Friday Find: Heirloom Market BBQ Is a Barbecue Fusion Pioneer

A former Korean Pop star and Texas chef Cody Taylor have been blending traditional Southern barbecue with Korean flavors before it was a trend.

In all my barbecue travels, Atlanta's Heirloom Market BBQ was the earliest example of truly mind-blowing barbecue fusion well before barbecue fusion was in fashion (say that three times fast). Think spicy chopped pork sandwiches with a kimchi slaw instead of your standard cole slaw or red slaw, Kalbi beef ribs marinated for 72 hours, and racks of ribs rubbed with gochujang and smoked to perfection. Also, there are sides of Korean spiced potatoes and a cucumber radish salad alongside classic barbecue sides like baked beans and collards.

Heirloom Market BBQ seamlessly blends Texas BBQ with Korean flavors. (Photo via Heirloom Market BBQ / Facebook)

My first visit to Heirloom Market BBQ in 2014 led to one of my top 5 barbecue meals ever, with the mixing of flavors a revelation for my taste buds. In the decade since, we've seen the rise of other kinds of barbecue fusion that mix traditional Southern barbecue with cuisines such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Egyptian, Vietnamese, Indian, and countless others. All are no doubt inspired in part by Heirloom Market BBQ.

In the video above, Eater's Smoke Point heads to Atlanta to visit with Heirloom Market BBQ owners Jiyeon Lee (a former Korean Pop, or K-Pop, star) and Cody Taylor and see how they blend traditional Southern barbecue with Korean flavors.

Monk
Co-Founder, Barbecue Bros