Well, hello, forklift, delivering a nice whole hog in the middle of Madison Avenue.

Last June we cooked this whole hog for some VIPs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Love seeing all of the smartphones recording the details as Mike and the crew butchered away. We prepped this pig on Saturday and smoked it, with charcoal and apple wood, in an Ole Hickory double-wide CTO for about 20 hours.

I see a little glimpse of that mahogany skin …

And there she is. Luke and Phillip carefully lift her to a tray …

Such a pretty face.

If you don’t have the proper knife handy, a box cutter will work just fine. Mike Mills is nothing if not resourceful. Here he’s scoring the skin so he can lift it up and pull the meat out of one side. The skin on the remaining side will keep the meat moist and warm until we’re ready to work from that angle.

Another angle.

Seasoning and pulling. We fed this hog to people who were so patiently waiting in line.

Mark your calendars NOW for June 7-8 … Fast Passes are on sale NOW for the 12th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party! Will we see you there? 

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The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint and 17th Street Barbecue joined forces to form the RING OF FIRE and inducted its first two members at the National Barbecue Association conference in San Marcos last week.

The award was created to honor an individual or company whose innovation in the barbecue world has had a lasting impact on the barbecue industry.

Our first honoree, along with her husband, created the barbecue sanctioning body that organized and lent structure to competition barbecue as we know it today and she continues to innovate, represent our industry, and increase the level of exposure for barbecue not only across America, but across the world. The amount of time she spends helping contests get started, advising television shows and the media, and trumpeting the message of barbecue as America’s original comfort food is staggering. The barbecue world would not be where it is today without her passion, dedication, and vision.

Welcome, Carolyn and Gary Wells, to the RING OF FIRE.  

Our second inductee is a family without whose storied barbecue history this gathering would not be taking place. They are founding members of NBBQA and long before we had message boards and facebook, they created the National Barbecue News, the only source of information about the barbecue world, encompassing restaurant, competition, and enthusiast news. They were the founders of the prestigious invitational contest, the National BBQ Festival. Their leadership, expertise, and friendship are legendary in the barbecue world.

Pictured is Kell Phelps, accepting the award on behalf of his parents. Welcome, Carlene and Joe Phelps, to the RING OF FIRE.

Blown glass ring of fire sculptures created by the Douglass School Art Place in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Photos courtesy of and ©Rick Browne

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