Fatback Uruguay--Drew's Journal

Earlier this week, a handful of members from The Fatback Collective returned from Jose Ignacio, Uruguay where the fine folks from Belcampo Meat Co. hosted a BBQ exchange of sorts. Secrets of the South American Asado were shared by butchers, chefs and "asado masters" with the team and in return, our Southern U.S. chefs and pitmasters cooked for them.

More photos and words are to come on this blog but to get the holistic view of what was shared, head toFood Republic to read Jim 'n Nick'sChef Drew Robinson's daily journal.

In Praise of Pimento Cheese

The last year or so have been important ones for the South's beloved Pimento Cheese. Our iconic spread--a mixture of sharp cheddar, mayonnaise, and diced pimento peppers has gone from being virtually unknown outside of the South to the "it" appetizer across the US.

Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q has had their version of pimento cheese on their menu for many years. Served with their spicy, smoked hot links, crackers and hot peppers, it is one of the more popular menu items. Executive chef, Drew Robinson shares his recipe below but was also quoted on the popular national food blog, Eater.com, this week. A handful of our friends, including Southern gal turned NYC chef, Elizabeth Karmel (from Hill Country and Hill Country Chicken), Southern Foodways Alliance director, John T. Edge, chef Hugh Acheson from Five and Ten in Athens, GA and Empire State South in Atlanta, and Chef Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch Public House in Atlanta add their comments along side Drew's. Check it out here:

http://eater.com/archives/2011/11/22/chefs-weigh-in-on-the-greatness-of-pimento-cheese.php

And here's that recipe:

Jim 'N Nick's Old-School Pimento Cheese

1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise (we prefer Duke's)

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

10 oz. fire-roasted red peppers or diced pimentos

Mix ingredients together well. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Serve on crackers, celery, make a sandwich, slather on a burger...the combinations are up to you!

Thankfulness and Community in Good Times and Bad

"Community is an interesting thing in the sense that as humans, we depend on it to provide a certain sense of our well-being, yet at the same time we struggle to define or reinvent our place in it. Given the opportunity to look at our place and function in our community, people have the chance to see their value because what a community is really composed of is relationships.

In difficult times and when tragedies befall us, it is most important as individuals to reflect on what our relationship is to our community and to fulfill that role by whatever means we have at our disposal. The culinary community has a unique opportunity at those times to be on the front line of trying to help revive and nourish people in need. Food can very quickly comfort and console people and help give them a little strength to start rebuilding or recovering from what has hurt them."

--Drew Robinson, Executive Chef--Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

Our good friends at CNN's "Eatocracy" gave Jim 'N Nick's Executive Chef and Pitmaster, Drew Robinson the opportunity to speak about the very beautiful opportunity that humans have to reach out to each other in times of trouble. Last year, following the terrible storms that raged through Alabama--leaving entire towns leveled and thousands of people homeless and struggling--Drew, along with teams of people from Jim 'N Nick's decided to venture out from the restaurants and take food to the devastated communities. The blessings and lessons learned from the efforts were deep and Drew was inspired to share his thoughts to the folks at Eatocracy.

Now that it is a time of year to reflect and give thanks, CNN decided to re-post Drew's beautiful words for us to ponder today. The above is an excerpt from that post and you can read the rest of it here:

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/11/17/serving-up-gratitude-in-troubled-times/

Thank you Drew and CNN for reminding us of what matters and why cooking is not only fun and delicious, but really, really matters.

Meat & 9 in Oxford, MS

The Southern Foodways Alliance held its annual Symposium last weekend in the lovely university town of Oxford, Mississippi. The SFA--part of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi--is an organization that Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q takes pride in supporting. Their studies and celebration of the traditional, diverse and changing foodways of the American South inspires what we do at our restaurants and last week, we were honored to be a part of their "Cultivated South" programming.

Photo: Jennifer Davick www.jenniferdavick.com

Many friends--including Caleb Zigas (pictured above serving food to symposium attendees) who is the director of the amazing organization La Cocina in San Francisco, California joined us for the fun. The dinner included some other Southern chefs and kitchens and together we created a "meat and nine" dinner. Jim 'n Nick's smoked pork and provided vegetables from Southern farms like spicy greens, a sweet potato hash and giant skillets of cornbread.

Photo: Jennifer Davick www.jenniferdavick.com

A team of Jim 'n Nick's folks caravanned to Oxford by bus, plane, car and smokin' rig. The site of the rig parked beneath the Oxford water tower whetted the appetite of passers by and provided a gathering place for friends like South Carolina BBQ pitmaster, Rodney Scott, Jim 'n Nick's team members, Nicholas Pihakis and Sarah Johnson, Atlanta mixologist and restaurateur, Greg Best, and Chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union Restaurant in Atlanta.

To find out more about the Southern Foodways Alliance and their oral history collections, films and events, visit www.southernfoodways.com

Many thanks to Alabama photographer Jennifer Davick who took photos of the event all weekend long. To see more, visit her website and blog at www.jenniferdavick.com

Eat Real Festival 2011--Back from the Golden State!

