Page 35 - NOV2021 Digial Issue

signaled the slow death of whole hog barbecue, one of America’s oldest culi- nary traditions. However, in recent years a new gen- eration of pitmasters has helped bring about a resurgence in whole hog cooking.
Harp is himself no
stranger to whole hog
barbecue, having traveled
to Lexington, Tennessee
to work alongside pit-
master Zach Parker at the
famed B.E. Scott’s Bar-B-
Que. Parker also partici-
pated in a special event
with Harp in Kansas City,
sharing his West Tennessee style of whole hog cooking, whereby the shoulder, ham, loin, and belly are left separate so that customers can choose exactly what cut they want to order.
This time around, Scotty Barvir was enlisted to cook whole hog barbecue in the Eastern North Carolina style Skylight Inn BBQ that has been popularized in recent years by pit- master Sam Jones. Though himself from Northfield, Min- nesota, Barvir’s family has roots in North Carolina and he has spent the last few years learning all he can about the tradition. With this style of whole hog cooking, meat from different parts of the hog are mixed together and chopped up along with crispy bits of the skin.
The 200+ pound heritage breed hog was flipped, sauced, finished, and chopped in time for dinner service at 6 pm on Saturday. A huge line of
people filed into Crane
Brewing in anticipation of the event. The menu con- sisted of whole hog sand- wiches, whole hog tacos, Jamaican jerk chicken, cheesy corn, beans, and pi- mento cheese and crackers.
Perhaps the most inspiring part of the evening was see- ing the number of pitmas- ters and chefs from around Kansas City who came to the event to show their support for Harp Barbecue. They included Vaughn Good from Night Goat, John Atwell from Jousting Pigs, Justin Easterwood from
In the Eastern North Carolina whole hog tradition, leaner and fattier portions are combined and served together along with a tangy, vinegar-based sauce. (Photo by Ryan Cooper)
Chef J BBQ, Ted Liberda from Buck Tui, and Cade Colson from Smoak Craft BBQ. Their presence at the event showed that these days Kansas City has a thriving barbecue commu- nity where members sup- port one another.
At the end of the evening, Tyler Harp was already talking about where he would be going next (down to Texas for the third anniversary of Brett’s Backyard Bar-B- Que). For Harp, there is always a new opportunity
Scotty Barvir of Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue paid tribute to the Eastern North Carolina tradition made famous by Skylight Inn BBQ. (Photo by Ryan Cooper)
to help support and grow the BBQ community.
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist) Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet
A number of pitmasters and chefs from around Kansas City attended the whole hog event at Harp Barbecue. (Photo by Tarik Sykes)
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NOVEMBER 2021
BarbecueNews.com - 31