These Are the Most Important Women in Barbecue (Part 1)
It will come as no surprise that women are underrepresented in the world of American barbecue. But with more women pitmasters and influencers than ever in the industry, the trend is beginning to change.
Since March is Women’s History Month, we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate some of the most important and notable women in the American barbecue world.
Over the course of the next two weeks, we will tell you about some of the most interesting women in the barbecue world, from pitmasters to organizers to owners. Some of them we've had the pleasure of meeting and others we hope to meet some day.
Amy Mills - 17th St Barbecue and OnCue Consulting
Following in her father Mike Mills’ footsteps, Amy Mills has been a force in the barbecue world. Not only does she oversee the two 17th St Barbecue restaurants in Illinois, she is also a James Beard Award-nominated author, a TV personality, and runs OnCue Consulting — a barbecue education and consulting company.
Brooke Orrison Lewis and Linda Orrison - The Shed
Brooke Orrison Lewis and her mother Linda are the ladies behind the The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint and The Shed Saucery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Brooke makes sure her brother Brad’s ideas make sound business sense, while Linda (AKA Mama Shed) focuses on marketing.
Carolyn Wells - Kansas City Barbeque Society
In 1985, Carolyn Wells founded the Kansas City Barbeque Society along with her husband Gary and friend Rick Welch, with the only requirement that “none of it be taken too seriously.” With over 20,000 members worldwide, the Kansas City Barbeque Society is now the world’s largest barbecue organization, sanctioning more than 500 events annually.
Catherine Stiles - Barbecue Wife and Stiles Switch
As we mentioned in our , Catherine Stiles is one part of the husband-and-wife duo behind Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew and The Switch in Austin. She is also founder of the Barbecue Wife brand, which sells Bloody Mary and margarita mixes as well as barbecue-themed apparel.
Danielle Bennett - Diva Q
After falling in love with barbecue at a contest in 2006, Canada’s Danielle Bennett bought her first smoker and was soon winning contests. She has appeared on numerous TV shows, including BBQ Pitmasters and Chopped Grill Masters and was the host of the show BBQ Crawl, traveling across the country eating barbecue, talking to pitmasters, and competing in contests. Danielle also authored a book of her recipes entitled Diva Q’s Barbecue.
Deborah and Mary Jones - Jones Bar-B-Q
Deborah and Mary Jones are two sisters who have been in the barbecue game for more than 30 years, and for the longest time they operated a small barbecue joint in Kansas City, Kansas with a loyal audience but not a lot of attention. But their long-time dedication has paid off and in recent years have been profiled by local and national media for their great food and tenacious work ethic. The sisters will soon be featured on the next season of the Netflix show Queer Eye.
Elizabeth Karmel - Girls At The Grill and Carolina Cue To-Go
Elizabeth Karmel is a chef, food writer, culinary consultant, and entrepreneur. She’s the founding executive chef of Hill Country Barbecue Market in New York, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. In 2014, she launched Carolina Cue To-Go, an "online barbecue shack" specializing in North Carolina whole-hog barbecue, and she's behind the site Girls At The Grill. She writes a bi-monthly column for the Associated Press called The American Table and is the author of three cookbooks.
Helen Turner - Helen’s Bar-B-Q
Helen Turner opened Helen’s Bar-B-Q in Brownsville, Tennessee 20 years ago and since that time she’s slowly made a name for herself as one of the top female pitmasters in the south. Turner cooks on an open pit behind the restaurant and for the most part, does everything herself. It’s an impressive one-woman operation and her food shines.
Jess Pryles - Hardcore Carnivore
Born and raised in Australia, Jess Pryles fell in love from afar with Texas barbecue, co-founding the Australasian Barbecue Alliance. She is a notable pitmaster, speaker, educator, and a spokesperson for Gerber Knives and Lone Star beer. Pryles is also the creator of her own line of Hardcore Carnivore barbecue products and meat seasonings.
Joy Stehney - Joe’s Kansas City
After attending a barbecue competition in 1990 and getting hooked, Joy Stehney and her husband Jeff formed a barbecue team called The Slaughterhouse Five. After winning numerous competitions, they partnered with Joe Don Davidson in the restaurant business, founding Oklahoma Joe’s restaurants. The Stehney’s are now the sole owners of three restaurants in the Kansas City area, now named Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que.
Stay tuned for part two of our list in next week’s issue of The Smoke Sheet.
