St. Simons Island BBQ

Robo2015

Evening everyone! I'm down here for some lovely training in the Brunswick, GA area (that's bad), but I did find me some great BBQ (that's good)!  

Went to a place called Southen Soul.  I was dubious due to the kind of cheesy name, but it got some good Yelp reviews.  Figured I'd give it a shot.

Got the two meat sampler with ribs and brisket.  The plate also came with one side (I went with macaroni and cheese), slices of bread, and a cup of Brunswick stew.  Review first and then the two photos I could grab...

macaroni and cheese was great and I consider myself a pretty good judge of Mac and cheese.  

The ribs and stew....oh my goodness.  Outstanding outstanding outstanding.  That was not a typo with those repeats.  The ribs were dry rubbed, perfect texture, great flavor.  I've been on a bad rib run on my egg, so it's great to remember how good they can be.  That stew, I've never had that before but that's going to be my next adventure on the egg.  So many flavors, every bite was a bit different.

brisket was actually disappointing.  It looked great, but I like a little bark on my brisket.  Also, it was just bland.  I'm thinking that stew may have thrown off my taste buds a bit.

Ever since I started to cook on the egg my standards for restaurant BBQ have gone way up.  Living in Boston, i haven't had great luck eating BBQ out.  I've basically stopped even trying.  This, my friends, was the best BBQ I've ever had in a restaurant.  If I can somehow get back there during my last week here I'm just going to sub the brisket for our old friend pulled pork or the smoked sausage.  Ok, no more delay, here are the pictures...

Hans61

Looks good, glad you liked it. 

bhedges1987

Looks like some good Q

fourwinds

We ate at Southern Soul a couple weeks ago. My wife is from the area and I have been wanting to eat there for a while but haven't been able to make it happen. We got pulled pork sammies. Mine was OK. Nothing to write home about. Hers was about 40% fat. Best part about it was being outdoors catching drifts of smoke from the smokers.

RRP

My favorite joint outside Brunswick headed toward Jekkyl Island was an old wooden farmstead and an out building or two hidden within ancient oaks and further stitched together with loads of Spanish moss. It dripped of southern charm from a different era. Anyway it was called the Georgia Pig. They served up delicious food and more often than not you needed to wait for the food to be ready, or pay for it in advance and go shopping, or walk the beaches for an hour or two. It was a popular place! After not being there for a few years I Googled it and was sad to read it had changed ownership and quality, service and even health inspections eventually brought on closure. I bet that lot sold for a several hundred thousand as it was so beautiful. RIP the original Georgia Pig! 

Meeeshigan22

My wife is from St Simons, will check this place out next time through. Thank you.

chrisc133

I've spent 10 months total time at FLETC...I know your pain. I got stuck at the famous Jameson inn last time I was there a couple months ago...better than the dorms but not by much. 

Southern Soul is my favorite BBQ joint...I plan to have them cater my wedding if I can put up with a girl long enough to get there haha. 

Check them out on Facebook and try some of their specials while you're there. They routinely do jerk chicken and goat, burgers, and always prime rib on Friday's. 

RRP

LOL - took me a few shakes of my head until I realized I had some of their rub! My neighbor's son has a beautiful place on St Simon Island and last Christmas spent a week with them. One of their places to eat was Southern Soul - or at least one of their more than one location. Here's the rub they brought back for me - it is OK and I will use it up! 

69shovelhead

Nothing beats FLETC chicken and the "Crack Houses"!

JRWhitee

I have eaten there before, stick with the pork as with most BBQ in Georgia. Fox Brothers in Atlanta is a different story, the two brothers from Texas can nail a brisket.

THEBuckeye

Been there many times. Good place. They've got a captive BBQ market on SSI. They were also on Diners, Drive-ins a while back. 

Knatt's Landing is another fun place on SSI, Redfern Village. More typical bar food but a must do of you're there for a few days. 

Dyal_SC

I was there for a couple of weeks 2 years ago.  Gnats Landing was a pretty good seafood restaurant. 

THEBuckeye

Gnats - thank you. I knew it didn't look right. 

Robo2015

If I get back there this week I'll try that pulled pork.  I also want to check out those smoke sausages.  

@chrisc133 and @69shovelhead, I'm sitting in a room within the crack houses as I type this.  I've only got 4 months total fletc time, so nothing compared to @chrisc133, but man- I'm ready to get out of here.  

bo31210

Southern Soul is good.  The owner was in BBQ Pitmasters one season.   Their stew is to die for. 

