John Shelton Reed will
be the guest speaker of Culinary Historians of Piedmont North Carolina at 7
p.m. Wednesday at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.
Six years after John Shelton Reed wrote the definitive book
on North Carolina barbecue, he’s been asked to produce an encore.
“I’m not sure the world needs another book on barbecue, but UNC
Press wants to include barbecue in its series on Southern food, so I’m happy to
do it,” said Shelton, author of Holy
Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue (UNC Press, 2008). He wrote the critically acclaimed volume with
his wife, Dale Volberg Reed, and colleague William McKinney.
The as-yet untitled follow-up book probably won’t be
published until 2014, but Reed said he’s already decided on most of the side dishes
and is making plans to test several new recipes in his new toy.
A few months ago, Reed recalled during a call from his
Chapel Hill home, he attended a barbecue catered by Craig Rogers’ Border Springs Farms
of Virginia, which is renowned for its lamb. Reed was duly impressed with the
quality of the meat, but riding home all he could think about was Rogers’ impressive
Viking cooker.
“I’ve got to admit, I coveted it,” Reed said with a laugh. “I
came home and checked on eBay, where I found one for half price. I could hardly
believe it.”
The impulse purchase of this 455-pound shrine to smoking
might get some people in hot water, but Reed is fortunate to have a spouse who
is equally crazy about traditional barbecue.
“I am lucky, and we love to cook for friends,” he said. “Of
course, I had to put in a pad for it to sit on, so it turned out to be pretty expensive
after all, but it works like a charm. Better than I deserve.”
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| John Shelton Reed |
If anyone deserves a state-of-the-art smoker, surely it’s the
man who has dedicated much of his professional career to documenting and
promoting the labor-intensive efforts of authentic pit masters.
Reed has unabashed admiration for those who continue to cook
barbecue the traditional way: low and slow with plenty of wood smoke. He’s
likewise dismissive of old stalwarts who have quit cooking with wood, some of
whom appear to have committed the ultimate barbecue crime of trying to replace
hard-earned flavor with Liquid Smoke.
He considers Keith Allen of Allen & Son in Chapel Hill a
prime example of a purist who provides diners with a true Southern barbecue
experience.
“He gets up and starts cooking at 3:30 every morning so he
can feed people lunch,” Reed said. “There aren’t many left that still do that because
it’s very hard work.”
Reed gets a bit irritated at those who balk at paying a fair
price that reflects both the hours of labor and cost of quality meat. At Wilber’s
in Goldsboro, he said, “You can get a barbecue sandwich that cooked all night
long and costs no more than a Big Mac. It’s crazy that they have to compete
with guys who use a set-it-and-forget-it cooking method. People have got to
charge right or they’ll go out of business.
“There I go. Up on my soap box,” he added with a wry
chuckle. “I just hate the idea of losing the old classics. There’s a great
working-class tradition that is at risk.”
Much like the recipes in Holy Smoke, Reed’s next book will feature dishes perfected by barbecue greats but
focus primarily on traditions that make Southern barbecue unique from one
region to the next. He looks forward to cooking some meats he’s never smoked
before, especially goat, but draws a clear line that will not be crossed. For
example, to be truly inclusive, he’ll include a recipe from a reliable Missouri
colleague for barbecued pig snout – but he has no desire to try it.
“I understand it comes out looking something like a dog’s
chew toy and doesn’t taste much better,” he said. “Anything that needs to be hidden
under a lot of sauce is something I can do without.”
He will apply similar common sense – and a computer
spreadsheet – to “construct” a Kansas City barbecue sauce. After all, he has
considerable experience consuming the stuff, as well as a vast library of
barbecue books.
“I confess: I’ll lay
them out and determine what they have in common and what’s just off the wall,”
he said. “It won’t be innovative. That’s not the point. I’ll write about what
makes something classic, how it evolved and how it’s different from what’s done
in other regions.”
Reed is sympathetic to those who righteously believe that
Tar Heel barbecue is the best. “In North Carolina, barbecue is kind of like
college basketball. Even if you’re not interested in it, you pretend to be.
“If someone asks your preference,” he advised, meaning
Eastern vinegar-style or Piedmont tomato-based ‘cue, “you’ve got to have one.
It doesn’t entirely matter which, but you’ve got to have a stand.”
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