Prime STQ Revealed, Hugh’s Q Review & Operation Turkey Smoke

[00:00:04] The calendar year is winding down, but there's still big barbecue news and events happening around the Carolinas.

[00:00:11] We're going to hit some highlights, including Prom Barbecue's Chris Prieto's new venture in Durham.

[00:00:17] Some of our favorite barbecue places are in the media spotlight again.

[00:00:21] And Operation Barbecue Relief's part of an effort to feed more than 200 families in the Hickory Metro of North Carolina.

[00:00:28] We've got details coming up and a review of one of my Carolina barbecue favorites, Hughes Q.

[00:00:34] It's a great local spot that now finds itself kind of in the shadow of a big new barbecue business coming into town.

[00:00:41] I'm Chigger Willard, your host for the Low & Slow Barbecue Show.

[00:00:45] Thank you so much for dialing up this episode into your life today.

[00:00:48] I appreciate you listening, and I invite you to see some of our other content at our website, LowSlowBBQShow.com.

[00:00:56] There's blogs, podcasts. You can subscribe to our Lowdown newsletter.

[00:01:00] The latest editions hit inboxes early Monday night. Oops, sorry.

[00:01:07] It was a little bit of a misfire, but hey, subscribe.

[00:01:10] We'll send you a BBQ news and our latest content and ideas all to your inbox, usually on Tuesdays.

[00:01:17] Anyway, to the news from this week's Lowdown. And after we hit news, we're going to give you our big barbecue review of Hughes Q.

[00:01:24] So first, our lead story today.

[00:01:27] Prime barbecue pit master Christopher Prieto is expanding his barbecue brand.

[00:01:32] He's got a new venture in Durham's Horseshoe at the Hub RTP development.

[00:01:38] That's slated to open in spring of 2025.

[00:01:41] They're calling it Prime STQ.

[00:01:43] And it's going to combine a steakhouse experience with Texas barbecue and the Puerto Rican inspired flavors that folks have kind of come to know from some of Chris's other ventures.

[00:01:53] That's the ventures. That's the primo Latin cuisine concept restaurant behind Prime Barbecue.

[00:01:59] But of course, a lot of other people, they know Chris from Prime Barbecue.

[00:02:03] And he's been on TV, a Food Network barbecue battle and a few other things.

[00:02:07] You know, his business in Nightdale draws plenty of praise, including a number two ranking in Texas Monthly's top 50 barbecue joints in the United States.

[00:02:17] He's also gotten recognition in Southern Living Magazine's top 50 restaurants in the South.

[00:02:23] So now he's going to be expanding to more of a steakhouse feel from what everything I'm seeing is that it's also going to have some of that barbecue flavor to it as well.

[00:02:32] So that's how you can combine the name there, the STQ Steakhouse and Barbecue.

[00:02:37] So it's Prime STQ.

[00:02:39] It's going to feature, according to their press release, it kind of hit the news wires on Monday.

[00:02:44] There'll be an 8,000 square foot restaurant space in a standalone building.

[00:02:49] Barbecue favorites and elevated dinner service, all part of the menu.

[00:02:53] There'll be a custom steak program with house aged beef, 16 handcrafted cocktails, beer, bourbon, wine, all the good stuff from a full bar.

[00:03:02] And of course, indoor and outdoor seating for 250 people, at least, as well as private dining.

[00:03:09] So find out more about this as that project develops.

[00:03:12] Just follow Christopher Prieto on Instagram at barbecue underscore nerd.

[00:03:17] He's the barbecue nerd.

[00:03:18] You keep track of Prime STQ's progress.

[00:03:21] Other news, Hickory Soup Kitchen's working with Operation Barbecue Relief and volunteers

[00:03:26] and donors in the local community to help feed more than 200 families in need for Thanksgiving.

[00:03:32] I'm calling it Operation Turkey Smoke.

[00:03:36] Austin Kincaid and the team at Hickory Soup Kitchen probably have a better name for it.

[00:03:40] But what it boils down to is it's a buy one, give one turkey fundraiser.

[00:03:44] People in the community bought a turkey.

[00:03:46] And as part of that purchase, they also donated a turkey that goes back to Hickory Soup Kitchen.

