Sample mouthwatering Eastern-style barbecue (along with hush puppies and pork rinds), and hear about the new book Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue (UNC Press) during a delectable program on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Hear two of the book’s authors, John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed, share their enthusiasm for this southern delicacy. (Barbecue devotee William McKinney is the third author.) Admission is free, and parking is free on weekends.
North Carolina is home to the longest continuous barbecue tradition on the North American mainland, so it’s no surprise that people are going hog wild over Holy Smoke . . . already in its second printing just one month after its November publication. Holy Smoke is a passionate exploration of the lore, recipes, traditions and people who have helped shape the state’s signature slow-food dish. Filled with historic and contemporary photographs showing centuries of North Carolina’s “barbeculture,” as the authors call it, this one-of-a-kind book offers a comprehensive look at the Tar Heel barbecue tradition.
Holy Smoke traces the origins of North Carolina barbecue and the emergence of the rivalry between Eastern and Piedmont styles. The book includes detailed instructions for cooking barbecue at home, along with recipes for traditional side dishes. In addition, Holy Smoke highlights some of the people who cook barbecue for a living, recording firsthand what experts say about the past and future of North Carolina barbecue.
A tasting and book signing will follow the program. If you have a barbecue fan on your holiday list or if you want a copy for yourself, Holy Smoke is available for purchase in the Museum Shop.
About the Authors
John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed reside in Chapel Hill. Both are members of the Southern Foodways Alliance and the N.C. Barbecue Society. They have collaborated on other books, such as 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South and Cornbread Nation 4: The Best of Southern Food Writing. William McKinney founded the Carolina BBQ Society while a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. He lives in Virginia.
For more information about the program, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org.
The N.C. Museum of History’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.