Talking BBQ and Un-kosher Jewish Food with ‘The Bad Jew’
This week marks the publication of the 100th issue of The Smoke Sheet, a huge milestone for our newsletter. Two years ago, when Sean and I first began discussing our vision for what this newsletter would be about, we knew we wanted to cover the world of barbecue from a different perspective. We wanted to highlight stories from people in places such as New York and Los Angeles in addition to traditional strongholds such as Texas, Kansas City, and the Carolinas. That’s why it’s fitting that for this issue, I chose to write about Rebecca King, who playfully refers to herself as “The Bad Jew.”
While we have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet and write about some amazing women over the past two years, barbecue is still overwhelmingly male-dominated. It’s especially uncommon to find women who live in urban areas and are young and Jewish who want to learn the art of smoking meat. So when I first heard about Rebecca on an episode of Kevin’s BBQ Joints earlier this year, I took notice.
Rebecca King has been serving un-kosher Jewish deli food and smoked meats in Los Angeles over the last year. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca King)
After relocating to Los Angeles from Cleveland to work in commercial real estate, Rebecca’s culinary career started a few years ago when she began “staging” as an unpaid apprentice in kitchens across L.A just for fun. She learned by “asking a million questions a day.” She later came up with her quirky idea for The Bad Jew but had no recipes to draw from. “All I had was a logo and a name.”
She decided to throw a Labor Day party and bought a cheap offset smoker, a suckling pig, and a brisket. Her friends who had promised to help her cook bailed on the party, so in a panic, she reached out to pitmaster Danny Gordon from Flat Point Barbecue for help. He started to teach her to smoke meat immediately. Now she works with Danny and has learned how to smoke meat on his 500-gallon smoker. “I think it’s unbeatable,” Rebecca said. “It’s so delicious, you can taste the amount of energy that goes into it.”
Porkstrami is a unique take on pastrami using brined and smoked pork in place of beef. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca King)
She knew she wanted to make dishes for The Bad Jew with pork but didn’t want to do bacon. The idea to make “porkstrami” — her take on pastrami using brined and smoked pork, rather than beef, came to her suddenly. Last December, she launched her business selling “Un-kosher Jewish Deli Food” at pop-ups out of her home.
Her signature sandwich is “The Reubecca,” which is her version of a Reuben with corned pork, Havarti cheese, and homemade fennel kraut on rye bread. She also pays homage to her mentor Danny Gordon with a sandwich called “The Danny Boy,” which features her porkstrami and serves a sandwich called “The Papa Arnie” on Challah, a traditional braided Jewish bread.
The Reubecca is King’s take on a Reuben, with corned pork, Havarti cheese, and homemade fennel kraut served on rye bread. (Photo by @dumbnhungry)
I was curious if she had received any backlash from the Jewish community for the name or concept for The Bad Jew. “Most of the people who eat my food are Jewish,” she said. She suggested quite matter-of-factly that if you are not a pork eater, then her food is not for you. As for the name, she shared, “I have always called myself a bad Jew, since I was young. It’s just a joke."
The pop-ups were a huge success and “people would stay all day” enjoying her food. However, since the pandemic hit, Rebecca has been forced to stop serving her meats from her home. It has been an adjustment for her, since she describes herself as “an extreme extrovert” who loves being around friends and meeting new people. She now partners with restaurants and bars for pop-ups several times each month.
The Danny Boy is porkstrami with Havarti cheese, Russian Dressing, and coleslaw on rye bread. (Photo by @relsreviews)
When I asked her what her plan is for The Bad Jew in the future, her response caught me completely off guard. “I want corned pork and porkstrami to be in deli cases everywhere,” she said.
Rather than simply opening her own restaurant, Rebecca wants to be a meat wholesaler. “I want you to be able to eat porkstrami in other cities,” she said. “I want you to be able to make a ‘Reubecca’ sandwich in Ohio and New York.” She’s also been talking to people about brining large quantities of meat, packaging, and perfecting the recipes so that they can be produced on a larger scale.
Rebecca wants to eventually make her unique meats available across the nation. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca King)
Rebecca also wants to connect with other women who have an interest in barbecue and smoking meat. “I know there are other women out there who do this,” she said. “I want to meet all of them and I would love to get other women into it.”
For now, she is happy learning as much as she can about barbecue. She wants to continue to learn how to use the offset smoker and what to do to manage the fire. “Now I am loving it and having so much fun doing it and I am becoming addicted to it,” she said.
Be sure to follow The Bad Jew on Instagram and Facebook and visit her website to find out when she will be popping up next!
