by Art Richey – Pork Barrel BBQ Media & ‘Cue-mmunications Contributor

For a barbecue joint to make it on the ‘Southern BBQ Boysfinal itinerary, it had to survive an intense vetting process: Was it facebook recommended? How many times was it suggested? Who suggested it? Was it generally close to our proposed journey? Could we find college girls within close distance? After weeks of preparation, planning and discussion, we collectively decided that one of the barbecue meccas, Memphis, TN, would be the first city on our tour. Luckily, the ‘Southern BBQ Boys had many family members and friends who called Memphis home so it was easy to 1) analyze (and trust) recommendations from seasoned Memphis locals;  2) have a trusty tour guide of the city; and 3) most importantly, find a free place to sleep.

Now, Memphis offers numerous delicious and worthy restaurants for any barbecue roadtrip or culinary adventure. However, the ‘Southern BBQ Boys’ stay would only last 2 days so we had to choose wisely. One name kept appearing over and over from facebook, friends, and our internet research: The Germantown Commissary. Now, my childhood presented a host of opportunities to sample Memphis’ finest ‘cue but I had never even heard of this joint, let alone experienced one of their pulled pork sandwiches. But after our visit, there is no way I will ever forgot this palace of pork.

After weeks of planning and dreaming about this day, we were finally on the open road….and two hours behind schedule. For those not familiar with this drive, it takes about 4 hours to get from Birmingham to Memphis…not a short trip by any stretch of the means. On top of that, we were antsy to eat, the scenery became boring within minutes of leaving campus and no one had consumed any food since last night’s dinner of Subway sandwiches from the school cafeteria. Needless to say, the four hours seemed like an entirety as Babe moved on down the highway. After hundreds of miles, Will’s blaring Kenny Chesney and Matt’s exhibition of using farmland as nature’s bathroom, we made it to our destination. The Germantown Commissary looks pretty much like you would expect any commissary (an old fashioned variety/grocery store) to look like: old wooden chairs on the front porch, train tracks nearby, and an orchestra of creaks as you open the door. Since we arrived rather late for the lunch crowd, we easily found a large table in the back. After hours of chatter, loud music and the sound of the open road, there was an immediate silence amongst the four of us as we studied the menu: BBQ Nachos, Pulled Pork Plate, Ribs, Beans, Slaw, and Sweet Tea were among the listed options. Our idea of this academic project was finally a reality.

We placed our orders, took notice of the decorum throughout the restaurant and absorbed the sweet smells from the kitchen and pit. Honestly, we really didn’t pay much attention to what we had ordered. I got a pulled pork plate with deviled eggs, slaw and homemade chips. Matt got the ribs. I wasn’t sure what Will or Jeff had ordered. But then, we realized what sin had been committed before our very eyes. JEFF HAD ORDERED A GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH. Matt, Will and I looked at him with faces of disbelief and shock. “You ordered a grilled chicken sandwich at our first BARBECUE STOP?” Will muttered.  Jeff, a native of Palm Beach, FL, obviously had a lot of learning to do on this study of southern barbecue. Lesson 1: grilled chicken is NEVER barbecue. End of story. Granted, this was an academic class and we had much to learn. But this one hurt really, really bad. We forgave his mistake, gave Jeff his lecture and by that time, our orders arrived.

The pulled pork was perfect: smokey and tender, but just enough that the meat could be appreciated. The sauce was a thick, smokey, brown sugar sweet tomato-based mixture with a smooth yet charming heat that took your palate by surprise. My sides: creamy, cold mayonnaise-based slaw that was an outstanding complement to the heat of the sauce, which was forcing moisture on my forehead. The slaw was top notch but my two other sides were incredible, heavenly and amazing: homemade BBQ chips and deviled eggs. I have no idea how they are made or what they do. But I will say no more. If you are in Memphis and make it to the Commissary, you MUST have these chips and deviled eggs. Period!!!

We finished our meals, sampled each other’s food (except for Jeff’s chicken sandwich), and paid our bill. It was a great meal for our first stop on a life changing journey of food, friendship and memories. We had no idea what we were about to get into or where this academic project would take us. But at that moment, our stomachs were full, sauce was underneath our fingernails, toothpicks were in our mouths and smiles were on our face. Life was good.

ART’S RECOMMENDATION FOR THE GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY: Pulled Pork Sandwich, BBQ chips, deviled eggs, slaw and sweet tea.

Art Richey is a “Southern BBQ Boy who grew up in Northwest Alabama and as kid was able to eat a half slab of ribs before he could talk. In his spare time he is a member of the Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team and a Media & ‘Cue-mmunications Contributor to Pork Barrel BBQ.

‘Southern BBQ Boys: An Introduction

by Art Richey – Pork Barrel BBQ Media & ‘Cue-mmunications Contributor

For most, college is a time period where an abundance of knowledge is acquired in and outside of the classroom: an appreciation of the Greek classics; effective time management; the skill of writing an 8 page paper in one night; and the perfection of the gameday cocktail, among other things. I worked hard to acquire some of this knowledge during my college experience but one particular academic study developed a skill set that will truly benefit me throughout my life: the knowledge of great southern barbecue.

