We are clearly having a BBQ moment in the TC. When we did the South of the North story a few years back, it was only the beginning.
While news has been popping about new barbecue spots coming, none has me as excited as the news the Jon Wipfli, a.k.a. The Minnesota Spoon, has something in the smoker.
Jon Wipfli with his new BBQ smoker
Jon Wipfli putting the inaugural meats in his new smoker trailer.
Wipfli, who wrote the very popular Venison: The Slay to Gourmet Field to Kitchen Cookbook last year, has a barbecue project in the works with Able Seedhouse + Brewery. While he’s owned more smokers than anyone I know, Wipfli has purchased a 33-foot-long Cadillac of barbecue trailers from a guy in Ohio, “I’m not sure he knew what he had, this thing hasn’t really been used that much,” Wipfli told me while throwing some meat in the smoker. “Being here in Northeast, with Able and all the surrounding breweries, it’s just a natural match with barbecue.”
Inside Jon Wipfli's BBQ trailer
Fully loaded BBQ trailer.
They’re working on a name and branding, plus finalizing the exact location of the trailer, but this is ‘cue to seek. He’ll be employing mostly apple and hickory wood to smoke, and putting up a roster of food that blends both the Texas and Carolina barbecue traditions. “We’ll use responsibly-raised meats—beef and pork—along with lighter use of sauce and lighter sides. We're also having some oyster roasters made, so we can do those in the trailer.”
We can expect Brisket Brunch on weekends, huge smoked beef ribs, pork ribs, and truckmade Texas-style hot gut sausages. Wipfli, whose career has encompassed the French Culinary Institute of America and time in NYC, plus the Bachelor Farmer kitchen locally, has lots of friends who he plans to pull in for guest appearances. If you had any fun at his Pig & Piña tailgate (called by Food & Wine as the tailgate you can't miss) with Jorge Guzman during the Super Bowl, you know what kind of good times they are promising. “We’re not going to do shitty barbecue, we’re going with local ingredients—no-fuss, traditional-style beef and pig.”
The trailer should launch by mid-July, stay tuned for more details . . . or just follow the smell of brisket.
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