bbq

In the male-dominated world cf competition barbecue, Melissa Cookston stands out. Npt because she's a woman, but due to her supreme grilling skills.

If you're anything like the typical urbanite, your cooking capabilities are generally limited by the square footage of your home kitchen. For aficionados of true wood-smoked barbecue, this can be a problem. Hulking traditional smokers and big-city apartment dwellings simply don't mix. Even the smallest-sized Weber Smoky Mountain is too big for the average New York City apartment. You…

For the second consecutive year, Houston chef Chris Shepherd is taking his restaurants Underbelly, Hay Merchant and Blacksmith to the streets and inviting a dream team of Southern chefs to join. The group will raise money for multiple sclerosis research in honor of Shepherd’s friend and former sommelier Antonio Gianola, who was diagnosed with the…

Charleston, South Carolina, has a deserving reputation as the country’s most overachieving restaurant city. A plethora of big-name chefs and an abundance of access to fresh produce and seafood have catapulted the city’s dining scene to national recognition. While the city may lay claim to some of the nation’s best Low Country cuisine, charcuterie and…

We learned so much this week! From grilling clams with chef Missy Robbins to figuring out bitter melon and the Denver cut, we really got educational here at Food Republic. We also did some traveling and found some delectable eats that aren't all Mickey Mouse–shaped in Orlando and a farm-to-gondola-to-table concept in Whistler, British Columbia. Talk…

“Get to Shotgun like a gunshot,” urges London’s Time Out magazine. That’s just one of the peels of praise ringing out for U.S. export Brad McDonald’s new whole-log, real-fire BBQ joint.Already renowned for conjuring up some of the British capital’s best American Deep South home cookin’ at Mayfair’s Lockhart over the past three years, McDonald has…

Leave it to a New Yorker to helpfully point out the shortcomings of red-state cultures. Make that The New Yorker, in this case. In the magazine's current Food Issue, the great Calvin Trillin travels to North Carolina to investigate a smoldering issue on the local barbecue scene. For years, the regional debate in the pork-centric Tarheel…

When it comes to elite competitive barbecue cooking events, the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue ranks right near the top. As such, the winner’s checks come with commas and lots of zeroes. So when I was invited to return as a judge for my sixth year at the Jack, as it is colloquially known,…

In parts of the Midwest and South, there is a grand tradition of brushing pork ribs with Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard, then dusting the sweet meat with a good amount of a proprietary spice mixture whose recipe is oftentimes held under lock and key. This slow-and-low barbecue style, dry rub, was popularized in Memphis and…

Cleveland is known for a number of things — the Browns, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Drew Carey, LeBron James — but not barbecue. Acclaimed city chef Michael Symon is on a mission to change that.But what’s in a name? Barbecue by any other name would smell as smoky. Sure, there are a…

We’ve learned to trust Southern Living when it comes to food. Its peach-bourbon cheesecake recipe is one of our all-time favorites, and a list of 100 places to eat at now in the South inspired spirited office debate. So we’re inclined to once again follow the publication’s lead when it comes to the 50 best…

[caption id="attachment_76343" align="alignnone" width="700" ] Rusty’s Southern BBQ has brought genuine smoked meat — and deviled eggs — to San Francisco.[/caption] When you think about pork, tenderloin is one of the first things to come to mind. But when the subject is the Tenderloin in San Francisco, the flatlands on the south slope of Nob…

“What we do is salt and pepper and…fire,” says pitmaster Aaron Franklin about the trademark Texas barbecue he sells out of his insanely popular Franklin Barbecue on the Eastside of Austin. People have waited up to four hours for his brisket, ribs and Central-Texas play on pulled pork, which can run out at the inhumanely early hour of 10…

With baseball season upon us, images of hot dogs and popcorn are starting to dance in the minds of fans nationwide. Shio ramen and short rib? Not so much.But that’s exactly what you’ll find in some parks this year as stadiums around the country continue to up the concessions game. Companies like Levy Restaurants, a catering…

The Beast's pitmaster-owner Thomas Abramowicz.[/caption] At The Beast, black angus beef brisket is shipped from the United States. "French cows are too lean," says Abramowicz. [/caption] The Beast is not only the name of this trend-setting barbecue restaurant on a quiet “shoe block” in the northern section of the Marais in Paris. It’s the name…

[caption id="attachment_74898" align="alignnone" width="700" ] Texas brisket-style thick-cut pastrami at Mendocino Farms.[/caption] Here's another sign of the growing respect for New York City within the national barbecue scene. Mendocino Farms, Southern California’s seasonal-themed sandwich chain, announced this week that it will be opening its own dedicated smokehouse facility in Los Angeles next month. Which renowned…

"These people are ready for real Southern food," says chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois. Back in June, Bourgeois hinted at "some exciting new things" ahead for Blue Smoke, restaurateur Danny Meyer's pioneering New York City barbecue spot. "Creating barbecue that’s uniquely Blue Smoke" is how he put it. At the time, Bourgeois was serving up smoky Louisiana-style…

Ask any vegan if they miss meat and you'll likely hear a resounding "no." That's because you don't have to miss meat, nor do you have to screw up a perfectly good bun with the fake stuff, when you have dishes like a barbecue pulled portobello sandwich, thanks to the fine folks at Vice Munchies.…

When we got to work today we just had this hankering. Maybe it was the three butcher shops we passed on our walk to the office? Maybe it was the McRib ad on the subway? OK, it wasn’t that. But, right now we’re in the mood for ribs and started scouring our recipe database for…

Today is a famous grilling holiday known to some as Father's Day. Nah, we're kidding. Dad's the most important person today, but the person at the grill gets the silver medal. Gold medal if it's Dad, obviously. Here's a collection of our favorite grilling stories to get you inspired (or just really excited for the…

We don't need to tell you North Carolina is boasting some seriously good food, from the Triangle Area's legendary food truck culture to the craft beer and accompanying cuisine in Asheville. They've got a lot to be proud of, not least of all — their renowned barbecue. If you know that porky, vinegar-spiked North Carolina…

World-renowned pro pitmaster and chef Melissa Cookston's new cookbook, Smokin' in the Boys' Room, is exactly what you need to freshen up your grilling repertoire before prime season hits. She's a 3-time world champion, you know. From the cuts of meat you want to eat to sides, marinades and her own time-tested techniques, don't break…

The smoke just keeps on a-rolling. Earlier this year, we gave you a list of barbecue competitions across the country and around the world to help plan your vacation calendar. Since then, more and more events have been scheduled and announced, so here’s an update to ensure you’re never more than a few weeks away…