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Portland Observer Thursday, September 14, 1978 Page 7
ur. u . trie Lincoln, former professor at Porfllbd State University and cur
rently professor of religion at Duke University, associates modern Black
cooking with African roots.
Borbeque’s roots in history
form al schooling in his life . He
worked all through his childhood
and the first day he went to the
schoolhouse, he discovered that
although young, he was still a grown
man in a classroom where all of the
other pupils were children. He
decided that he did not have time to
sit in a classroom with children, so he
left school and educated himself.
W ith o u t fo rm a l tra in in g , he
developed a philosophy fo i living
which dom inated his life and to
which his success can undoubtedly be
attributed.
Mrs. Johnson writes, “ The themes
which dominated Papa's life were:
Hard work — ‘ I t ’ s better to wear
out, than to rust o u t.’ T h rift —
’ You’d better think about the hereaf
ter I’ Reverence for God — ‘ Remem
ber your Creator!* By his industry,
fairness in business dealings, honesty
and trust in his fellow man, Papa
achieved and maintained the love
and respect o f everyone in the com
munity — Black and white. There
were few, i f any, people in the Coun
try who did not know Sam Hodges.”
Carl Hodges, with his son Michael
“ T erry” Hodges listening, shared
the family barbecue secrets with us as
his grandfather had shared them
w ith “ B uddah” Robinson fo rty
years before. Sam Hodges* “ whole
hog” barbecue as to ld by C arl
Hodges follows:
"A llo w from sun-up to sun-down
for cooking time. Do not rush it. K ill
a hog, split, clean, dress and hang
him up to chill out. In a separate
place from the pit where the pig is to
be cooked, start a fire o f oak wood,
so that coals can be transferred to the
pit and the fire kept at an even tem
perature. He (Sam) would never put
anything under the hog but coals.
The hog is then placed on a heavy
wire gratirg substantial enough to
hold the carcass weight. The pit hole
must be large enough to expose the
entire hog to the heat. Place the
animal, skin side up, on the grate af
ter first mopping the animal, both
inside and out with the mixture of
coarse salt, vinegar and chopped red
pepper. Sam used a new kitchen mop
and a new pail for his basting equip
ment. He cut o ff the handle o f the
mop to make it just right for getting
to all the portions o f the cooking pig.
The pail was o f the short-wide type,
sometimes referred to as a ’ foot tub.’
A hood for the grill can be made
from half an oil drum, as long as it is
far enough away from the g rill so as
to cook, but not burn, the meat. The
heat in the pit should be gradually
increased by adding coals until the
maximum heat is reached. (A meat
thermometer can be used, also.)
"A llo w at least eight hours for
cooking the pig on the inside. You’ ve
got to stay right with it, mopping it
every thirty minutes or so and raising
it away from the heat, then returning
it and covering with the hood. A fter
eight hours or so, turn the carcass
skin side down. A t that point the
skin w ill hold the meat juices. Mop
and cover, continuing to maintain
heat by adding coals. Approximately
A Friday night buffet begins a family reunion weekend in North Carolina. For
"eatin' high on the hog" the Kraft Kitchens suggest a ham with apricot glaze,
tossed salad, Barbecue Baked Beans and Deep-Dish Blueberry Cobbler for
dessert. Apricot glaze is made by combining tw o 10-ounce jars of Kraft apricot
or peach preserves and 1 /4 cup of water. During the last hour of baking,
frequently brush with glaze.
four hours after that, the pig should
be done.”
Hodges recalls, “ When Pop
declared it was ready, he slipped the
bones out, and put the pig in a con
tainer like a wash tub. The kids and
dogs could have fun with the bones.
Then with a cleaver and a chopping
block, a bowl o f salt, a bowl o f
chopped red pepper and a shaker o f
vinegar, he would chop a layer o f
meat, add the seasoning, then chop
another layer and season, until the
entire pig was finished and the taste
was just right. Then it was ready to
be served!”
I f Sam Hodges had elected to leave
the pig whole, he invited his guests to
bring their plates to the g rill and pick
up whatever part o f the pig they
wanted. Buddah Robinson said, “ The
ribs cooked inside the pig that way
are as juicy and tender as a mother’ s
love.”
Whether you prefer chopped bar
becue, as it’s called, or a slab o f ribs
covered with tomato-based barbecue
sauce, you will come away from North
Carolina with memories o f barbecue.
by Doris E. Saunders
labors o f the day. They probably had
an idea that their ritual o f “ pig
The origins o f Black cookery are
pickin' ” would be practiced in North
buried in antiquity, as seen by the
Carolina for generations to come.
cooking vessels found in the digs o f
Today N orth C arolina society,
the A fric a n kingdoms like M ali.