We had a great time with everyone out in Oakland, California this past weekend at the Eat Real Festival. Now in its 3rd year, the Eat Real Festival celebrates thoughtfully produced food and those who do the good work to bring it to the public in a creative and affordable way. While most of the purveyors are local to the Bay Area, our friendship with the folks who started Eat Real, Anya Fernald, and Belcampo Meats is our inspiration to take the rig all the way across the country to give the people of Northern California a taste of how we cook using their products while at the same time, we learn from them. It's a great exchange of ideas, tastes and good times. Many thanks to everyone who helped us out and to everyone who stopped by our "Southern Kitchen" on wheels.

John Haire from The Pink Pig and Jim 'n Nick's in Charleston, SC was the captain of the vessel for much of the time there.

Cindy Maas and Donna Smith constructed sandwich plates.

From our rig, placed right next to the water, we cooked fire roasted corn, pulled pork, and beef brisket, played some funky tunes and had a lot of fun getting to know so many nice folks in Oakland.

Pitmaster Drew Robinson throws his hands in the air.

David and Todd shucked hundreds of ears of corn.

Nick Pihakis chops grass-fed beef brisket from Belcampo Meats.

Brian Lyman from Jim 'n Nick's in Atlanta, GA and Rodney Scott from Scott's Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, SC prepare fresh Niman Ranch pork for the smoker.

Rodney chops and sings. It was a good day.

We got some temporary help from some young prep cooks.

Some old friends stopped by as well.

Kelly, Weston and John Bakkagaurd from Jim 'n Nick's in Birmingham, AL catch up.

Our dear friend Bill Niman visited with us and filled us in on what is going on at his farm, BN Ranch.

Caleb Zigas, the director of La Cocina in San Francisco.

Southern Foodways Alliance member, Cheryl Pochapin lives just a couple of blocks from Jack London Square in Oakland. It's great to connect with SFA friends on the other side of the country!

Nat Gunter from Cultivate Wines, and Lily Peterson from Saintsbury Winery came by to visit on Sunday. Nat's originally from Alabama so he followed the smoke signals from Napa to get some authentic BBQ.

There was a butchering contest where our own pitmaster, Drew Robinson assisted "Dave the Butcher" who defended his title from last year. (more on that battle to come)

Surrounded by farms, the Bay Area is rife with producers like Belcampo who provided us with grass-fed beef, Acme Bread, who made our slider buns each day, Niman Ranch who supplied pork and Dwelley Farms in Brentwood, CA where we got the corn we cooked on the fire. Our Alabama buddies, Wickles Pickles provided the sweet/spicy pickles that went on top of our sandwiches.

Headed West Again--The Rig Never Sleeps!

It's time for theEat Real Festivalin Oakland, California! One of our favorite events to be a part of takes place each fall in Jack London Square, right on the beautiful bay in Oakland. The festival celebrates local, affordable food as well as artisan products and procedure. In concert with local producers like Belcampo Farms, Jim 'n Nick's will use our traditional Southern smoking and cooking techniques while conjuring the adventurous spirit of our friends in Northern California. It's a culinary gold rush!

Join us this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Oakland!

Jim ‘n Nick’s Celebrates With White Oak Pastures

Will Harris of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia is a great friend to Jim ‘n Nick’s as well as a member of the Fatback Collective Team. Will, along with his daughter, Jenni Harris and the rest of the team at White Oak Pastures farm in Southwest Georgia celebrated the opening of their brand new, on-farm chicken processing plant this past week.

The Harris Family has been raising cattle on this same farm since 1866. A few years back, Will made the decision to shift from conventional farming methods to a sustainable model that boasts humanely raised, organic, certified grass-fed beef. He has an on-farm beef abattoir and utilizes a Serengeti grazing model to aid in the health of the land, which translates into healthy cows and therefore, healthy, delicious beef. The grazing model is dependent on multiple species of animals and insects living and eating together in a symbiotic relationship. That is why Will and Jenni now raise chickens, sheep, ducks, geese, rabbits and turkeys all on the same land.

Their chicken production is in full force now with moveable chicken houses to provide the birds with fresh pasture to live on every day of their lives. In keeping with a commitment to animal welfare, Will believes that animals should be able to stay on the pasture their entire life, without being loaded onto trucks and shipped to processing facilities many miles away. That is why White Oak Pastures has now built a beautiful new poultry plant right on the farm.

Jim ‘n Nick’s Bar-B-Q was proud to drive the rig down to Bluffton for the celebration and to show Will Harris and his family just how much we appreciate everything they are doing to make strides in sustainable farming and spreading their knowledge to others. Rodney Scott, fellow Fatback Collective member and owner and pitmaster of Scott’s Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, SC also made the trip to show his support. Nick Pihakus and Drew Robinson came up with a menu for the feast that showcased White Oak Pastures wonderful chicken, lamb and beef.BBQ Chicken, Sweet Tea Brined Fried Chicken and delicious roast chicken sat beside Lamb Burgers and old-fashioned beef cheeseburgers.Macaroni and Cheese, Potato Salad, Lamb and Beef Sausage and pimento cheese. Fresh cucumber and tomato salad, deviled eggs and Drew’s spicy bread and butter pickles provided cool, bright flavors. Kegs of Jim ‘n Nick’s exclusive Reverend Mudbone brew kept the party going along with tasty tunes from the Atlanta-based Mosier Brothers Band.

Congratulations to everyone at White Oak Pastures! We are proud to know you!