[00:03:50] And that raised enough frozen turkeys to feed more than 200 families in need in the Hickory Metro on Thanksgiving.

[00:03:57] And right now, as I understand it, the turkey thaw is underway.

[00:04:01] They'll go into a brine for 24 hours as they actually, right before we recorded this episode,

[00:04:06] they were getting that brine ready.

[00:04:08] Turkeys are going to go into the brine.

[00:04:09] And then Scotty Jarrett is going to spend a whole bunch of time smoking turkeys.

[00:04:14] I got a chance to meet with Scotty at the Carolina Barbecue Festival.

[00:04:17] He's a really active volunteer with Operation Barbecue Relief and helps coordinate this event for Hickory Soup Kitchen every year.

[00:04:24] And of course, Operation Barbecue Relief is involved in kind of providing the turkeys.

[00:04:28] And Scotty is a smoker as well as efforts and coordination there from Scotty.

[00:04:33] They're all a big part of that.

[00:04:34] And then all those turkeys, they go and support the Thanksgiving meals, like I said, for 200 families.

[00:04:39] It's going to be a great event.

[00:04:41] And hey, why don't you follow us on Low and Slow Barbecue Show?

[00:04:43] I'll try to pop over to Soup Kitchen and get pictures and video of the smoking in the giveaway and stay tuned.

[00:04:51] I've been after Scotty to join me on the podcast for a while.

[00:04:54] But as you can probably imagine lately, he's been a pretty busy guy.

[00:04:58] Hopefully, we'll have him on real soon.

[00:05:00] If nothing else, we look forward to seeing him live on our Instagram.

[00:05:04] Just follow us and see what happens.

[00:05:06] Meanwhile, Skylight Inn has been named among the top roadside restaurants in the South.

[00:05:11] People in the down east part of North Carolina probably know it still as Pete Jones Barbecue, but Skylight Inn is the official name.

[00:05:18] And Southern Living's latest tally of the top roadside restaurants across the South features three North Carolina stops, actually.

[00:05:27] It includes the eastern barbecue favorite there, Skylight Inn.

[00:05:31] And the list also includes other Carolina restaurants, Cafe Ariel in Franklin and Caromy Dining Room in Tryon.

[00:05:40] And unfortunately, Caromy Dining Room was completely destroyed during the Hurricane Helene flood.

[00:05:45] They look like they're trying to find a place to relocate.

[00:05:48] So good luck to those guys.

[00:05:50] A couple of other notable barbecue stops on that roadside restaurant list.

[00:05:53] They were in Tennessee.

[00:05:55] Fat Tiger Korean Barbecue in Moore and White Bluff.

[00:05:59] That's in White Bluff.

[00:06:00] Fat Tiger Korean in White Bluff.

[00:06:02] And B.E. Scott's Barbecue in Lexington.

[00:06:05] So some barbecue stops are also good road stops in the Southern Living list.

[00:06:10] And that B.E. Scott's Barbecue, again, in Lexington, Tennessee.

[00:06:14] You can see the complete list of all those roadside restaurants at Southern Living.

[00:06:20] Just drop it into the search engine.

[00:06:22] Speaking of lists, Charleston's barbecue scene keeps getting the love.

[00:06:26] Palmyra Barbecue and King Barbecue were both recognized among the best new restaurants in the Charleston city.

[00:06:34] Meanwhile, the latest edition of Condé Nash Traveler has a cool restaurant review spotlight on Palmyra.

[00:06:40] A memorable quote from that review.

[00:06:43] That review written by Stephanie Burt.

[00:06:45] She had to say, Palmyra Barbecue is made for those in search of stick-to-your-bones meals or items to bring to a party at tailgate.

[00:06:54] Families who are hanging together on the weekends.

[00:06:57] Friends who want to keep it casual.

[00:06:59] And barbecue aficionados who want a new punch on their barbecue fan card.

[00:07:04] Check that out again.

[00:07:06] A restaurant review in the Condé Nash Traveler for Palmyra Barbecue.

[00:07:09] One of our favorite new barbecue joints of the past year or so.

[00:07:12] So, it's barbecue festival season.

[00:07:15] It's kind of actually winded down, right?

[00:07:18] Cold winter months are here.

[00:07:20] But there's still plenty of stuff going on with the Carolina Barbecue Festival itself.

