Barbecue Service By James Applewhite
I have sought the elusive aroma
Around outlying cornfields, turned corners
Near the site of a Civil War surrender.
The transformation may take place
At a pit no wider than a grave,
Behind a single family's barn.
These weathered ministers
Preside with the simplest of elements:
Vinegar and pepper, split pig and fire.
Underneath a glistening mountain in air,
Something is converted to a savor: the pig
Flesh purified by far atmosphere.
Like the slick-sided sensation from last summer,
A fish pulled quick from a creek
By a boy. Like breasts in a motel
With whiskey and twilight
Now a blue smoke in memory.
This smolder draws the soul of our longing.
I want to see all the old home folks,
Ones who may not last another year.
We will rock on porches like chapels
And not say anything, their faces
Impenetrable as different barks of trees.
After the brother who drank has been buried,
The graveplot stunned by sun
In the woods,
We men still living pass the bottle.
We barbecue pigs.
The tin-roofed sheds with embers
Are smoking their blue sacrifice
Across Carolina.
Barbecue Sauces For Your Labor Day Picnic
Chicken barbecue sauce
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T horseradish
2 T catsup
2 t salt
1 1/2 T worscestershire
3/4 t tabasco
2 1&1/2-2 pound chickens, split
Melt butter, add everything but the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. You can rewarm if needed, butdon't boil.
Place chickens on grill and baste with sauce or bake in 350° oven.
I like it with more lemon juice and tabasco.
This recipe can be found in the Dean and Delucca book. You cook whatever meat until it shreds, and mix a large amount of shreds with a small amount of sauce, just enough to moisten. Serve on soft hamburger buns or french rolls.
SOUTH CAROLINA STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE
This is especially delicious with something quite
un-barbecue-like: grilled shrimp.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 Cup minced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup commercial yellow mustard (like French's)
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1. Heat the vegetable oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and
garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly soft.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients, and simmer sauce, uncovered,
for 20 minutes. (The sauce will thicken slightly.)
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