Yep, you aren’t misreading that last sentence. I actually studied barbecue while I was in college. At Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, students are required to take one class during the month of January with the purpose of this Interim term being to focus on subjects that are not normally offered during the year. However, if a student does not find a course to their liking, he or she may create an independent study as long as a professor agrees to sponsor the study and a committee of professors approves the academic merit and curriculum of the course. After gaining the inspiration to organize this course from a pork sandwich lunch at Dreamland BBQ, I convinced three of my closest fraternity brothers (Will Foster, Matt Lee, and Jeff Vaughan) to enroll in this study of swine. We organized our study as an academic journey of food and travel writing, with a developed curriculum and required literature. Additionally, we created a blog to record our writings and share our journey with family, friends and fans. We assumed the moniker ‘Southern BBQ Boys, and our official study, “‘Southern Barbecue 360: A Survey of Southern Barbecue through Food and Travel Writing” was approved to begin on January 7, 2009.

The 'Southern BBQ Boys

The main goal of this study was to travel the South, experience great barbecue, and sharpen our food and travel writing skills all while making memories as the mile markers passed by. For most of us, we grew up with barbecue but didn’t know much about the history, the technique or the differences in tastes and styles across the regions. This study was an opportunity to strengthen our understanding of BBQ; however, we had no idea that we would become obsessed with this divine delicacy while earning more national attention than we could ever imagine.

Our journey would take us over 2,100 miles in 17 days to visit 21 barbecue restaurants in 5 states (Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia)…in a 1998 expedition named “Babe.” While we wanted to share our story with as many people as possible, we didn’t think our study would get much attention beyond the Birmingham area. Boy, were we wrong. At the end of the trip, we had appeared in over 200 newspapers, 5 local TV stations, a national AP story, dozens of local interviews and a live appearance in New York City on Fox and Friends on Fox News. It was an exciting experience to share our story and our knowledge of ‘cue with as many people as possible.

"Babe"

In the coming weeks I’ll be writing a series of posts where I will share some of our experiences from this study and what we learned about the world of barbecue: the differences in BBQ taste, sauce and technique across the South; the characteristics of a great barbecue restaurant; how to properly conduct a BBQ road trip; and our recommendations for barbecue spots across the Southeast. At the end of the day, the ‘Southern BBQ Boys earned an “A” for our project, which included over 30 pages of work per person plus an 8-10 page final paper from each member.

Story-telling and barbecue are both inherent parts of Southern culture. Here, I hope to combine the two to tell you about the places, people and tastes that make this heavenly food truly unique.

Art Richey is a “Southern BBQ Boy who grew up in Northwest Alabama and as kid was able to eat a half slab of ribs before he could talk. In his spare time he is a member of the Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team and a Media & ‘Cue-mmunications Contributor to Pork Barrel BBQ.

Best BBQ Joints in America

• Bodean’s in London – Next time you’re in London and you’re craving a little bit of home why not drop into one of Bodean’s locations in Soho, Tower Hill, Clapham, Fulham, or Westbourne Grove?  Read Our Review

• Brett’s Secret Pulled Pork Recipe
• Grilled Shrimp and Scallops with Mixed Vegetables
• Hamburger Soup Recipe
• Sawyer’s Chicken Wings

• Capital Cooking - hosted by our good friend Lauren DeSantis.  Read Our Post

• Lets Meat on the Avenue – (Alexandria, VA)  Read Our Post
• The Organic Butcher of mcclean – (McClean, VA) Read Our Post

• All BBQ Sauce Site - http://twitter.com/allbbqsauce
• BBQ Guide - http://twitter.com/BBQGuide
•  Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread Blog - http://twitter.com/cmcadams
•  Indy Smokehouse BBQ Blog - http://twitter.com/isbbq
• Fast Eddies Steak Seasoning Site – http://twitter.com/steakseasoning
• No Excuses BBQ Site - http://twitter.com/noexcusesbbq

The Tools of the BBQ Trade

• Char-Broil – They make great gas and charcoal grills and smokers. They even have a turkey fryer that uses zero oil!
• Char-Broil Owners Blog – a great resource for anyone who loves grilling.
• Char-Griller – A great, cheap grill and smoker that produces amazing BBQ!  Read Our Posting
• Weber Kettle Grill – The classic – you will never go wrong grilling, smoking or BBQing on this amazing grill!  Read Our Posting
• Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker – Want to smoke your meat and poultry for 18 hours? Look no further – this thing makes great competition level barbecue!  Read our Posting
• Virtual Weber Bullet Site – The ultimate resource for your WSMC!

• Chimney Smoker – An essential tool – your coals are ready in 15 minutes, and you never have to use lighter fluid!
• Hardwood Lump Charcoal – The best way to cook – burns hot and true, and contains no additives to ruin the taste of your barbeque or spice rub.
• Meat Thermometer – The only way to know that its done and safe – nothing is worse than undercooked BBQ!

• The Salt Lick – BBQ joint outside Austin, Texas – if we ever get to Austin, this one looks like it will make it on our Best BBQ Joints in America list.

They at least showed me right off the bat that they at least knew what great barbecue is. The next thing they had to do was prove to me that they knew how to produce their own great barbecue. We started with an order of their Hot Buffalo Chicken Wings and were very happy with the first taste of home we would experience that night. I followed up the wings with a slab of Baby Back Ribs, Fries & Coleslaw and they were top notch ribs. I’ve had better here at home, but I’ve also had much worse. I’d give Bodean’s a 7 on a scale of 10 – which is at least 4 or 5 points higher than I could have ever imagined giving a London based barbecue restaurant.

Next time you’re in London and you’re craving a little bit of home why not drop into one of Bodean’s locations in Soho, Tower Hill, Clapham, Fulham, or Westbourne Grove? Check out Bodean’s on the web at www.bodeansbbq.com.