[00:07:25] All of our friends there.

[00:07:26] Sweet Lou and the gang at Let's Meet Charlotte.

[00:07:29] Have you got your early bird tickets yet?

[00:07:31] You know, you can only get those if you subscribe to the events newsletter.

[00:07:36] You do that today and just look out for your inbox.

[00:07:38] The Carolina Barbecue Festival team is sending out exclusive links to ticket sales sites where you can get those early bird tickets at a discount.

[00:07:47] And actually, it's a discount on top of a discount.

[00:07:51] CarolinaBarbecueFest.org.

[00:07:53] Just scroll to the bottom.

[00:07:54] Look for the newsletter.

[00:07:55] Sign up.

[00:07:55] Again, that's the best way to keep track of the latest festival news.

[00:07:58] This year's Pitmasters and Music lineup.

[00:08:01] Carolina Barbecue Festival.

[00:08:02] Again, of course, this year is April 4th and 5th, 2025.

[00:08:05] That's next year, I should say, in Victoria Yards in Charlotte.

[00:08:10] And you can get tickets before anybody else.

[00:08:12] Membership has its privileges.

[00:08:14] Make sure you're a member.

[00:08:16] Subscribe to the newsletter.

[00:08:18] In barbecue competition news, the Ultimate Tailgaters finished Southern Barbecue Network's 2024 competition season with a grand championship.

[00:08:26] That was at Vicious Pig Barbecue Throwdown in Stedman, North Carolina.

[00:08:30] We had the Ultimate Tailgaters on the show here a little while back.

[00:08:34] And those guys stay really busy, especially around South Carolina Gamecocks sports, football, baseball.

[00:08:39] They're the official barbecue providers.

[00:08:41] So they've been real busy the past few weekends.

[00:08:43] And on top of all the sports, they just won themselves a new notch in the grand championship belt from Southern Barbecue Network.

[00:08:49] And actually, in that competition, they finished first in the rib category and second in port.

[00:08:56] Speaking of the Southern Barbecue Network, we talked about the Kid Q competition a few weeks back with Will Engelhoff, the president of Southern Barbecue Network.

[00:09:06] And they had their SBN Invitational in Monk's Corner.

[00:09:10] It featured eight competitors in the Kid's Q competition.

[00:09:13] I'm excited to announce the junior champion is Tegan Butters.

[00:09:16] She's with the Smoker and Cher barbecue team from Winston-Salem.

[00:09:20] And get a load of what Tegan brought to the competition, a bacon cheese smash burger with sauteed tallow onions on a Hawaiian bun with fresh sliced tomato and lettuce.

[00:09:32] Man, that sounds fantastic.

[00:09:33] And that's in the junior category.

[00:09:36] So the senior champion for Southern Barbecue Network's Kid's Q competition with the SBN Invitational is Kendall Holt.

[00:09:44] She's cooking with the On The Q team from Conway, South Carolina.

[00:09:48] And her preparation was impressive, too.

[00:09:52] She provided a pork tenderloin that was rubbed in money honey and ecstasy seasoning.

[00:09:57] That's some rub brands I'm not completely familiar with.

[00:09:59] I'm sure they're great.

[00:10:00] But then she smoked it on her Rectech Bullseye with Royal Oak charcoal pellets and really wowed the judges there.

[00:10:06] So of the eight competitors, those were a couple of the winners.

[00:10:08] And so congratulations to those folks.

[00:10:11] One more news items before we head to Hughes Reviews.

[00:10:15] The American Royal inducted Grady's Barbecue founder Steve Grady into the Barbecue Hall of Fame on November 2nd.

[00:10:23] A lot of folks are probably familiar with Grady's down east in Dudley.

[00:10:28] And they've been operated since 1986.

[00:10:31] Grady and his wife, Jerry, opened it up back then.

[00:10:34] And they serve whole hog barbecue that's been cooked over open pits and wood coals.

[00:10:39] And Grady was inducted into that American Royal Hall of Fame alongside three inductees and three legacy inductees.

[00:10:47] Those are folks that have passed on.

[00:10:48] Among those legacy inductees were Big Bob Gibson.

[00:10:52] You may know that name.

[00:10:53] He created his own style of pit barbecue in Alabama.

