Meat Week: A BBQ Lover's Favorite Week of the Year
Ranked #4,181 in Food & Cooking, #79,586 overall
Celebrating All Foods BBQ In All Their Glory
And what a week it is! One in which carnivores who delight in the sticky, sweet and tangy taste of BBQ gather together each evening to celebrate and savor all foods BBQed, from ribs and pulled pork to chicken and beef brisket.
So round up your BBQ-lovin' friends, grab a stack of napkins, roll up your sleeves, and dig in!
(Credits: All images courtesy of Meat Week except where noted.)
Contents at a Glance
A Brief History of Meat Week
Meat Week was started as so many other great ideas were: from a quirky bit of randomness and as a bit of a lark.On one particularly slow work day, Chris Cantey and Erni Walker decided to play around with the random word generator on Chris' website to relieve their boredom. Nothing out of this world popped up until the word combination "meat-week" did, and eureka! Meat Week was born.
They decided that Meat Week would be a holiday wherein the eating of BBQ each evening of the week is the way to celebrate it. And they told their friends about it, who laughed. But as the start of it drew near, friends began asking if "that BBQ thing" was still happening. Indeed it was, and so, on January 30, 2005, Chris, Erni and their BBQ brethren gathered together at a Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Tallahassee, Florida for BBQ feasting and friendship, and continued the tradition each night through the next Sunday.
Where in the World Is Meat Week?
Since Meat Week began in 2005 in Tallahassee, it has grown to 22 cities in the U.S., including:- Athens, GA
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Baltimore, MD
- Baton Rouge, LA
- Boston, MA
- Charlotte, NC
- Chicago, IL
- Decatur, IL
- Duval, FL
- Greenville, SC
- Iowa City, IA
- Little Rock, AR
- Los Angeles, CA
- Melbourne, FL
- New York, NY
- Phoenix, AZ
- Portland, OR
- San Francisco, CA
- SF Bay Area, CA
- Tallahassee, FL
- Washington, DC
If the city you live in, whether in the U.S. or abroad, doesn't celebrate Meat Week, and you're a true-blue fan of BBQ, the time has come for you to round up your BBQ-lovin' compatriots and get Meat Week on the calendar and your city on the Meat Week map. For instructions on how to do this, visit the Meat Week website.
BBQ Styles
Folks in different cities/states/regions have their own way of making BBQ, and they all claim that theirs is the best. Since the proof is not in the pudding, but in the eating of it; which type of BBQ do you consider to be the best or your favorite?
Get Your BBQ Eats On
You can also get more great BBQ-themed gifts over at Zazzle, including the "BBQ" plate, "BBQ King" frosted mug, and "I (heart) BBQ" placemat shown below.
Where Does Meat Week Happen in My City?
Seven BBQ restaurants are selected for each Meat Week city, and each one hosts one day of the eight-day celebration. In cities where there is a Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q, Days 1 and 8 are held here. In other cities, Day 8 is either hosted by another/eighth restaurant or is a BYOBBQ hosted by a fellow Meat Weeker.In 2012, Meat Week was hosted by local BBQ favorites, including:
- Harry's Pig Shop (Athens, GA)
- Fat Matt's Rib Shack (Atlanta, GA)
- Live Oak Barbecue (Austin, TX)
- Smokin' J's (Baltimore, MD)
- Big Jakes BBQ (Baton Rouge, LA)
- Redbones Barbecue (Boston, MA)
- Sauceman's BBQ (Charlotte, NC)
- Mamma D's Smokehouse (Decatur, IL)
- Mojo Bar-B-Que (Duval, FL)
- Henry's Smokehouse (Greenville, SC)
- The Pit Smokehouse (Iowa City, IA)
- Smoke City Market (Los Angeles, CA)
- Memaw's Bar-B-Q (Melbourne, FL)
- Brother Jimmy's BBQ (New York, NY)
- The Barbecue Company (Phoenix, AZ)
- U-licious Smokehouse & Grill (Portland, OR)
- Baby Blues BBQ (San Francisco, CA)
- Andy's Bar-B-Que (SF Bay Area, CA)
- Up In Smoke Pit BBQ (Tallahassee, FL)
- Smoke & Barrel (Washington, DC)
When Is Meat Week?
It Always Starts on the Last Sunday in January
- January 27, 2013
- January 26, 2014
- January 25, 2015
- January 31, 2016
Top Tools for the Top BBQ Chef
But Wait, There's More to Meat Week Than Eating Great BBQ!
There's more to Meat Week than simply feasting on fine BBQ. There's also the fun and camaraderie, and the meeting and greeting old friends and new while you break bread (of a pulled-pork sandwich) together.For those who overindulge, there's also the "plop-plop-fizz-fizz, oh-what-a-relief-it-is" glass of Alka-Seltzer(R).
And there's more besides that! There are Meat Week t-shirts, a Meat Week "BBQ carol" and video titled "The 8 Nights of Meat Week," a Meat Week documentary and other videos, Meat Week photos, and "best of" Meat Week awards.
For all this and everything else Meat Weekery, visit the Meat Week website.
Meat Week Ideas for the Meat-Week-Less
We Can't All Be Where the Meat Week Action Is
Given that Meat Week is in just 22 cities stateside right now, there are plenty of BBQ fanatics who simply can't partake in the official festivities without traveling far and wide.So, if taking planes, trains, or automobiles to the nearest (or furthest) Meat Week city isn't doable for you, then consider one of these ideas and create your own Meat Week fun!