We know there are other amazing women out there we may have missed on our list. If you think there are additional women in the industry that deserve a shoutout, please let us know.
ONE LAST THING: With Jess Pryles on our list this week, we wanted to take this chance to give away a copy of her book Hardcore Carnivore to one lucky follower. To enter the contest, you must be subscribed to The Smoke Sheet and then follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. The more places you follow, the more chances you’ll have to win. We'll be announcing the winner in two weeks!
Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ) and Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
B's Cracklin' Barbecue in Atlanta was destroyed in a fire early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Natalie Fultz / FOX 5)
B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue, an acclaimed barbecue joint in the Atlanta area, was destroyed in a fire early Wednesday morning. This is the second time owner and pitmaster Bryan Furman has lost his restaurant to a fire. B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue “will be closed until further notice.” Furman told Channel 2 in Atlanta said he plans to use this opportunity to rebuild better. “It’s not a setback,” Furman said. “I'm just waiting to get my permits to find out how quick I can rebuild.”
The Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid writes about the shifting geography of Texas barbecue and the push-and-pull between rural and urban joints.
The James Beard Awards announced its semifinalists last week, with barbecue being well represented on the list by Billy Durney of Hometown Bar-B-Que in Brooklyn, Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ BBQ in Atlanta, and Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa in Philadelphia.
Phoenix, Arizona is a barbecue town on the rise and the Phoenix New Times wraps up everything you need to know about the scene there in 2019.
Chef and author Todd Richards is opening a new joint in a former barbecue restaurant in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Florida Heights.
Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee was recently profiled by WJHL, going in detail about the seven-decade-old family-owned restaurant with a fascinating past.
Smokey Mae’s Pit BBQ, a giant barbecue restaurant just outside of Fort Worth, Texas has closed for the second and final time, and will be replaced by a chicken-fried steak restaurant.
A “small fire” caused one location of Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City to close this past Saturday night, but the restaurant was able to recover quickly and is now back open.
Two Bros. BBQ Market in San Antonio closed recently after failing a health inspection, but owner Jason Dady is speaking out frankly about the process and says “when new inspectors are assigned to new locations, the first visit should not be on the public record.”
A “barbecue festival” (using that term loosely) in Los Angeles is being called the “Fyre Festival of Barbecue” after the poorly planned and executed event left attendees hungry and frustrated.
The battle for who has the best barbecue sauce in the Carolinas is a fierce and long-standing one. This guide will help you better understand the three sauces you’ll most commonly find there – vinegar-based, tomato-based, and mustard-based.
Portland, Oregon’s barbecue scene is heating up, with underground barbecue business Q PDX opening a new cart this spring, specializing in Texas-style brisket, sausage, and ribs.
In a series profiling local chefs by The Burg in Lynchburg, VA, pitmaster Ken Hess talks about his life story and how he has made his catering company County Smoak popular with locals.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Watch: Leslie Roark Scott of Ubon’s Barbeque of Yazoo - Kevin’s BBQ Joints
In this episode, Kevin chats with Leslie Roark Scott from Ubon’s Barbeque of Yazoo City, Mississippi. They chat about her father Garry, an icon in the BBQ world who passed in 2018; how Garry made a name in the BBQ world, and how Leslie joined him. It's a wonderful, insightful story that gives a look into family business, the BBQ world's history, and how passion gets you further than you realize. Watch it here.
Listen: North Carolina BBQ with Arrogant Swine - Beards, Booze, and Bacon Podcast
Tyson Ho of Brooklyn’s Arrogant Swine is the special guest of the Beards, Booze, and Bacon podcast and they discuss all things BBQ. In particular, Ho discusses Arrogant Swine’s specialty of Carolina Whole Hog BBQ and what the differences are comparatively around the country. The process is fascinating, the sauces vary and there is even a little bit of a dispute with resident Texan Nicole over where the “best” BBQ comes from. In the end though everyone agrees, it’s all delicious. Listen to it here.
Read: Cowboy Barbecue: Fire & Smoke from the Original Texas Vaqueros - by Adrian Davila and Ann Volkwein
In Cowboy Barbecue, chef and restaurateur Adrian Davila celebrates traditions of Latin America and Texas, taking inspiration from the vaquero lifestyle and his own family history. For three generations, Davila’s BBQ in Seguin, Texas, has infused classic brisket, ribs, and sausage with Latin flavors. Recipes include Mesquite Brisket, Vaquero Chili con Carne, Smoked Pulled Pork, and Fire-Roasted Tomato, Onion, and Serrano Salsa. Cowboy Barbecue features 75 recipes from a master of true Texas barbecue and includes more than 50 color photographs. Order it here.
