The Smokey Side of Jersey

Someone once told me the best thing to come out of New Jersey was I95, but I know differently.
Once you leave the I95 corridor you will find some beautiful country side, quaint little hamlets and some smoking good BBQ.  If you think Jersey is oil tanks, airports and traffic, you need to get off the highway and explore.

Since we live in the age of technology, as I drive thru new areas I simply ask my good friend Siri, "Hey Siri, find me a BBQ joint" and like magic, she tells me where to go.  I have spent much of my adult life having a woman tell me where to go, so I took to this technology like a squirrel takes to your car tire, wham I was in.

Like all technology, there can be set backs.  This trip my friend Siri sent me to the beautiful town of Clinton NJ to visit a BBQ place that sounded wonderful.  I even checked yelp for additional information about this stop and they agreed, I should try this place,  So off I went around back roads and over a one lane bridge into historic downtown Clinton NJ only to find this highly recommended place is now a private residence.  As charming as I think I am, the home owner was not sold on letting me join them for dinner.  So it was back to the drawing board, and I decided to give Siri one more chance at redemption.

She told me to check out the Oink and Moo BBQ in Hampton  NJ.

Thankfully a very short drive from the location of my recent failure in Clinton was the site of the former Perryville Inn.  Like my last stop, the inn no longer exists, but this place has been replaced my a true BBQ joint!  My day had been saved and my now growling stomach was about to be fed.  The former inn was a beautiful old brick building by architectural standards but what did I see....I saw the big brown BBQ truck parked along side and the guy stepping out cleaning the smoke off his hands,

I asked if they smoked the meat inside the truck and he explained that they had a small smoker in the truck for road trips and two "Big Ass Smokers" inside the inn.  How great is that, they take the smoke on the road and serve it at not just one but two NJ locations.  On each table is a sign that states "We will not serve yesterday's meat"   The companies goal is to run out of meat each day and they want you to understand if they are out of something it is because they only smoke enough each day to serve the needs of todays

 customers.  No old left over food here, tell me this is not an awesome attitude to have!  It's fresh or its not sold here.


I am going to tell you about a few items that I was blown away by in my order.  First off, smoked sweet potatoes.  Oh my, I honestly can say I have never had a smoked sweet potato.  If you have a smoker, do it, do it now do not wait.  The smoke permeates the skin of the potato and into the flesh.  I was halfway thru this amazing dish before I realized that they served a side of cinnamon butter to add to this.  Was it needed, no, did I use it, hell yes!

The next item was a black cherry brisket slider.  Have you ever had a kings Hawaiian roll, if you have you know how great they are, this roll was one par with that.  Sweet soft savory and oh oh oh so damn good.  On the roll was a pile of perfectly smoked brisket with an amazing black cherry sauce that did not hide the flavor of the meat, it enhanced it to a level far above standard brisket.  The only sad part of this was it was a slider.  I know good things come in small packages and this was no exception.

Next time your headed to North Jersey, you owe it to yourself to stop at the Oink and Moo.  14 Hour smoked pork and brisket as well as same day smoked ribs and chicken.  Fresh is the word at this joint.  My server Laura was wonderful and made the whole experience even better.  If you still think Jersey is not a place to visit, I say "Forgetaboutit", yoos guys will love it here.

The Bone Bag travels continue south as we head to the town made famous by Billy Joel line "They are closing all the factory's down".  I found a meat company that you have got to hear about and I promise you after the next edition of the Bone Bag, you will make a pilgrimage to this small town near Allentown PA.