Barbecue has come a long way from Pop’s Pig House in Chattanooga. That’s the down-home pit stop where, as a small boy, I first encountered “true” barbeque — savory pulled pork with a pungent vinegary sauce topped with coleslaw.
To me, the South’s culinary heritage centers around the experience of enjoying good barbecue — whether it’s at a Georgia hog killin’, a North Carolina pig pickin’, a Texas cowboy cookout or a Memphis-style dry (or wet) ribs picnic.
According to an old adage: “In Tennessee and North Carolina, barbecue is pork; in Texas, barbecue is beef; in Maryland or Delaware, it may be chicken, and in California, barbecue is a verb.” Californians (and New Yorkers) think they “barbecue” when grilling anything from a burger to tofu.”
While debate still rages from state to state over what is true barbecue — how (and how long) it should be cooked and what kind of sauce (if any?) to use — there is little question that slowly grilled meat (or fish or veggies) is no longer just Southern fare. Today, top chefs at gourmet restaurants around the world — especially in this region — are just as passionate about perfecting their brand of barbecue as the cooks at the roadside stands and hole-in-the-wall joints I once frequented throughout the South. Needless to say, these innovative grill-masters have stretched the traditional Southern definition of barbecue to include almost anything that is grilled — from burgers to bananas.
One such barbecue fanatic (we should say convert) is Andrew Evans, owner/chef of The Inn at Easton — which debuted seven years ago on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Evans, a 1993 CIA grad, and his Australian-born wife Liz Drew have created a sophisticated dining destination at 28 South Harrison Street in historic Easton. And that dining destination often offers barbecue.
“Sometimes we serve barbecue mainly to justify my smoker,” chuckles Evans, whose new culinary toy is a Smokey Mountain Cooker, also known as the Virtual Weber Bullet because of its oblong shape. Evans’ fascination with this homespun cooking method began with an invitation by Jack Daniel’s three years ago to judge its Invitational Barbecue Competition in Lynchburg, Tenn. “I had no idea barbecue could taste so good,” declares Evans. “It blew my mind! I had been used to mediocre barbecue and had not been super-impressed. But that Tennessee barbecue is one of my top two lifetime eating experiences. (The other was an amazing curry in Thailand, but that’s another story for another time.)”
“So I bought my smoker and have been playing ever since,” says Evans. “I practice all the time, tweaking flavors and sauces.” Eventually, Evans started smoking short ribs (purchased from Fells Point Wholesale Meats in Baltimore) and pairing them with creamy polenta and red onion jam, adding veal jus to his own barbecue sauce.
The smokey meat is often included in one of Evans’ signature, multi-course tasting menus. “Customers really like it,” he adds.
Philosophy for the perfect backyard barbecue? “Work with easy, high-flavor recipes so you can maximize your time with friends and family,” responds Evans, who has even launched his own barbecue competition each Memorial Day. “All you need to do is brush off the grill and invite some friends over.”
Barbecue gets an old-fashioned Italian twist in Roberto Donna’s Bebo Trattoria, which the well-known chef/restaurateur unveiled last fall at 2250-B Crystal Drive in Arlington’s Crystal City. Billed as “casual Italian fare,” the innovative yet traditional menu encompasses a number of grilled items.
While Virginia law prevents smoking meats “outdoors the old fashioned way,” Donna and his chef de cuisine Amy Brandwein offer an indoor version of pork shoulder dressed with salsa verde (green sauce), complemented by sauteed green bell peppers and onions.
Also emerging from Trattoria Bebo’s “Italian barbecue pit” is grilled chicken breast and luganega (homemade sausage) escorted by salsa verde, peppers and onions. And what’s more all-American for a cookout than a hot dog? Bebo (the restaurant is named after Donna’s childhood nickname) makes its wiener, topped with made-from-scratch ketchup, barbecue sauce, sauerkraut and relish. The savory dish arrives with house-made giardiniera (pickled vegetable pickled salad), potato salad and chick pea salad.
For New York native John Boyle, barbecue used to mean merely “a backyard cookout” — as it still does to millions of Americans. “I didn’t know what real barbecue was until the early 1980s when I began serving ribs at the first of six restaurants I operated over the past 25 years.” Now, Danish baby-back pork ribs are a favorite specialty at his three local restaurants — Marty’s on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row, 527 8th St., SE; Harry’s, 436 11th St., NW., and the new Harriett’s in the Harrington Hotel at 11th and E streets NW.
Boyle maintains the best baby-back ribs come from Denmark, followed by Canada, with “domestic a distant third.” How does he prepare as many as 500 racks of ribs each week for his three DC eateries? First, pull off the tough skin, cook for three hours at 360 degrees, refrigerate until serving, then baste them with a prepared “secret” barbecue sauce. (We won’t give away his secret.) Boyle does not pre-marinate his ribs nor smoke them, which he believes is too labor-intensive.
When not preparing his popular ribs at Marty’s, Harry’s or Harriett’s, Boyle enjoys entertaining friends and family with ribs in his own backyard in Arlington. But when ever he eats out, he does not order ribs. Few others would measure up to the ribs from his own kitchen.
Pete McCall is a Washington, DC food and travel writer. He can be reached
at 202-547-5024.