[00:10:57] White sauce and Grady's induction this month into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame follows his induction earlier in this year.

[00:11:06] He was part of the inaugural class of inductees into the North Carolina Barbecue Hall of Fame.

[00:11:11] So congratulations to Steve Grady and his wife, Jerry, on that recognition.

[00:11:15] Now, on to the Hughes Review.

[00:11:17] I've been talking about this.

[00:11:18] And I probably mentioned Hughes Q on this show a few times here.

[00:11:24] I'm a big fan.

[00:11:25] What can I say?

[00:11:26] And part of the reason I wanted to talk about Hughes Q is, number one, I like their barbecue.

[00:11:31] And I've been a few times, like I said, I want to spread the good news to other people who may not know about it.

[00:11:37] But right now, Hickory's also abuzz with barbecue news around Jim and Nick's, which I think I probably mentioned in the last episode.

[00:11:46] I talked about it before.

[00:11:47] It's just opened in Hickory.

[00:11:49] Still haven't been.

[00:11:50] It's drawing huge crowds, heaps of praises.

[00:11:53] You can't open up the Hickory Facebook group chats and see anything without seeing something about Jim and Nick's.

[00:12:00] And it's all really good talk.

[00:12:02] Everything sounds like it's really good.

[00:12:03] I do hear the parking is a bit of an issue.

[00:12:06] They get a big crowded parking lot and they've got a drive-thru at this Jim and Nick's.

[00:12:10] And that drive-thru line, if you're in the Hickory Metro, they compare it to the Chick-fil-A line.

[00:12:15] And so if that gives you kind of any relevance, the Jim and Nick's barbecue drive-thru line really is drawing quite a crowd.

[00:12:22] And for those that you might not know, Jim and Nick's is a barbecue chain.

[00:12:26] It was originally born in Birmingham, Alabama, my hometown.

[00:12:30] Jim and Nick Pahakis started it in 1985.

[00:12:33] And since then, it's grown into a chain of restaurants across North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida.

[00:12:40] And let me tell you, the food's good.

[00:12:42] Otherwise, it would not be such a huge success.

[00:12:44] It wouldn't be drawing big crowds of people.

[00:12:46] By the way, Nick Pahakis from Jim and Nick's, he partnered with Rodney Scott to bring Rodney Scott's barbecue to Homewood.

[00:12:54] And that's where Rodney Scott's brand has quickly caught fire in the Birmingham Metro, courtesy of Nick Pahakis and that partnership.

[00:13:01] And Nick and Rodney are apparently really good friends, according to some of the media reports that I've seen.

[00:13:06] So, again, give credit to Nick and to Jim and Nick's for doing all that good stuff.

[00:13:11] And we really hope they have a lot of success.

[00:13:13] And I plan to go there.

[00:13:15] But right up the road, just a short drive, just up Highway 70 from Jim and Nick's is Hughes Q,

[00:13:21] a spot that's quickly become a favorite around Hickory.

[00:13:24] It's a local guy, Brian Rogers.

[00:13:27] He's running a local barbecue joint.

[00:13:29] I've been in there.

[00:13:30] He's doing most of the work himself.

[00:13:31] He's turning out a good product.

[00:13:34] I've been trying to connect with Brian and get him on the show.

[00:13:36] And he's staying real busy.

[00:13:37] And hopefully we'll get him on.

[00:13:39] But I did want to share my experience and some advice for you guys if you go check him out.

[00:13:43] First, it's a great location on Highway 70, kind of in the commercial district of the Hickory Metro,

[00:13:49] around the mall and hotels, convention center.

[00:13:51] It's a really central location for a lot of people working.

[00:13:54] There's a lot of room inside his little business restaurant there.

[00:13:58] They've got bar and bar seating as well as a table and table seating.

[00:14:02] And the bar's got a few on-tap drafts there.

[00:14:05] They always seem to have Schotterbach, too, which is good if you like that kind of thing.

[00:14:09] Nice Texas flavor there for Hughes Q.

[00:14:11] Another important question about a barbecue joint is, yes, there are smoking implements and wood on site.

[00:14:21] It looks like Brian's burning that smoker outside seven days a week, which that's how often they're open, seven days.

[00:14:27] You can see it out there.

[00:14:29] You can smell it right outside, just right outside beside the restaurant there.