March 6-10: Charleston Food and Wine Festival - Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston Wine + Food infuses homegrown flavor with top chefs, winemakers, authors, storytellers, artisans, and food enthusiasts from around the globe for a five-day event that spans the first full weekend each March. More info here.
March 15: Big 12 Big Q - Kansas City, Missouri
The Big 12 Big Q pits top pitmasters from around the country in the ultimate barbecue showdown. Set against the backdrop of the Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center, each pitmaster will represent a school during the duration of the Big 12 Big Q. Featuring quick-bite challenges, demos, a rib-eating competition, and a world-class BBQ competition, the Big 12 Big Q is the ultimate grill-off during the 2019 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship. More info here.
March 18-19: Business of Barbecue at 17th Street BBQ - Murphysboro, Illinois
Business of Barbecue is a two-day seminar that combines cooking barbecue for a restaurant or catering operation with classroom seminars discussing branding, marketing, PR, vending, and restaurant financials. Participants will prep and cook ribs, chicken, brisket, and pork with an emphasis on holding and re-therming techniques. This class is filled with information that will benefit anyone from a novice to an experienced operator. More info here.
March 29-30: Hogs for the Cause - New Orleans, Louisiana
Hogs for the Cause returns as the largest, tastiest BBQ festival in New Orleans. The city welcomes 85 local and regional BBQ masters and the best backyard chefs to compete in seven categories: Whole Hog, Ribs, Pork Butt/Shoulder, Porkpourri, Sauce, Fan Favorite, and Fundraising Champion. The barbecue festival is a two-day event full of music, local beer, and fundraising. More info here.
April 3-6: National Barbecue & Grilling Association Annual Conference - Kansas City, Missouri
The National Barbecue & Grilling Association (NBBQA) Annual Conference will be held at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. Whether you are a product owner, run a restaurant, sell, buy or simply enjoy BBQ, there are boundless opportunities to network, learn, and grow at the conference. Events include bus tours, education sessions, and the BBQ bash, with presentations, demonstrations, and cookoffs. More info here.
April 10: Brisket King NYC - Brooklyn, New York
Brisket King, one of New York City’s top barbecue events, will be returning to Brooklyn on April 10. Hosted at Biba of Williamsburg, the all-inclusive event will feature 20 chefs and pitmasters serving all kinds of brisket and much more. It will also feature a wide selection of beer, cider, wine, and spirits to enjoy. Early bird ticket sales end on March 15. More info here.
April 14: Houston BBQ Festival - Humble, Texas
The 7th Annual Houston BBQ Festival will take place on Sunday, April 14th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Humble Civic Center Arena Complex. The festival will feature Houston’s best barbecue joints all in one place, including Corkscrew BBQ, Feges BBQ, Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Killen's Barbecue, Pinkerton's Barbecue, Roegels Barbecue Co., Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue, Victorian's Barbecue, and more. Tickets include entry into the event and unlimited sample portions from each participating barbecue joint. More info here.
April 20: 11th Annual North Carolina 'Cuegrass Festival - Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh's original bluegrass festival returns to the warehouse district of downtown Raleigh on April 20, with a jam-packed day full of great 'cue, local brews, and toe-tappin' bluegrass music. Proceeds will go to SAFEchild, Junior League of Raleigh's BackPack Buddies, and Raleigh Cub Scout Troop 325. More info here.
April 26-28: Austin Food and Wine Festival - Austin, Texas
The Austin Food + Wine Festival returns in April to spoil your palate with a handful of global and nationally renowned talent. This 3-day weekend in the culinary capital is the epitome of high spirits, with a packed schedule of hands-on grilling demos, up-close tastings with top chefs and sommeliers, and more interactive demos and panels. More info here.
May 4: Red Dirt BBQ Festival - Tyler, Texas
For five years, the Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival has been one of the most unique food and music experiences in Texas. The sixth annual event returns to the brick streets of downtown Tyler, Texas. Tickets are sold out at present. More info here.
Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
For this week’s recipe, Melissa Cookston demonstrates how to cook chicken or any poultry “spatchcock style.” By removing the backbone and flattening the birds, they cook much more evenly and quickly. Melissa adds some herbed butter rubbed under the skin, and lays the chicken on lemons and fresh herbs, which are used as wonderful aromatics. View the recipe here.
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