Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Barbecue Snobbery

I'm a bit of a barbecue snob. I grew up in Owensboro, KY which holds few distinctions but we do have THE BEST BARBECUE ever, hence our official title as "Barbecue Capital of the World." (Admittedly, I haven't been to Memphis yet to test that, but I doubt they can compare.)

I didn't realize I was a barbecue snob until about 2 weeks into my first year at Centre. Danville was having a festival and I went and purchased a "BBQ" sandwich, but they failed to realize that MEAT WITH SAUCE IS NOT BARBECUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know the details of the process of barbecue, but I assure you: true barbecue takes HOURS of magic. Just slopping some barbecue sauce to meat does not make it barbecue any more than putting ketchup on a hamburger makes it a ketchup burger. You can learn more about the truth I just laid down for you in the video below:



Of course the main barbecue place in Louisville is of the Danville food stand variety. The food is good, but I hesitate to give it the honor of "barbecue." But that is where the family and I went this weekend, and once again, it makes me long for some Moonlite (Owensboro's version of the St. X/Trinity debate is where you best like your barbecue from: Moonlite or Old Hickory. I'm the only one in my family who votes for Moonlite, although I must confess that my opinion might be clouded by Moonlite's fabulous banana pudding.)

Fortunately, my parents brought be some of the real deal from home: burgoo and barbecued chicken. (Note: The burgoo (well the chicken too probably) is from the church I grew up in, Blessed Mother. In Owensboro, all the Catholic churches make barbecue and compete at the Bar-B-Q Festival. My church wins a lot and we make the best burgoo in town, probably the world. (Since Owensboro has the best barbecue in the world, this is just the natural conclusion.) I got to help stir the burgoo once.)

Mmmm....Blessed Mother Burgoo

Sometimes I share my burgoo. Many people don't know about the wonders of burgoo and I try to remedy that where I can. However, this batch might be just for me. (Lee can have some.)



P.S. I've also been to a restaurant in Lexington that was supposed to have the best barbecue in town, but it was pretty lame.

6 comments:

amy said...

I don't know...Austin has some pretty good bbq!!! :)

Katie said...

Haha! I have heard that I hope to give it a try sometime.

But right now my money's on Owensboro. ;)

Unknown said...

mmmmmm mmmmmm good! I swear I can smell it cooking right now. Did I tell you: when we were in Boston, MA someone saw daddy's Kentucky Wesleyan jacket and when they found out we were from Owensboro, bar-b-que questions started. They knew about Moonlite and wanted to know about mutton. That's when the trolley drive yelled at yes to be quite. I guess more people were interested in "real bar-b-que" than the history of Boston. hehe I feel a trip to Moonlite coming on, what do you think? Next time you are in town???

Katie said...

Of course!

If it was possible, I think I would only eat Moonlite and the Dipper while at home. (Unless you made pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans and macaroni and cheese.) ;)

Caitlin said...

You tried to force feed me that mutton once. Then when that didn't work, you threatened to hide it in my mashed potatoes! I haven't forgotten.

Katie said...

I was just trying to expand your horizons! You would've thanked me later!