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A PUBLICATION OF THE OREGON RESTAURANT & LOdGING ASSOCIATION | AUGUST 2014

Reverend's BBQ, SE Portland

Smoke and Cure Oregon BBQs Blend the Best

of All Styles with a Local Flair

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Oregon BBQS Blend the Best of All Styles with a Local FlairSmoke and Cure

Every summer, Northwesterners dust off their outdoor grills and re-stoke the ages-old tradition of the backyard barbecue, slow

cooking chicken, ribs, brisket, and other meats to the brink of fall’s fi rst rain drops. Barbecue is a tradition that stretches back farther than the backyard, even past the word’s European root, barbacoa, meaning “sacred fi re pit.” Th e truth is that man’s nose has been drawn by smoky tendrils emanating from slow cooked meat since protein was acquainted with fi re.

Before David Kreifels and Jason Owens became business partners, they grew up loving backyard family cookouts 2000

miles apart, in Portland and St. Louis. Today they’ve taken that boyhood passion to a whole new level, opening the Reverend’s BBQ in Sellwood with Partner Ben Dyer. Th e culinary school-trained chefs, who also operate Laurelhurst Market, Simpatica and Ate-Oh-Ate Hawaiian Restaurant, came full circle. “Barbecue is not what you learn in culinary school, with the French and Italian techniques” chuckles Kreifels. “But the food of your childhood becomes what you romanticize.”

Fanned red hot by television shows featuring pitmasters, the general public’s passion for all things barbecued has ignited interest in Northwest entrepreneurs.

Restaurateurs are installing wood-fueled pits and parlaying cured and smoked meats into profi ts. “Th ere wasn’t the barbecue culture in Oregon that you have back east or down south, especially 25 years ago, but now it’s really starting to take off ,” reports Kreifels. “Th e cool thing is that you are able to get tons of diff erent styles here. You’re not restricted. You’re not in North Carolina where you have just one thing. It’s kind of like the whole Northwest cuisine and how that took off . Th at’s just a combination of six or seven styles of food kind of coming together. Barbecue has kind of taken that same path.”

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Oregon BBQS Blend the Best of All Styles with a Local Flair

“Our ribs are more Kansas City style, our brisket is more Texas style, and our chopped pork is Carolina style,” adds Owens. “We picked what we liked the best. We’re not trying to defi ne a new Oregon style. Barbecue is from the south, places like Texas. We’re just worshippers.”

At the end of the day, he says, “Barbecue is more about the love that you put into it. Th at’s what you get out of it.

“I think any region that has dedicated artisans and chefs has a place in the food world,” shares Matt Ramey, owner/pitmaster at Pine Shed Ribs and Barbecue in Lake Oswego. “I think from a notoriety

standpoint, Portland has arrived though late. We simply do not have a long history to look back on or stand by. We are not a big cattle ranching area like Texas or California. Where there are cattle, there has always been Barbecue. I love that the Northwest has wonderful agricultural products and our own types of hard woods that set us apart. Th e commentary may always be dominated by the older guard and newer places just like them or near them, but that does not diminish Oregon’s new barbecue culture. I also think that trying to be an ‘authentic’ Texas or Memphis barbecue joint up here

is missing out on doing something new and great.”

Oregon restaurateurs like Chef Allen Routt aren’t afraid to add a few twists to time-tested recipes, but in the process, they have adhered to getting the basics right. “We opened Storrs Smokehouse on the fi rst Friday of this past April, and things are going terrifi cally,” according to Routt, who also co-owns and operates another Newberg restaurant, Th e Painted Lady. “I would say in large part because we decided to focus on quality as our fi rst priority.

Reverend’s BBQ, SE PDXFROM LEFT: Brisket (cut, being seasoned, and smoking), St. Louis-Cut Pork Ribs with BBQ Beans and Collard Greens, Chopped Pork Sandwich with Smoked Pork Shoulder and Chopped Slaw

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“There are several different methods of making barbeque, but we decided that we would focus on only doing a few proteins (four primarily), and only cook them on our wood smoker. We offer brisket, barbequed pork, St. Louis style ribs, and chicken wings, along with sides, such as coleslaw, baked beans, braised greens, pasta salad, as well as homemade ice creams by the Painted Lady’s Pastry Chef.

“I don’t think Oregon is posing a threat as of today to Texas or The Deep South, but what Oregonians do they do well, so today you won’t find barbeque places littering the landscape or the historic iconic generational places, but Oregon is making a strong footing.”

One of the steps Routt has taken to give Storrs Smokehouse its own unique identity in the big bold world of barbecue is bringing a few regional flavors into the mix. “Pairings are fun with barbeque,” he notes. “I was recently reintroduced to Lambrusco (a semisweet Italian red wine), which works terrifically with brisket. Pinot Noir goes fantastic with barbecue, and actually, our Texas Style Sweet Barbeque Sauce is Pinot Noir-based.”

