North Carolina Barbecue Society

North Carolina Barbecue Society is a non-profit organization created to promote North Carolina culture and food. They are based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States One of the goals of the organization is to promote barbecue related cultural events such as the Tar Heel Barbecue Classic[1] and the Lexington Barbecue Festival, as well as promote the barbecue culture of North Carolina.

Mission

According the official website, "The mission of the North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS) is to preserve North Carolina’s barbecue history and culture and to secure North Carolina’s rightful place as the Barbecue Capital of the World." A less formal and more commonly heard motto is "to cook and eat barbecue as often as possible, preferably in the company of good friends and to promote the Old North State as the Cradle of ’Cue."[2]

History

The organization was founded in 2006. The president of the organization is founder Jim Early,[3][4] attorney and author of the self-published book The Best Tar Heel Barbecue: Manteo to Murphy,[5] which is a review of all the restaurants on the "Historic Barbecue Trail", which links 25 barbecue establishments in 21 locales across the state.[6]

Barbecue types and politics

Pigs on parade at the Lexington Barbecue Festival

There are two native barbecue types in North Carolina, Eastern style and Lexington style, and great deal of controversy always surrounds any attempt to create an "official" barbecue type.[7] They both use slow cooking over hardwood coals (usually hickory) but differ in methods. Two bills that would have introduced Lexington Style as the defacto barbecue type of the state met controversy and failure [6] in the State House of Representatives and State Senate in 2006, North Carolina House Bill 21[8] and North Carolina Senate Bill 47.[9]

Eastern style uses all of the meat from the pig (whole hog), or as it is more informally explained, it uses, '"every part of the hog except the squeal".[10] The sauce can be as simple as vinegar and pepper.

Lexington style uses a vinegar and ketchup type sauce, and uses only the pork shoulder, which is darker meat, thus more moist. It is also served with red slaw, a type of coleslaw that uses this barbecue sauce (locally called "dip") instead of mayonnaise.

Sponsorship

The organization is supported by member dues and by official sponsors. The majority of the official sponsors are barbecue restaurants in the region, which benefit directly from the efforts of the organization.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/funtribe.html
  2. ↑ About North Carolina Barbecue Society
  3. ↑ ABC News - Charlotte Barbecue? Hog Experts Say Look Elsewhere
  4. ↑ National Post Honour of the South at stake after Michelle Obama ignites barbecue wars
  5. ↑ Early, Jim (2002). The Best Tar Heel Barbecue: Manteo to Murphy. The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy. ISBN 978-0-9722979-0-5.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 USA Today article: N.C. BBQ joints keep the flame burning bright
  7. ↑ ABC News: Smoke, Fire as BBQ Bigshots Battle Over Ketchup
  8. ↑ NC House Bill 21
  9. ↑ NC Senate Bill 47
  10. ↑ USA Today article Children's civics lesson fires up age-old debate over barbecue

External links