Much to Celebrate!

The past few days have been exciting for Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q!

Warmer weather hit the South just in time for the grand opening of The Pink Pig Bar-N-Q on King Street in Charleston, SC (more on that later)

WBRC, Fox 6 Birmingham, decided to hold a Jim 'n Nick's feast during their weather reports this past week

And the most exciting of all--Nick Pihakis, our beloved founder, was announced as a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards, "Outstanding Restaurateur" award!!!!

This award goes to individuals who are not only providers of great food, but who are the exemplars of community leaders, philanthropists and businesspersons.

Nick Pihakis started Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q 26 years ago with his dad and the restaurant group has grown to provide much of the South with traditional barbecue, Southern recipes, great hospitality and community service. Congratulations Nick, on this amazing honor. We are keeping our fingers crossed for you to receive the award when the winners are announced in New York City on May 9th!

Year of the Pulled Pork

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, this past week has been filled with the flavors of China. Spicy, sweet, tangy, deliciousness. Since it is the year of the rabbit, we'll give our long-eared, furry friends immunity from the smoker (and the wok) and carry on with the pork. The spicy, sweet, tangy flavors of Southern bar-b-q, and the crunch of cabbage, carrots and pickled things mixed into a slaw are not that far off from Asian tastes.

In keeping with our "Fun With Pulled Pork" theme for February, we encourage you to head over to a Jim 'n Nick's, pick up some pulled pork and slaw from the "to go" window and put together some of our "Pulled Pork Cabbage Rolls".

Once you've picked up the pork and slaw from Jim 'n Nick's, drop by the market and get some green cabbage, hot peppers of your choosing, fresh mint and some scallions. Pull the cabbage leaves off of the head individually and rinse under water. Shake off the excess water and set aside. Slice the scallions into slivers, tear or chop some fresh mint and slice the peppers. Set these aside for garnishing. In each individual "cabbage cup" place some pulled pork, top with some of the coleslaw, drizzle with a little bit of the Jim 'n Nick's Bar-b-q sauce and then sprinkle on the scallions, mint and peppers to taste. Pick up and eat or arrange on a platter for a party! Happy New Year!

Fun With Pulled Pork

Superbowl Sunday deserves better snacks than just opening a bag of chips and pouring store-bought salsa in a bowl. This day is THE snack day. Jim 'N Nick's wildly successful Taco Tuesday was the inspiration for these home-made snacks and a quick call to the neighborhood Jim 'N Nick's to order a couple of pounds of their slow-smoked pulled pork, some tangy bar-b-q sauce, scratch-made coleslaw and a dozen of their amazing cheese biscuits gets things started. On the way to the Jim 'N Nick's to pick up your to-go order, dash into the grocery store to pick up some tortillas, cheese, cilantro, onions and jalapeno peppers, oh, and some cold beer.

Once home, dice the tomatoes, onions and peppers, mix together with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and some salt and chopped cilantro to make a quick and fresh salsa. Fill the tortillas with some of the pork, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, top with the coleslaw, drizzle with a little bit of the bar-b-q sauce and then top with a spoonful of your fresh salsa to make amazing pulled pork tacos.

Quesadillas are easy to make by placing a flour tortilla in a skillet set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the entire surface of the tortilla. On one half of the tortilla, spoon on some of the pulled pork, drizzle a little bar-b-cue sauce over the pork and then top the pork with some of the coleslaw. Cook open-faced until the cheese begins to melt then gently fold the tortilla in half, and continue to cook while pressing down gently to compress the top cheese into the coleslaw and pork filling. Remove from the skillet onto a cutting board and cut the half-moon shape into four triangles. Top each triangle with a little sour cream and some of your fresh salsa.

Another fun and easy game day snack idea is to cut Jim 'N Nick's cheese biscuits in half crossways so that they have a top and a bottom (like a little bun). Put a bit of pulled pork on the bottom half of the biscuit, top that with some coleslaw, drizzle on a little bit of the bar-b-q sauce and cap it off with the biscuit top.

Open some cold beers, set out a tray of your pulled pork snacks and enjoy the game!