An increasingly sophisticated dining public enjoys a few surprises as long as they are getting the real deal. “Customers are interested in products that are cured and smoked on site,” according to Ramey. “Overall, what is cool to us is turning out great smoked cuts of meat. We do what people can’t or won’t do at home. I will never really look to change my technique or modernize or whatever. Learning to cook with fire is the defining event in the evolution of man, and who am I to change that?”

There are limits to what a chef can do with smoke and meat, but they can create magical flavors with hints of brine, rubs, and other seasonings. “The cure that we’re putting on is fairly simple for the brisket,” says Kreifels. “It’s just salt, pepper, and sugar to allow that beef flavor to shine through a little bit more. I think our sweet spot is that

one-day cure. With ribs and shoulders, it penetrates so much faster. We do a brine on the shoulders as well, so the center of those shoulders get a little penetration from the seasoning as well.”

Routt, who strives to avoid anything artificial, likes to introduce local flavors. “We have been making our own bacon since the Smokehouse opened, we feel it’s essential to be able to control the flavor profiles of the finished product, and like

most products, the store-bought product bears little resemblance to what we can produce ourselves. With the space and time it takes to produce, I don’t know if every restaurant would be able to take on that sort of endeavor, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become more common.”

Pine Shed Ribs and Barbecue uses its rub on everything and only modifies it for briskets, according to Ramey, who adds, “I can’t say how.” Secrets aside, he explains, “We cure bacon and pastrami and will always do so. For us, it is no trend.

Once you make solid bacon or sausages or pastrami you, cannot stop. Customers do not get excited about stuff you just bought and heated up.”

Smoking meat requires a little more finesse than cooking over a propane flame at 225-250 ºF. Pitmasters have their own secrets, from the types of wood they use and any moisture that they introduce to temperature control (low) and timing (slow). It’s enough to awe an Eagle Scout.

“We’ve figured out the kinks too like how smoke penetrates meat when it’s cold versus when it’s hot,” explains Kreifels. It picks up smoke early then it settles down and doesn’t pick up as much late. You have to play around with all these kinds of things.”

“You really just need something consistent,” adds Owens. “That is why we use the green oak. Over at our other smoking operation, we use apple and some cherry. Some people buy any kind of wood that comes out.”

That decision can affect the final product to a degree, according to Kreifels. “For me, sometimes things taste a little off when you get into the sweeter woods,” he notes. “We settled on the oak because it’s the most approachable; it’s the most friendly across the board. On any given day we’ve got chicken, beef, and pork going through, but at the same time we can’t change the woods for each meat. We’ve got to have something where the flavor profile is going to work for all three meats.”

Kendra Knebel, who owns and operates Bo-Mack BBQ in Albany with husband Daniel and seven children, has her preferences when it comes to wood, but is also willing to experiment. “To me, alder seems to be the one that meshes and keeps a really nice foundation ‒ nothing high, nothing low, nothing grainy, just nice,” says Knebel. “Then we can infuse that with whatever else we have. For instance, I gather cherry wood and apple wood and really any kind of wood. I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s local. I’ll infuse that when I’m doing the ribs (a 6-8-hour process) or

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STORRS SMOKEHOUSE, NEWBERGFROM LEFT: Owner Allen Routt; Storrs' sauce assortment; Mixed BBQ: Brisket, smoked chicken wings with spicy maple glaze, pulled pork, St Louis ribs, pickles and coleslaw

doing the brisket (a much longer, 18-hour undertaking).”

The smoker in the catering trailer parked behind Bo-Mack is working its own magic around the clock. “When we first opened, I wanted to call this place Smell our Pits because I wanted people to remember us,” she laughs. “The interesting thing is you season your pit with the wood, so it becomes infused with that flavor. My husband would tell you it’s the most important thing we do. It’s what sets you

apart. When you go to a place and they use liquid smoke, you’ll taste smoke. But it doesn’t have a distinction. The smoke can just be very bland. It’s manufactured wood. But when it’s fresh wood, it just has such a distinction to make you want more, and I think that’s added to our popularity."

There are also those, like noted contemporary chef Tommy Habetz who find ways to add smoke flavor to their meats without ever striking a match. “We love barbecue so much that we created a pulled pork sandwich,” says Habetz, who co-owns Portland favorite Bunk Sandwiches with partner Nick Wood. “We cure it with salt, sugar, and spices, then rub it in bacon drippings to give it a little bit of smoke, and finish it in the Carolina-style with a mustard-base sauce.