[00:14:32] So that's cool.

[00:14:33] That adds some legitimacy to those guys.

[00:14:35] And then at the bar and around the restaurant, there's a lot of local sports memorabilia from around Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba County Sports.

[00:14:43] Kind of a nice Hickory Metro sports flavor, too.

[00:14:45] You know what you want to see in a Hickory Metro barbecue joint.

[00:14:49] And then the food, you know, they've got the standard barbecue offerings.

[00:14:52] Pork, brisket, chicken, turkey ribs, you know, and some specials all along.

[00:14:57] Speaking of specials, you need to know Sunday and Wednesday, they've got whole smoked wings for $1.50 each.

[00:15:03] Check them out Sunday and Wednesday.

[00:15:05] Hey, Sunday's when they play some football games.

[00:15:07] That might be a good place for football and wings.

[00:15:10] I haven't been for football and wings yet, but I have been to the restaurant a few times.

[00:15:14] I've had the pulled pork.

[00:15:15] I've had the turkey, the brisket, brisket sandwich, chicken sandwich.

[00:15:20] I said I've been there a few times.

[00:15:21] Anyway, I recommend all of it.

[00:15:23] One tip for you.

[00:15:25] If you go and you get a sandwich, they come with slaw.

[00:15:29] And you want the slaw.

[00:15:30] You want to have it, but you don't want it on the sandwich.

[00:15:33] You get them to serve it to you on the side.

[00:15:35] Not as a side, but on the side.

[00:15:38] That way you get the full flavor of the meat without drowning it in slaw until you're ready to drown it in the slaw and the sauce.

[00:15:45] And by the way, when I had the chicken sandwich, man, the flavor on that chicken was really good.

[00:15:50] It had a really nice smoky flavor to it, but I just had so much slaw.

[00:15:53] So next time I'll temper the slaw and then add that a little bit later.

[00:15:57] So I mentioned the sauce and they got three varieties at the table.

[00:16:01] I really like what Hugh's got going on with the Southern Carolina gold mustard.

[00:16:06] I'm not a super huge mustard fan, though.

[00:16:08] I've probably said before mustard is growing on me a little bit.

[00:16:11] And they've got a KC style, kind of a really thick and sweet thing and a vinegar option too among the barbecue sauces there.

[00:16:18] Hugh's Q has a kid's menu with burgers and dogs, chicken tenders.

[00:16:21] So you can drag the kids along and, oh, wait a minute, I forgot the sides.

[00:16:25] So first, I love cream corn.

[00:16:27] Theirs is good.

[00:16:28] Mac and cheese, pretty standard.

[00:16:31] Jalapeno cheese grits, those are a winner.

[00:16:34] So is the sweet potato casserole.

[00:16:36] Fried okra, never a miss.

[00:16:38] Maybe not really super special, but it's not bad.

[00:16:41] But the only one side that I wasn't super high on, I think it's probably the green bean casserole.

[00:16:47] I don't really remember why.

[00:16:48] Sorry, Brian or Hughes.

[00:16:51] Hughes, it was a first visit I think I tried.

[00:16:54] It wasn't for me.

[00:16:55] I haven't ordered it again.

[00:16:57] And don't judge anything else by this opinion.

[00:16:59] Everything else at Hughes' Q is really good.

[00:17:01] And it's a popular spot at lunch.

[00:17:04] I tried to hit it on Friday.

[00:17:05] So look around on a Friday.

[00:17:07] You might spot this chigger in there.

[00:17:08] But when I've been there, there's always a really solid blue-collar crowd,

[00:17:12] a steady stream of online order pickups.

[00:17:15] That tells you something else.

[00:17:17] That Hughes' Q is good and other people like it too.

[00:17:20] Not just me.

[00:17:22] Anyway, I'm going to get to Jim and Nick's.

[00:17:24] Until then, I'm going to keep hitting Hughes' Q and the top hickory barbecue joint.

[00:17:29] Just check them out.

[00:17:29] Hughesq.com.

[00:17:31] The website's not a whole lot to speak of.

[00:17:33] Just the important stuff.

[00:17:34] How to order online.

[00:17:37] And once you do that, how to order online, you'll find the menu.

[00:17:41] And they've got meat and two or two meats and a side plates and sandwiches and sides a la carte.