Host Your Own Meat Week
This one is going to require lots of cooking, but it will be worth it. First, invite a bunch of BBQ-lovin' friends to your place to celebrate Meat Week. It's likely that most of them won't be able to make it all eight nights, so have them select which night(s) they'll join you. Then choose eight BBQ dishes for the main course of each Meat Week meal. Then cook, in advance and/or on the day of each dinner. If you don't have any BBQ recipes, try one of the sites below, each of which has several. And if all that BBQing is more than enough to keep you busy, ask your friends to bring the side dishes and beverages. Then when the last day of January arrives and Meat Week has officially begun, welcome your friends in, eat heartily and happily, and enjoy your evening.
(By the way, one of my favorite cooking/recipe books is The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2012
, which has recipes for several BBQ dishes, BBQ glaze, and BBQ sauce. For more information about this book, please see the sidebar.)Co-Host Meat Week
This is a variation on the above, whereby you and seven of your BBQ-lovin' friends each host one night of Meat Week. Just remember to have eight different BBQ dishes between you, lest you not be able to even look at BBQ chicken, much less eat it, by week's end. And if you'd like to add a bit of variety, then make the weekend Meat Week meet-ups lunch instead of dinner. (BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches, anyone?)
The Solo Meat Week
The spirit of Meat Week is as much in the sharing and camaraderie as it is in the food, so only consider this if it's a solo-or-no-Meat-Week-at-all situation. If, during Meat Week, you are at some place where there is no one with whom you can (or are willing to) share a meal of BBQ, find a BBQ place, be it a dive of a joint or a Michelin-starred BBQ bistro, and take yourself there for lunch or dinner. If there is not a single one, not even a BBQ food truck, then find a place that serves at least one BBQ dish and dine there. And if there is no BBQ anything to be found, consider delaying your Meat Weekery until you get back to BBQ civilization. As with all things BBQ, better late than never.
(Photo by avlxyz via flickr, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license.)
Top-Rated & Top-Selling BBQ Recipe Books
For All 52 Weeks of the Year
What Say You, Meat Weekers?
(And non-Meat Weekers, too)
First, many thanks to everyone who's read this lens, be you carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. Whether you indulge in BBQ before, during and after Meat Week, or you proclaim and demonstrate the fabulosity of veganism year-round, I salute you with fork in hand, bib on chest and napkin in lap..
Have you celebrated or will you be celebrating Meat Week? If yes, where and with whom? If no, pourquoi pas? Anything else you'd like to share about Meat Week and/or this BBQ-filled lens is welcome.
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JaguarJulie May 25, 2012 @ 8:17 am | delete
- Hello there! Quite frankly, I had never heard of Meat Week. And, wondering why there is not a Jacksonville, FL chapter. Do you know Ted Turner's opinion of Meat Week? I'll bet he would foster a chapter.
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imlj May 25, 2012 @ 11:11 am | delete
- Hello to you, too, JaguarJulie. I have no idea about what Ted thinks, although I believe he enjoys meat (w. Ted's Montana Grill and all). You could start the chapter in Jacksonville. :-)
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Tipi
Apr 25, 2012 @ 10:07 am | delete
- It makes my mouth water just thinking about.
Now, I'm feeling starve, and will need to eat. :)
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- @Tipi - It sounds like you're a fan of BBQ. Will "Tipi's Meat Week" be happening soon? :-)
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by imlj
I love food. Make that "eating," and not just any food but good food, tasty food, food that I could eat every day, and food that I have cravings for.... more »
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The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2012
An Awesome Recipe Book for Every Kitchen
The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2012: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes
Amazon Price: $23.76 (as of 06/02/2012)
I discovered this book as a result of watching the TV show on a PBS station in my area. The show is terrific, and so is this book. It is one of the best cookbooks in print (and on Kindle) today, and for me, it's a must-have and must-use reference. (I like it so much, I've given copies of it as gifts.)
Its 790 pages give it the heft of an encyclopedia volume, and its contents encompass a lot of everything, too. While each chapter may not have as many receipes as can be found in single-topic recipe books, the book overall still offers plenty of recipes for various dishes (soups, salads, sides, etc.), foods (chicken, roasts, fish, etc.), meals (brunch, skillet suppers, diner-food dinners, etc.), cuisines (French, Italian, Tex-Mex, etc.), and much more.
The people at America's Test Kitchen really do test and retest recipes until a dish is "perfect" -- from its taste and texture to the fullness of its flavor and the appeal of its aesthetics -- and the perfected recipes are the ones in this book. The recipes do result in scrumptious dishes, as long as you follow the directions to the letter. (If a recipe has seven steps, do all of them the way the directions state, or else you could end up with something less than appetizing. Trust me on this.)
In addition to the recipes, what makes this book a real keeper is the shopping guide. Similar to all of the testing done with the recipes, the people in the product lab test all manner of kitchen equipment -- knives, skillets, spatulas, toaster ovens, bundt cake pans, coffee makers, crock pots, you name it -- and tell you what product attributes to look for when shopping and give you their recommended favorites. The same applies to taste tests done for food products ranging from olive oil and pasta to coffee and hot cocoa. This 43-page section alone is worth every penny, especially if it saves you from buying more-expensive items that don't work as well or taste as good as their less-expensive counterparts.
And if you're a fan of the show and want a behind-the-scenes look at the show and the test kitchen, this is in the book, too.
As for BBQ, the book has recipes for several BBQ dishes, each of which has instructions for cooking them using charcoal and gas grills, as well as recipes for BBQ glaze and varieties of BBQ sauce.
Enjoy!