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet
—Kevin Bludso was featured on the new Netflix series The American Barbecue Showdown and interviewed by the Washington Post. (Photos by Dominique Ellis and Max Shuster)—
HOT OFF THE PRESS
California BBQ legend Kevin Bludso, pitmaster and owner of Bludso’s Bar & Que, sat down with the Washington Post recently to talk about the new Netflix program The American Barbecue Showdown, a competition show where he serves as a judge. He discusses other topics including the many contributions of Black pitmasters to American barbecue and how business has been affected during the pandemic.
READ MORE
Competition barbecue queen Melissa Cookston, also a judge on The American Barbecue Showdown, was profiled by Distractify about the new TV show and her storied career.
READ MORE
Harp Barbecue was one of the first restaurants in Jackson County, Missouri to shut down operations when COVID-19 hit and one of the last to open back up during the pandemic. Even though customers are served outside and in spite of the fact that people are allowed to congregate in schools, chain restaurants, and even Chiefs games, the Jackson County Health Department is reportedly shutting Harp Barbecue’s operations down for the remainder of 2020, according to owner and pitmaster Tyler Harp on Instagram.
Though the newest version of Texas 202 Barbeque in Fulshear has only been open for a couple of weeks — the sign is not even up above the door — the quality of the food is excellent, writes the Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid. Texas 202 Barbeque has been run as an operation both in Texas and Washington D.C. but is now back in Texas.
READ MORE
ADDITIONAL READS
Pitmaster Shane Stiles of Austin’s Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew sat down with the Austin Chronicle to talk about his new Cedar Park location and more.
The Miami Herald says you can find some of South Florida’s best barbecue at pop-up The Drinking Pig in northeast Miami.
Barbecue joins flights of biscuits and jams at this new barbecue joint in the Las Vegas area.
An exciting new wood-smoked Asian barbecue restaurant called SmokeKing has opened on Route 44 in New Hartford, CT.
Toronto’s Beach Hill Smokehouse has been profiled by Eater for its unique approach to Texas barbecue and its huge indoor smoker.
—The American Barbecue Showdown is one of Netflix’s hottest new shows.—
WATCH
The American Barbecue Showdown — Netflix
In The American Barbecue Showdown, the newest culinary competition show available on Netflix, eight of the country's best backyard smokers and pitmasters vie for the title of American Barbecue Champion in a fierce but friendly face-off. Filmed in Georgia and hosted by Rutledge Wood and Lyric Lewis, the show is judged by accomplished barbecue legends Melissa Cookston and Kevin Bludso. The competitors include pitmasters from a variety of backgrounds and many of the challenges are far from conventional. WATCH HERE
LISTEN
Grill Girl Robyn Lindars and Pitmaster Kevin Bludso — The BBQ Central Show
Last week on The BBQ Central Show, host Greg Rempe was joined by Grill Girl Robyn Lindars. They talk about pellet cooker maintenance and the Green Mountain Grills pizza oven insert. While, no one likes to talk about their failures and everyone loves to show off their perfect items on social media, they discuss their recent pizza failures and how they have corrected the process in order to help you. Greg also chats with one of the judges from The American Barbecue Showdown on Netflix, Kevin Bludso from Bludso’s Bar and Que. Kevin is a staple and legend in California BBQ and Greg welcomes him on the show for the first time. They talk about what to expect from the show, how it differs from other BBQ TV shows and how he got started in the business. LISTEN HERE
READ
The Infrared Grill Master: Recipes and Techniques for Perfectly Seared, Deliciously Smokey BBQ Every Time — Jenny Dorsey
Level up your outdoor grilling game with this chef-approved cookbook and guide to the red-hot infrared grilling tech that guarantees consistent and juicy steaks, ribs, burgers, seafood, and more. Infrared grilling is the best way to make perfectly cooked, flavor-packed versions of your favorite barbecue standards without the pillowing smoke, dangerous flare-ups, or piles of coal needed for traditional outdoor grills. Whether you’re an avid griller or experimenting for the first time, The Infrared Grill Master will help you master grilling with delicious recipes. BUY IT HERE
—This surprising Asian short rib recipe from Blood Bros BBQ will excite your taste buds.—
Kalbi Short Rib Garlic Noodles by Blood Bros BBQ
By Blood Bros BBQ
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this video from Kingsford where Blood Bros BBQ pitmaster Quy Hoang shows you how to make Smoked Kalbi Short Rib Garlic Noodles. He marinates flanken cut short ribs in an Asian marinade. He smokes the ribs for a short amount of time before cranking up the temperature to give them a good sear. The ribs are paired with noodles in a garlic sauce garnished with sliced green onions and parmesan.
—Many of the largest barbecue events of 2020 have been canceled or postponed.—
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we are leaving our events section blank for some time. Many events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed thus far. We’ll be updating our events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
Thanks for reading our newsletter!
Want to be featured in or sponsor The Smoke Sheet?
Email us here!