Lebowitz Josh - Brother Jimmys BBQ: more than 100 recipes for pork, beef, chicken, and the essential southern sides

PUBLISHED IN 2012 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of ABRAMS

COPYRIGHT 2012 Josh Lebowitz
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY 2012 Lucy Schaeffer
RESTAURANT PHOTOGRAPHY 2012 Steve Wilfong

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Brother Jimmys and Put Some South in Yo Mouth are registered trademarks of Dining Entertainment Group, LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lebowitz, Josh.
Brother Jimmys BBQ : more than 100 recipes for pork, beef, chicken, and the essential southern sides / Josh Lebowitz, Eva Pesantez.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-58479-954-2 (pbk.)
1. Barbecuing. I. Pesantez, Eva. II. Title.
TX840.B3L43 2012
641.76dc23

2011036181

EDITOR: Natalie Kaire
DESIGNER: Laura Palese
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Tina Cameron
FOOD STYLIST: Simon Andrews
PROP STYLIST: Amy Williams

The text of this book was composed in Din, Cheap Pine, Cordoba, Stud, and Elephant.

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It was the first barbecue joint Id ever been to, and I thought it was amazing. Walking in, the scent of the hickory oak was so potent and mouthwatering; it was one of those places where you knew in one whiff that everything would taste delicious. I dived into plates of ribs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes, each one as perfect as the last.

It was tucked away in this brick building on a side street, and it was always slammed with customers. Youd have to wait in line for an hour sometimes, that tantalizing smell pouring from their smokers, teasing you the whole time. When you were finally inside, it was loud, but not from the music. The din of happy people chattering away filled my ears, and I loved it. I enjoyed the action, the excitement, and the vibe of Redbones. And the ribs tasted fantastic. I was hooked on the whole experience.

Later, while on a cross-country trip to California my junior year, my friend and I drove through the heart of the South. As we wove our way through North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, wed stop whenever possible to feast on barbecue, exploring every edible facet of Southern cuisine.

There is something undeniably familiar about a barbecue experience. Entering each restaurant was like setting foot into a home kitchen, a mythical incarnation of our mental ideals inspired by everything from the Waltons to our grandmothers home. Every time, it was warm and inviting, right down to the checkered cloths wrapping each table. Sure, the fare tastes different in each spot, but its consistently rooted in the same concept: no-frills, deconstructed plates of comfort food, cooked to succulent perfection. Simply mix all the flavors into one big pile and dig in. The resulting bites are always delicious.

In the South, barbecue represents more than just a juicy pulled pork shoulder sandwich; barbecue below the Mason-Dixon was always about celebration. Before there was tailgating there was pig pickin, which can best be summed up as a gathering of friends around the slow cooking of a whole hog. Over time, these gatherings have grown and transformed into the traditional Southern barbecue weve all come to know. And though barbecue has evolved far past various savory pulled meats, the integral parts of a good pig pickin or barbecue still remain the same: solid music, jubilant dancing, a healthy assortment of booze, good ole Southern hospitality, andof coursesweet tea, extra heavy on the sweetness. Simple recipes mastered through years of experience combined with this carefree, fun environment provided the foundation for each of the restaurants I was lucky enough to enjoy on my travels.

As I wrapped up college, the innocuous seed of a life of barbecue had been planted in my mind. Simultaneously, New Yorkers got their first taste of some South in their mouth when the doors of a small, ramshackle little restaurant opened in 1989 on the Upper East Side. Founded by Jimmy Goldman, Brother Jimmys was created to be all about the legendary North Carolina slow-smokin cue, where pork was liberally seasoned, rubbed, and then left atop smoldering hickory wood for half a day before being piled high onto a plate, served with all the country fixins. Brother Jimmys went on to produce some of the finest barbecue ever to hit a New Yorkers plate (per the New York Times in a lauding review that proclaimed the arrival of true barbecue in NYC right after the opening).

When I began working for Jimmy in 1996, it was a cathartic moment: I realized that my passion for barbecue could forever become my profession. When I took ownership of Brother Jimmys in 2000, the most important tenet I strived to adhere to was the fact that proper barbecue isnt just about food. Its an affair that encompasses everything good in life: family, friends, food, and fun, and at Brother Jimmys were proud to re-create that experience every day, from open to close, in each of our seven locations. Its the same essence I found in the Southern culture Id seen years earlier, during tailgates, backyard barbecues, and some of the eateries Id visited.

Any night at any Brother Jimmys, you can find people dancing around, smiling, and generally enjoying life. Every night is a lovefest, with tables of strangers coming together, clinking Natural Light cans of brew, wrapping their arms around one another, and cheering on their favorite team or performing impromptu karaoke to the Allman Brothers. This vibe, this excitement, this feeling is what Brother Jimmys is about. Theres a reason Zagat ranked us among the top five nightspots in all of New York.

Because of all of this, Brother Jimmys is more than just a barbecue house. Were a true Southern restaurant: We serve a diverse and robust selection of classics Southerners have come to love, and we just happen to serve some great authentic barbecue too. We believe in the North Carolina method of barbecue, which is that good cue is defined by the taste of the meat and not the sauce slathered atop it. I originally was misled in believing the sauce is the secret to barbecuing success, but any true Southerner can tell you the flavor of the meat is paramount, and we agree with that stance.