[00:17:48] And they've got dessert too.

[00:17:49] The banana pudding's good.

[00:17:51] Can't miss with that.

[00:17:52] So all kinds of good stuff there on the menu.

[00:17:55] If you want to find Hughes' Q a little more visibly, check out Facebook.

[00:17:59] All along, they give out swag and stuff.

[00:18:01] I think they gave some nice tumblers out with Hughes' Q stuff on it.

[00:18:04] So check them out.

[00:18:05] And if you're in the hickory metro, definitely have a visit.

[00:18:07] And while you're in the hickory metro, if you also happen to want to have a fight with somebody,

[00:18:12] start debating which barbecue is best.

[00:18:15] Whether it's Hughes' Q, JD's, Cranfer Brothers, or Apple City.

[00:18:20] Those are the ones that are all kind of getting the hubbub going on.

[00:18:22] At least in some of those things that I see online.

[00:18:25] Anyway, that's the lowdown for this week.

[00:18:27] I'm Chigger Willard.

[00:18:29] Thanks for listening to this episode.

[00:18:30] And whatever episode you've enjoyed since we started this journey.

[00:18:34] And especially since we've started this journey in mid-February.

[00:18:38] That's when we got to produce in an episode every week.

[00:18:41] 42 straight weeks.

[00:18:43] That comes thanks to a lot of help from my producer at the Mesh.TV network of studios,

[00:18:48] Andrew Moose.

[00:18:50] 42 straight weeks of interviews with pitmasters, barbecue journalists,

[00:18:54] barbecue competitors, barbecue event planners.

[00:18:57] We've reviewed restaurants and shared recipes.

[00:19:01] And generally, hopefully we've shined a good light on barbecue, especially barbecue in North and South Carolina.

[00:19:08] Now that the holiday season's almost here, it's time for a break.

[00:19:12] Let's let the smokers cold just a little bit.

[00:19:15] Catch up on some things that's kind of been on the back burner.

[00:19:18] A bunch of blogs.

[00:19:19] I've been cooking up a few of those.

[00:19:20] And I've also kind of been voluntold to smoke pork for the welcome family Christmas.

[00:19:27] That's a whole bunch of Davidson County, Lexington barbecue people.

[00:19:30] And their expectations are going to be high.

[00:19:32] So I may have to run a few extra runs through the old Weber Smoky Mountain to get ready for that.

[00:19:37] Anyway, it's time for a break.

[00:19:38] And before we do that, I'm going to invite you guys to join us for Thanksgiving weekend edition.

[00:19:45] It's going to be great listening.

[00:19:46] I'm not going to tease too much.

[00:19:47] I want to make sure it happens.

[00:19:49] But we got something cool.

[00:19:50] It'll be a fun conversation.

[00:19:51] And then coming up in mid-December, we're also going to be planning something fun with our friends at Three Beers Down.

[00:19:58] Maybe there'll be some pulled pork barbecue.

[00:20:02] Maybe there'll be a blind taste test.

[00:20:04] Stay tuned.

[00:20:05] All that's coming in mid-December.

[00:20:08] Otherwise, we're probably going to be taking a break for a few weeks here and gear things back up once it gets to be smoking season.

[00:20:15] And when it is, we'll look forward to hearing from you and sharing our stories with you again.

[00:20:20] And until that time, thank you so much for listening to the Low and Slow Barbecue Show on the Mesh.TV network of podcasts.

[00:20:27] Visit us online at LowSlowBBQShow.com.

[00:20:30] You'll find the blog, other podcast episodes.

[00:20:33] If you like what you hear, please be sure to give us a five-star rating in your favorite podcast network.

[00:20:38] And if you're on YouTube, you can find us there too.

[00:20:41] There's videos of our interviews and some man-on-the-street stuff, some things I've captured inside restaurants.

[00:20:47] And you also get to see our big holiday barbecue taste-off that's going to be coming up in December.

[00:20:52] Subscribe if you're on YouTube or just keep listening right here.

[00:20:56] Special thanks again to our producer, Andrew Moose, and the whole team at the Mesh.TV network of podcasts.

[00:21:02] And to our loyal audience, remember, for the best barbecue and the best barbecue podcast, make it low and slow.