Big Dude's BBQ Ribs and a Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest with Friends and Family

Last week blogging buddy Larry of Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings and his family once again took an RV trip to our neck of the woods near Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia. For more about their trip and where they stayed, check Larry's post here. You may remember we, along with Meakin's brother Stuart and his wife Sandy, toured wineries in north Georgia last fall with Larry and his wife Beverly and SIL Pat, post here.

This year he brought along his three granddaughters and we thought it would be fun to get together again, but this time have an old-fashioned picnic-style lunch with BBQ ribs and burgers at Stuart's house. Of course no summer picnic is complete without watermelon and to make it even more fun, Meakin suggested a watermelon seed spitting contest for the girls.

This posts looks longer than normal, but never fear, it’s mostly pictures.

Neither of the three girls had ever participated in a seed spitting contest, so a little help and encouragement was needed from Grandmom Beverly. I wish I had a picture of Meakin showing them his seed spitting secrets. It was pricless, but he was the photographer…

They finally mastered the art themselves as you can see from the lead photo, and everyone had a good time.

I had raved about the fabulous sweet and spicy pineapple flavored BBQ pork ribs that Larry made for the annual blogger get-together earlier this year at his house on Tellico Lake on Memorial Day (post with recipe here) and he graciously offered to show us how to make them while he was here.

As he explained to Meakin and Stuart, first you have to remove the silver skin on the ribs. I would have thought that would have been difficult, but Larry made it look easy by just lifting the white skin and, using a butter knife for help, just raised it up with his fingers and discarded it.

Then using a dry rub, he massaged the rub in on both sides of the ribs.

The ribs were then smoked on Stuart’s smoker (notice the wine cork: it was run through the probe of the thermometer to keep it from touching the grill - another nice tip from Larry)

until they were ready for Larry to brush on his marinade made up of pineapple juice, a little more dry rub, balsamic vinegar, and minced garlic. You can find the recipe for the ribs and the marinade on Larry’s blog post here.

The ribs were cooked for a while longer and here’s the finished product. They are exactly how I like them – falling-off-the-bone tender with lots of flavor.

I made a succotash salad that’s been on my blog before (recipe here)

and some Southern pimento cheese sandwiches that got gobbled up before we could get a picture. I used my own pimento cheese recipe (here), but took my inspiration for making the sandwiches from Gena Knox in her charming cookbook Southern My Way.

I like Gena's book a lot, primarily because not everything is fried or smothered in butter. I am a 5th generation Southerner and not all Southerners cooked that way, and that would include my mother and grandmother. And furthermore, in many households, including mine, we had African-American help. In fact I was raised by a lady named Rhoda, who I wrote about one Mother's Day as my "other" mother, post here. I can guarantee you that no racial slurs were ever used or tolerated in my house and I don't even want to imagine how much trouble I would have been in had I used one. Don't believe everything you hear about Southerners. We are not all alike by any means.  Whew, I just had to get that off of my chest.

Photo from Southern My Way

I love the chopped parsley on the side of the sandwiches. James Beard first made chopped parsley on the side of finger sandwiches popular when he introduced the food world to his classic sliced onion sandwiches in 1974. It's simple to do - smear a tiny bit of mayonnaise on the side of the sandwich and dip it in finely chopped parsley.

Stuart grilled burgers and dressed them with his secret sauce and later Sandy made ice cream sundaes for the girls and then the picnic ended with the watermelon seed spitting contest. All in all it was a great day with family and good friends. I want to thank Larry for showing us some of his secrets of how to make great ribs. He is THE king of the grill in my book. Meakin, were you taking notes?

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, and Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Cheerwine, BBQ and NASCAR - It's a Carolina Thing

I wrote this story a couple of years ago for the North Carolina Writer’s Association as one of my contributions to an anthology about North Carolina. Cheerwine, as you’ll read below, is a burgundy color cherry cola drink similar to Dr. Pepper or RC Cola, Coke, or Pepsi. The distribution of Cheerwine has widened through the years and you can often find it where NEHI soft drinks are sold. I’ve read that most Fresh Markets now sell Cheerwine. You can also click the Cheerwine link to see if it available in your area. Feel free to substitute the cola of your choice if you can’t find Cheerwine. This is a versatile BBQ sauce that is good on chicken or pork.

Nothing says Carolina like Cheerwine, BBQ and NASCAR

Cheerwine, first bottled in 1917, is still a popular soft drink in North Carolina. Although this burgundy colored cherry soda with lots of bubbles is the red color of grapes, it doesn’t contain any wine or alcohol. During that era it wasn’t unusual to give it such a name. Other soft drinks of the time, such as ginger ale and root beer, combined a flavor description with the name of an alcoholic beverage. Cheerwine is as much a part of North Carolina culture as BBQ and NASCAR.

BBQ is serious business in North Carolina and there can be heated discussions on which sauce is the best, eastern or western style. Along the coast, easterners insist that their vinegar based sauce is the original American BBQ sauce and, when being served a pulled pork sandwich, it’s not unusual to be asked if you would like slaw on it. On the other hand, high in the western mountains, aficionados prefer a thicker tomato based sauce.

NASCAR and racing have deep southern roots in North Carolina. Well known NASCAR race car driver Junior Johnson, born in rural western North Carolina in 1931, was behind the wheel of his daddy’s pickup truck at eight. When he reached fourteen, he became part of the family business and delivered moonshine throughout the backwoods. Johnson was an aggressive driver and often found himself in the winner’s circle when his fellow moon shiners held informal races in their souped-up delivery vehicles. With a number of unofficial wins under his belt, Junior entered professional stock racing and went on to win forty seven poles and fifty NASCAR Winston Cup series races. In 2000 he was inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

The heart of NASCAR country is in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1949 NASCAR held its first strictly Stockcar Race at the Charlotte Speedway. Lowe’s Charlotte Motor Speedway, the one and a half mile super speedway, is where most drivers now call home. 

Tailgating before the races is part of a rich tradition for NASCAR spectators. Sometimes tailgating parties can last for days as fans gather around for simple, hearty meals cooked and served outdoors and prepared on either elaborate grills towed behind their trucks or the more simple Weber types. Southern-style BBQ meats play a starring role in the camaraderie of this ritual. Meals can range from being served on fancy linen tablecloths with silverware to simple help yourself foods piled high on paper plates. So if you’re headed to a NASCAR tailgating party, whip up a batch of this tasty western style Carolina BBQ sauce using Cheerwine instead of moon shine. Take it along to baste your grilled pork or chicken.

Combine three cups of Cheerwine, one and a half cups of ketchup, one quarter cup of apple cider vinegar with a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, and one teaspoon each of chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano and paprika. Add one quarter teaspoon ground allspice, a couple of healthy dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Place in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about forty-five minutes or until thickened. Allow to cool. To perk up the flavor, add a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice, hot sauce to taste, and check for salt and pepper. Makes two to three cups. Use to baste pork or chicken during the last fifteen to twenty minutes of grilling. Feel free to add your own special touches. That’s the fun of BBQ - making it your own.

Cheerwine, BBQ and NASCAR. It’s a Carolina thing. 

I will be linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.