The Campaign started in North Carolina and has now certified several dozen old-school wood cooking barbecue places in the state. Meathead is one of the Campaign's "patrons." You can read about it and see the list at TrueCue.org
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Well... I read the definition and I guess being a pellethead is borderline. Sure I smoke using wood (albeit minced up and smashed back together) but I don't think these guys were imagining my Yoder as being sufficiently traditional for their definition. I am unapologetic with regards to my barbecue methodology and I assume that my neighbor gassing his burgers feels the same way. The proof is in the tasting!-
Nothing wrong with pellets. They're wood, aren't they? The webpage says plainly that Real Barbecue can be cooked with hybrid gas and wood cookers like Old Hickory and Southern Pride. It does draw the line (as does Meathead, by the way) at meat cooked entirely without woodsmoke, but it doesn't deny that even that can taste good.
"Certification" by the Campaign honors those restaurants that serve a particular subset of Real Barbecue: the meat or meats traditional in a place, cooked entirely with wood. So in the Carolinas, we're talking whole hog or pork shoulder; in Memphis shoulder and ribs; in Texas, a great variety of meats, including brisket, beef ribs, and sausage.Last edited by johnshelton; December 1, 2014, 11:16 PM.
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That site looks like a bunch of luddites hanging on to their tired traditions because that's all they know. Also very funny that they name it TrueCue since it is a pretty darn good example of the No True Scotsman fallacy.
I choose to cook the way I do for my reasons, and if you don't call that barbecue I don't really care. Wood isn't required for any part of the cooking aside maybe from some wood flavor, you don't even need it for the smoke ring!
I also like the fact that they make it sound like the only criteria is heat source, but if you look you'll see that you also have to have the meats they find acceptable (If you don't serve pork it isn't 'true cue').
They could call it traditional cue and it would make some sense, but looking at the NC example you can see the 'slippery slope' they mention in full effect, 'true cue' varies by location, which doesn't make any sense.
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I'll add that there are several all wood barbecue joints in my area, and the majority are absolutely terrible. Using them as a standard would be a crime against BBQ everywhere.Last edited by _John_; December 1, 2014, 12:47 PM.Comment
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I have always said and will stick to my guns that BBQ cook with all REAL wood has the best flavor.Comment
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Aww heck, all those folks in North Cakylacky need to do is come across the border to SC for true cue - kidding, well , sort of. Like I said in another post, if your product is good I don't care if you cooked it on the headers of a 350 Chevy - I'll eat it.
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I get a lot of satisfaction out of managing my fire and controlling the amount of smoke my meat gets. I guess I'm a "Woody" too.Comment
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The most humorous part of their post was the pledge not to eat anything not meeting their definition of bbq except as required by courtesy. Boys if you don't think mine is real enough no need to be polite, just go somewhere else!Comment
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Oath of Allegiance my A$$... I only give one Oath of Allegiance and it is not to some wanna-be-BBQ-snobsComment
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This reminds me of the Campaign for Real Ale that was waged in the micro brew community a few years ago. Still has a following, but the point should be (and is among many who like old fashioned cask conditioned and hand pumped British style ales) to revive and preserve an old tradition without disparaging or invalidating other styles and techniques.
This amuses me somewhat, because I just wrote a place in Texas that uses an old brick pit and asked them to share their design so I could make something like it in my backyard (strictly for family use) and was told no. Like it was the secret recipe for Coca Cola or something. Maybe the Campaign for Real Barbecue can come to my rescue?!?Comment
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Ok gameplan adjustment. Take your kid with you on the field trip and see if you can sneak a peek at their cookers. Tell the manager / owner you wanted to show your kid what a 'real BBQ pit is' and maybe offer more flattery. Don't hint that you are building a pit yourself. Take pics with you and the kid posing by the pits mugging it up at strategic locations with their operatic in the background. I know most places are proud of their pits, but if they are that proud they may want to keep it proprietary.
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Yeah I think it would be near impossible to get someone to give up something like that, even though in the end it is really insignificant, they assign an irrational value to it. Hell, Franklin is probably the most well known BBQ joint to the general public, and he himself makes a show that teaches people how to do it! Want to keep an ingredient you use in a sauce or rub secret, ok, but you should appreciate people trying to replicate what you do when they can't visit.
Since i mentioned a fallacy above, why not some behavioral economics on the Endowment Effect.Comment
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I don't see the cause for alarm here. Everyone has their preferences and what they prefer to cook with, whether logs or 'lectric. Let's keep in mind we want to make sure The Pit is a welcome place for all....hopefully some of these folks will be members here too one day. Last thng we want is an 'us against them' vibe in our threads.
Happy smoking all!Comment
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I have read the article twice and still don't know what the fuss is about. I agree that bbq is better tasting when cook with all wood but that's my opinion. I will never own a PBC or a pellet smoker only bc I love cooking with wood not that anything is wrong with a pellet cooker or a PBC. I have seen some great pics on here that was cook on them and I'm sure they taste as good as they look. I'm sure Huskee knows what I'm saying...
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Originally posted by Huskee View Post
Except gassers, that site basically says you aren't as good as us. Not basically, explicitly. But personally, meat over fire is my criteria. I don't think it would be an issue mentioning it here except as the first post says Meathead is a 'patron'. That means all of the posts about setting up and indirect on gas isn't bbq. He is teaching faux cue.
I will remember and remind others that the making of Real Barbecue requires taste, tradition, and a sense of place.
I will keep the Faith. I will not eat meat cooked only with gas or electricity and mislabeled “barbecue,†except when courtesy requires it.
He is a patron of a site that says your food is not 'Real Barbecue' and has no taste, tradition or sense of place. Though he shows how to do it on a gas grill. Unless he has to, he will not eat anything that many of his visitors make as it isn't "Real Barbecue".
I just see it as misguided ideology that won't do anything but prevent members from joining, as this is a site for barbecue and that is not what they do.
Edit: I will add from Meathead's own thoughts:
Barbecue encompasses several forms of cooking including open pit barbecue, closed pit barbecue, Southern barbecue, competition barbecue, gas fired restaurant barbecue...
and
Revisionists have tried to shrink the definition of the word to mean barbecue cooked in steel closed "pits" similar to the method practiced at modern barbecue competitions, which they call "real barbecue" and which they claim is low and slow, cooked with indirect heat and smoke. In practice, many of them are now cooking with high temperatures and wrapping the meat in foil, which is another culinary method entirely called braising.
When they speak of real barbecue they are thinking of the popular style of low and slow smoke roasting as developed in the American South. In fact, they are speaking of Southern Barbecue. Alas, they are forgetting that barbecue is practiced around the world in different ways, and that the majority of the public just doesn't agree with them.
I'm interested to know how he got to be a patron, because everything I've read and a few responses from him seem to indicate that he believes just the opposite of the fud on that site.
Last edited by _John_; December 1, 2014, 11:30 PM.Comment
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John I really think you're taking this far too literally. Meathead owns gas grills and pellet cookers and electric. I'll let Meathead defend what he stands for.Last edited by Huskee; December 1, 2014, 11:30 PM.Comment
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Originally posted by Huskee View Post
Agreed, just curious why after all of his work on the site he is tied to a group that seems to state the opposite, promoting people not visiting restaurants that don't meet a criteria he himself seems to be against.Comment
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I think this thread has run its course. As friends, let's say goodnight.Comment
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