Picks by Fitz with input by Southern Grit Contributors and Staff | Photography by Fitz
Article by Fitz and Nadira Grubs
Lead photo of house made sweet sausage at HomeGrown
3) Pork Trio| HomeGrown in Portsmouth
First, let’s head to Portsmouth for the second installment of our signature scratch cooking series. When it comes to scratch cooking in Portsmouth, my money goes to Chef Nic Hagen, who is doing it best right now. Located in Olde Towne, Hagen and his wife Hope’s restaurant, Homegrown, offers a rotating menu packed with inspired handmade dishes consisting of substantially locally sourced ingredients. Here, we feature his sweet and savory pig tour de force, the grand Pork Trio. Featuring a sweet sausage smoked in-house, some double platinum IPA pulled pork served on a handmade corn cake, and roasted pork loin served with white slaw, I challenge you to eat it all and not drool incessantly while gorging yourself.
Above: Chef Hagen and HomeGrown’s Pork Trio
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Next, we are taking the long drive and heading to Newport News for the full on meat sweats experience! We’re about to smash a platter more than worth the trip. I’ll let our feature writer, Nadira, explain why visiting Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Bar is a must for great scratch cooking!
4) Pick Three Platter | Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Bar in Newport News
The line starts early at Smoke on Warwick Blvd. Not surprising with the rich tantalizing smells of slow cooked ribs & BBQ luring you inside. You know it’s the real deal when walking up to the front door you catch a glimpse of Tasso, the pit master, and Forrest, the head chef, outside smoking the ribs from a huge pile of wood. Scratch cooking runs deep at Smoke. Owners Steven and Kathy Walters are Smithfield natives with Steven’s great grandad being a rebel cook in the Civil War. While he cooked on the losing side, his family recipes have won the taste buds of modern diners today. This deep family heritage of slow cooked pork, family recipes, and Head Chef Forrest Warren’s Johnson & Wales background has blended to create soulful old school food presented in a new school dining atmosphere.
Above: Smoke’s Head Chef Forrest Warren
We dived headfirst into the Pick Three Platter: brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. The platter comes with two sides and easily feeds two hungry people at a price of $24.29. FYI – we tried the in-house made collard greens and potato salad–Yum!
Above: Smoke’s Pick Three Platter
The Meat.
No, really, it needs its own declarative statement. Smoke has “put they foot in it” in preparation and taste. The 15-hour brisket was the ideal balance of fat and meat with that perfect smoke ring that you write home about. The pulled pork was tender and pulled to perfection. The ribs easily slide off the bone and the glaze was caramelized velvet heaven in my mouth. All the meats start with the in-house made Smoke & Twang sauce. While the exact ingredients are a trade secret; we managed to tease out that the base of the Smoke & Twang sauce is apple cider vinegar and molasses. The sides of house made collard greens and the potato salad also had a hint of sweetness that pulled together the vinegar tang to sweet perfection. There are four scratch-made sauces offered in total, ranging from their Smoke & Twang to a sweet ketchup-based Virginia style sauce.
Above: Smoke’s Pit Master Tasso Pugh and Smoke’s in-house made sauces
Great barbecue is as much about feel as it is about low and slow cooking and time. Tasso Pugh, Pit Master at Smoke, says it best. Up and in the pit at 6:30am; “It’s not on time, it’s on the meat. There’s no clock watching.”
The consistency of flavors, the tenderness of the meat, and the pride of quality in each plate make Smoke a go to for great barbecue and scratch made sides in the Seven Cities.
For Part One of our 7 Signature Scratch Dishes In The 7 Cities series visit HERE
For More on Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Bar visit them online HERE
For More on HomeGrown visit them online HERE
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