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Pulled-pork sandwiches from (left to right): Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q, Jim N' Nick's Bar-B-Q and The Brick Pit. (Photos courtesy Big Bob Gibson's, courtesy Angie Mosier and file)
Is slaw on a pulled-pork sandwich brilliant or bogus? We spoke with reps from three landmark Alabama barbecue restaurants to get their take.
Chris Lilly, age 47
Executive chef
Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q
1715 6th Ave. S.E., 2520 Danville Road S.W., Decatur
256-350-6969, 256-350-0404
bigbobgibson.com
On the arguments for and against including coleslaw on a pulled-pork sandwich ...
"Well there's no reason not to. [Laughs.] It is the perfect match for pulled-pork. And you're speaking to a guy, my wife's great-grandfather started Big Bob Gibson's in 1925 and that's the way he's done it and the way we've done it all these years. So I am biased. But I think I would like to have a little logic to back-up my bias and I think I do. I don't hear anybody out there upset for putting a vinegar sauce on a pork sandwich. Well that's natural. The acidity of the vinegar helps give the pork just a little bit extra punch it needs. And same way with vinegar coleslaw. You take the coleslaw - and it's mainly (seasoned with), you know, vinegar and sugar and a little bit of salt - and it's basically a vinegar sauce for pork with an added bonus. You know you talk to chefs out there, all over the country and they look for not only the vinegar to give it a little pop but you've got to have a little contrast in textures as well. You get a soft bun and a soft, moist tender pork there's no contrast whatsoever. The slaw provides the crunch. And provides the contrast while you eat the pork. So you not only get the bonus flavor of the vinegar you get that contrasting crunch that goes against the tender pulled-pork and the soft bun.
On the ideal meat-to-slaw ratio for a barbecue sandwich ...
Oh wow. I would probably say you'd want four parts meat to one part coleslaw. [Laughs.] You definitely want more meat because the meat is the star of the sandwich. The coleslaw just adds that extra pop.
On how the "slaw vs. no slaw" debate reflects Alabamians' passion for barbecue ...
You know, a lot of times we get looked over in the media, and the media says, "Oh, the regions of barbecue. You've got the Carolinas, you've got Memphis, you've got Kansas City and you've got Texas." It's easy to shoehorn all barbecue in those regions. And I think that's a fault. Because Alabama brings a lot to the table with whole pork shoulders and whole chickens ... and definitely the coleslaw on the bun.
Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q's Pulled Pork Sandwich features hickory-smoked, hand-pulled pork shoulder on a toasted bun and topped with coleslaw. $3.89
"Big" Bob Gibson began serving barbecue in 1925 from a makeshift oak plank table nailed to a sycamore tree in his backyard.
Drew Robinson, age 42
Executive chef
Jim N' Nick's Bar-B-Q
14 Alabama locations including 220 Oxmoor Road, Homewood
205-942-3336
jimnnicks.com
On "slaw vs. no slaw" ...
"Here's the thing. [Laughs.] If you want to get me to make an impassioned argument for the fact that slaw on a barbecue sandwich is a cardinal sin, I don't think anyone at Jim N' Nick's feels that way. I don't know if there's any right or wrong, but for us the reason that sandwich minus the slaw has been such a thing I think probably the real foundation of Alabama barbecue is pulled-pork shoulder on a bun. I mean it's just sort of the everyday piece of barbecue that satisfies everything from a lunch at a counter at a whole-in-the-wall to a church picnic or whatever, and it's what we've all grown up with. Not to say there aren't other great things about barbecue in Alabama - ribs, chicken, all that sort of stuff - but that's sort of the common element. And for us, we're proud of the history of our barbecue in the state. And proud to reflect that on our menu. But if we go elsewhere and find somebody who's serving fine barbecue and they put a little slaw on our sandwich and are proud of it, we're happy to eat that too."
On what really makes a barbecue sandwich work ...
"Ultimately for us at Jim N' Nick's, and speaking for Nick a little bit who founded the company with his dad, the best thing about the barbecue, hands-down, all day long, is how good the smoked pork is. The sauce and the pickles it's like salt and pepper. It's just a little seasoning on top. But the beauty of the sandwich itself is in the pulled meat. And the bun is, you know, almost like an edible napkin, man - it's just a vehicle to get the pork from the plate to your mouth, you know?"
On the importance of pulled-pork sandwiches at Jim N' Nick's ...
"That's our number-one selling item. It's the item that has really been the keystone of our business for over 30 years now."
On the role barbecue plays in Alabama life ...
I think that fundamentally everybody I talk to about barbecue that comes through our doors or just in the state in general, everybody's got a position on it. Because everybody remembers growing up with something. I think that's the thing about Alabamians and a lot of Southerners is that going all the way back to when you were just a kid, I've got a son who's 11 and he ate his first barbecue before he was in elementary school, you know? It's not even a rite of passage as much as it's just part of life. I think people get their position from their memories around barbecue and I think that the memories in this state largely evolved without slaw on top of a sandwich.
On how Alabama's passion for barbecue is comparable to our passion for college football ...
"There is no doubt about that. And I think that's a good metaphor because whether you're talking about Alabama football or Auburn football, we've all got our particular camp - I guess one of those would be slaw on the sandwich and one of them would be no slaw on the sandwich. I don't know which one would be which. People are going to get equally passionate about whatever their point of view is."
Jim N' Nick's Pig On A Bun features hickory wood smoked pulled-pork on a choice of old-fashioned bun, wheat bun or sourdough sliced bread, topped with pickles and original barbecue sauce. $7
The first Jim N' Nick's opened in 1985, on Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham.
Bill Armbrecht
Owner
The Brick Pit
5456 Old Shell Road, Mobile
251- 343-0001
brickpit.com
On whether or not to include slaw on a pulled-pork sandwich in Alabama ...
"No. That's a Carolina thing. I don't really know anybody in Alabama that does it. Maybe in North Alabama."
On Brick Pit's choice of wood to smoke their meat with ...
"We use about 80 percent pecan and the rest hickory - pecan is a much mellower wood than hickory or oak and it enables us to go to those extreme links of time because it's a lot milder. If you (smoked pork) 25 hours with hickory you couldn't eat it. It would be too harsh. "
On finding beauty in the simplicity of slaw-less barbecue sandwich ...
"Man, that's kind of it, the simplicity. Because we're real purists here. We don't even use rub or anything on our ribs or anything. We just let the pecan do the seasoning."
On the last word on "slaw or no slaw" ...
"Well for me, it's kind of a moot point because you can get our homemade coleslaw here and put it on there if you want to. [Laughs.] They're welcome to put it on it. We just serve it on the side."
The Brick Pit's Big Pulled Pork Sandwich features smoked pulled-pork and homemade sauce on Texas toast. $6.95
The Brick Pit opened in 1994.
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