- my wife, daughter and I recently spent 9 days in Georgia and South Carolina.
And on 6 of those 9 days, we ate at BBQ restaurants.
I brought about 10 extra pounds back to Tennessee.
(Not 10 pounds of barbecue.... 10 pounds of me!)
I'm not an expert on barbecue (or "bobby-q", as my mother always called it).
I prefer pulled pork.
There are several types I like a lot.... vinegar based, ketchup based, and -- my favorite --mustard based.
Of course there are countless other sauces and spices used in cooking barbecue.
Folks in different states or regions can have dramatically different tastes in BBQ.
And it's never a good idea for citizens of one state to belittle another state's barbecue preferences.
It's a bit like questioning someone's religion or politics.
There's nothing to gain, and it can lead to hard feelings or border skirmishes.
My first experience with BBQ was not a particularly good one (for me).... and it took growing up and moving away from home to discover and cultivate my own "taste" in barbecue.
My parents often took us kids to the Julian Smith Casino in Augusta for community or church gatherings.... and the barbecue was always -- always -- prepared by Mrs. B.
I won't mention her last name because, while she was enormously popular for her BBQ and barbecue hash, I never particularly cared for it.
The pork was tasty, but the hash always seemed to have big veins, vessels, skin, and other -- almost identifiable -- body parts from the hogs..... and I found it unappetizing.
During my formative years, I just assumed that's the way real barbecue was.
I discovered my own "taste" for barbecue after I starting working at a TV station in Augusta more than 40 years ago.
Some of my pals drove me a few miles down the road to a crude little BBQ shack, set up in an old barn in Harlem, Georgia (hometown of Oliver Hardy).
I still think about that day, and the wonderful revelation for my taste buds.
I drove through Harlem a few years ago just to see if that old place was still there.
It wasn't.
There is, however, a restaurant in Augusta called Sconyer's that serves wonderful BBQ hash on rice. I'm told President Jimmy Carter used to have it shipped to the White House when he was office.
By the way, nobody around Nashville serves "barbecue hash on rice" like the folks in Georgia and South Carolina.
And the hash is my favorite part.
In South Carolina, the Bessenger brothers (Thomas, Maurice & Melvin) serve scrumptious barbecue (and hash) in their establishments all across the state.
Years ago, the three brothers apparently quarreled and went their separate ways, but each built barbecue restaurants in Charleston, Columbia and other cities.... and each still prepares it the same way (mustard based).... and it is addictive.
When I lived in California, good ol' southern BBQ was next to impossible to find, which made me crave it even more.
My son Stephen and I would drive (an hour in each direction) to a little shack we discovered in the middle of south-central Los Angeles, where a guy (originally from Memphis) prepared barbecue fairly close to southern style.... or, at least it seemed at the time.
There are lots of places around Nashville that serve good BBQ.
Jim and Nicks has emerged as a personal favorite.
And I've always found wonderful barbecue at Carl's Perfect Pig on Highway 70 out in White Bluff.
I just wish I could convince Carl, or somebody, to think about doing "barbecue hash on rice", Georgia style.
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