Black and white, celebrates such
These vessels a ffirm the fact that
festive occasions as weddings,
cooked meat, fish, fo w l and
debutant parties, civic and political
vegetables have long been preferred
fund raisers with “ pig pickin’ s.” The
to food in its raw state by people of
N orth C arolina Pork Producer's
A fric a n descent. And w hile the
A ssociation has published a
cooking pot hanging over the com
brochure on the art o f barbecuing a
m unity fire in the center o f the
whole pig. Mind you, this is not the
village com pound has become a
familiar little pink suckling complete
scene from an era past, "putting on a
with apple in the mouth. This pig
p o t”
in even today's more
picking patootie weighs anywhere
sophisticated vernacular is still the
fro m 60 to 100 pounds. When
height o f gracious h o spitality in
cooked, it is estimated it w ill yield
Black homes. North and South.
approximately 35 percent o f the car
It is in North Carolina’s deserved
cass weight. Allow ing at least one
ly famous Brunsw ick Stew that
and a half pounds per person for a
the old African custom o f throwing
generous serving, the guest list for
everything into the pot still pertains.
your own " p ig p ic k in ’ ” can be
As Floyd McKissick, founder and
planned accordingly.
guiding genius behind burgeoning
When we were in Soul City, Floyd
Soul City, says, " N o two recipes for
McKissick told us that if we wanted
Brunswick Stew w ill be the same,
to find out about "p ig pickin' ” and
because you put in the pot, whatever
how it was done by folks who had a
you’ ve g o t.”
reputation fo r soul and style, we
should
talk to D r. Leonard H.
From Soul C ity , up near the
“ Buddah” Robinson at N o rth
Virginia border to Kumasi H ill, the
C a ro lin a C entral U niversity in
country estate o f Dr. C. Eric Lincoln
Durham. We took his advice.
not far from Chapel H ill, the search
D r. Robinson came to N o rth
for the roots o f North Carolina's
Carolina from Atlanta University in
Black food heritage continues. Dr.
1937. A warm and outgoing man, he
Lincoln, whose ample girth is an ad
admitted
that, like Dr. Lincoln, he
vertisement o f his appreciation o f the
was a " r ib man” and that until he
good life, is perhaps best known for
came to North Carolina, he didn’t
his classic study o f "Black Muslims
know that there was any other way to
in A m e rica ” (Beacon, 1963). A
eat
barbecue.
professor o f religion at Duke Univer
The N orth C arolina custom o f
sity, Lincoln lectures and writes
chopping barbecue meat into fine
widely on the sociology o f the Black
shreds was not his idea o f barbecue
C hurch. A fte r a hearty lunch
at all. " I wouldn't eat it,” he said,
prepared by Lincoln himself, he gave
“ I had learned about barbecuing
us a “ sn iff” o f his special marinade
from my uncle out in Fort Smith,
for ribs that were being readied for a
Arkansas. We used to barbecue a
weekend cookout in honor o f visiting
half-steer using chips o f Black-jack
clergy. We talked o f food and the
oak for firewood.” "B u t,” he said,
origins o f "barbecue.”
"w hile I was teaching at Fayetteville
According to Lincoln, barbecue
State College, I met Sam Hodges
was an outgrowth o f the "invisible
from Hope M ills, North Carolina,
Black church” with its beginnings
and I changed my mind a little b it.”
during the time o f slavery. As he
Robinson reminisced, "Sam Hodges
described it, slaves slipping out at
was then an old man, but he shared
night to worship away from the sight
two o f his secrets with me . . . how to
and sound o f the white master went
make barbecue sauce and freeze
deep into the swamps and woods and
eggnog.” Saying that the secret of
bayous to make th e ir church.
the sauce was simple (salt, red pepper
Frequently, it was necessary to
and
vinegar) Robinson sent us to
"liberate” a pig from the master, in
meet Carl Hodges, the grandson o f
order to provide nourishment and
Sam Hodges, so that we could get
bodily refreshment fo llo w in g the
Sam’ s secret from a branch o f the
strenuous w orship service. This
prolific Hodges family tree.
animal was taken to the scene o f the
Carl D. Hodges, a handsome and
meeting. To avoid detection, it was
friendly man, not quite middle aged,
placed in a hole dug in the ground
is county extension chairman o f North
and cooked with coals from aromatic
C
a ro lin a U niversity at R aleigh’ s
firewood, hence the hickory and oak
County
Extension Service. Hodges
flavors. The pig was wrapped in
told us that he is one o f seventeen
leaves to prevent the skin from burn
children. His father, James, was the
ing and packed with herbs found in
second o f twelve. His grandfather,
the nearby woods. The smoke could
Sam,
the source o f the barbecue
not be seen from the big house in the
secret, was the eldest o f nine.
night and there was no flame to give
the worshippers away. When the
Sam was born on October 12,
animal was thoroughly cooked and
1866, in M anchester, N orth
the meeting was at an end, everyone
Carolina. It was one year after the
"approached the sizzling, succulent
end o f the C ivil War and times were
porker to help themselves. No fo r
hard. One o f his earliest jobs was
mal utensils were required. Everyone
boxing pine trees and dipping tar
picked the amount o f meat needed to
which, as his daughter Alice Hodges
satisfy his hunger. When only
Johnson wrote in a 1975 fa m ily
bare bones remained they were
history, qualified Sam to be called a
buried and before the sun was up the
genuine "tarheelcr,” the nickname
midnight worshippers were back on
for North Carolinians*.
their home plantations, ready for the
Sam Hodges had only one day o f
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17
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