“There's so many resourceful ways that people have made smokers out of almost anything around this country,” reveals Habetz, challenging the imagination. “But if you're in a cooking environment where you cannot get any smoke in, I would recommend that as a good and frugal, resourceful way of trying to get a little bit of smoke into your meat, if you don't want to use a liquid smoke kind of flavoring.”

That said, Bunk depends on more than drippings to bring in the bacon, feeding its sandwich shops with smoked turkey and chicken from its Bunk Bar at The Wonder Ballroom location. “That is where we do all smoking for all Bunk locations and also where folks are most likely to see us running a BBQ special,” he says.

As any backyard pitmaster-wannabe who has over-cured and under-smoked an expensive rack of ribs can tell you, this is equal parts art and science, and it takes both talent and precision to get it just right. There is so much more to barbecue than throwing a slab of meat on a grill, closing the lid, and crossing one’s fingers. There are golden rules that have been handed down through barbecue’s long history.

“Don’t over cure,” advises Owens. He warns that you can end up with an overly salty, off-putting hammy flavor. “The cure just really needs to be an accent,” adds Kreifels. “Maybe a tiny bit on the outside for a zap of flavor, but for me, barbecue is just about enhancing the product that you have, not masking it.”

“It’s consistency of execution too, according to Owens. “It’s paramount that you do it the same way every day,” he

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BUNK BAR, SE PDXABOVE: Pulled pork sandwich with apple cabbage slaw, mustard & pickles BELOW: Owner, Tommy Habetz

reinforces. “If you’re rubbing it different every day, if you’re smoking it different every day, if you’re playing with it a lot, you have got to find that sweet spot. Once you find that sweet spot, then you’ve got to execute the system.”

Whatever system is settled on, it requires a lot of monitoring. “Things like temperature, humidity levels, fat content of meat, and moisture content of wood are all variables that can throw a loop in the plan,” claims Kreifels. “The best barbecue is well loved and watched over.”

Purists may scoff at putting good barbecue between bread rolls, but Bunk has never had a problem selling pulled pork or smoked turkey sandwiches. That’s because Habetz applies some of the time-honored best practices of barbecue. He believes that getting it right requires extreme patience. “It's like any form of cooking where you've got to do everything you can to get the most flavor you can out of what you're doing,” he says. “Everybody's got all kinds of tricks up their sleeves. But I do think the great thing about barbecue and what I love about the whole slow-food approach is that it takes time, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to rush that. To really get the greatest product, you have to just take your time.”

“There are no short cuts to smoking meats ‒ no boiling, no ovens, no super high heat,” rattles off Ramey. He can’t afford to deviate from a formula that continues to work. Pine Shed’s loyal lunch customers count on that. “It takes hours and hours, and there is no plan B,” states Ramey. “Chicken and ribs can start in the early morning, but whole briskets and shoulder clods need plenty of smoke ‒ over 10 to 12 hours.” He starts the whole process over again each night.

Whatever it takes to get the job done right, Oregon’s restaurateurs are finding that the effort pays off. “Barbecue, like all good food, is an event,” observes Ramey. “We serve large portions that usually take time to devour. People view it as comfort food and as a healthy way to splurge a little.”

It’s a trip to the past that doesn’t require packing any more than your stomach. “People don’t vacation as much anymore

after the downturn in the economy,” notes Owens. “That’s why I think some restaurants have taken off. People can have that little release night, and barbecue just follows that. People are nostalgic about barbecue.” Barbecue is comfort food that takes them back home. “It’s really honest food,” adds Kreifels. “You get six people sitting around the table, and they all have to use paper towels. It’s communal.”

Bo-Mack’s BBQ gets an infusion of interesting food critics, folks from the bastions of barbecue visiting the Albany fairgrounds for horse shows and other events. “I love the Texans,” smiles Knebel. “They’ll come in, and they’ll say, ‘Momma, if your food sucks, I’m gonna tell ya!’ They are so honest. But by the time they leave they usually want a hug because it is so shockingly original and authentic.” Really good brisket and pulled pork can

bring tears to the eyes, and not just when it is sprinkled with droplets of habanero or ghost pepper sauce.

Routt cuts to the heart of the smoke and cure craze. “Barbeque resonates in the soul, like only a few other foods can,” he suggests. “It’s nourishing, and it’s transcendent. Any time you can take a difficult or traditionally tougher protein and make it succulent, it’s special. It hits all the terrific taste points that all people love: salty, sweet, savory, heat, tons of umami, an undertone of playful bitterness, and smoke ‒ the secret ingredient that takes you back to childhood campfires.” The “sacred fire pit” is smoking hot in the Northwest, and barbecue’s growing popularity in the food-focused region isn’t about to smolder. | kirk

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Reverend’s BBQ,FROM TOP: Co-Owner David Kreifels, Co-Owner Jason Owens

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