Robo2015

bo31210 said:

Southern Soul is good.  The owner was in BBQ Pitmasters one season.   Their stew is to die for. 

Totally agree.  That was the first time I had that stew and I was blown away.  I found a receipe and will give it a try when I get back.

BikerBob

On 17 north at the Glynn/ McIntosh County line, not far from FLECT, is Mudcat Charley's for seafood. Eat and look at the boats on the Altamaha.
Don't gripe about Brunswick, I used to get sent to NJ and once to Minnesota in the winter. Brunswick is paradise even in August with the heat.

NPHuskerFL

Anytime I get a service call across the roundabout there in St Simons Island I stop in to SSBBQ. Thursday they have stellar pastrami. And as far as their brisket goes the bark is usually really good. And although I do like food and Q from my eggs it is very difficult to beat BBQ off of a good seasoned reverse flow offset with an experienced Pit Master at the helm. Disagree all you want. Do I turn out some solid cuisine & BBQ off of my egg?.....absolutely!  Is there better?  You bet your a$$.  

Dyal_SC

Robo2015 said:

If I get back there this week I'll try that pulled pork.  I also want to check out those smoke sausages.  

@chrisc133 and @69shovelhead, I'm sitting in a room within the crack houses as I type this.  I've only got 4 months total fletc time, so nothing compared to @chrisc133, but man- I'm ready to get out of here.  

I ate the cafeteria salads every single day while I was there.  Can't go wrong with that.   Oh, and the G-bar's pool table isn't half bad either.  

bo31210

Just saw on FB that Harrison and the Southern Soul them are preparing and serving dinner tonight to the US Ryder Cup team.  Pretty cool

gamason

Neat place but did not care for their Brunswick Soup. Brunswick stew should be thick enough to eat with a fork, and it does NOT HAVE BEANS AND POTATOES IN IT. Their Mac and cheese is really good.

nolabrew

gamason said:

Neat place but did not care for their Brunswick Soup. Brunswick stew should be thick enough to eat with a fork, and it does NOT HAVE BEANS AND POTATOES IN IT. Their Mac and cheese is really good.

While I don't personally put beans or potatoes in Brunswick stew, the whole point of Brunswick stew is that you put whatever you have in there. 

nolaegghead

There is history of it having beans and potatoes.  Yes, you put what you have available (and that you think would work) in it.  Like gumbo (but not nearly as good, imo).

Ingredients

Recipes for Brunswick stew vary greatly, but it is usually a tomato-based stew, containing various types of lima beans/butter beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Claims of authenticity call for squirrel, opossum or rabbit meat, but chicken is most commonly used in modern versions.[1] Some versions have a distinctly smoky taste. Eastern North Carolina Brunswick Stew has potatoes, which thickens it considerably. Eastern Virginia Brunswick Stew tends to be thinner, with more tomato flavor and less smoky flavor.

The stew essentially resembles a very thick vegetable soup with meat. The key distinguishing factor between soup and Brunswick stew is the consistency. Brunswick stew must be thick; otherwise, it would be vegetable soup with meat added. Most variations have more meat and vegetables than liquid.

The main differences between the Georgia and Virginia versions have been the types of meat used. Tradition favors squirrel in early versions of both. The Virginia version tends to favor chicken as the primary meat, along with rabbit. The Georgia version tends to favor pork and beef. As there is no "official" recipe for Brunswick stew, it is possible to find chicken, pork, beef, and other types of meat included in the same recipe. North Carolina natives have been known for their unique concoction, similarly thick and tomato based, using chicken-breast chunks and pulled Eastern North Carolina–style barbecue (pork) as the meat.[2]

Squirrel Brunswick stew instructions are found in James Beard's American Cookery.[3]

gamason

While I never intended to start a pissin match over stew, I should have stated it this way. "Good Brunswick Stew has no beans or potatoes", and just because there is a history for those items to be included, just means lots of people are making it wrong. LOL!!!!!!!

nolabrew

gamason said:

While I never intended to start a pissin match over stew, I should have stated it this way. "Good Brunswick Stew has no beans or potatoes", and just because there is a history for those items to be included, just means lots of people are making it wrong. LOL!!!!!!!

True story: My grandfather had a restaurant in Atlanta for 18 years that specialized in something called a stew burger.  It was a bowl with half a hamburger bun, a hamburger patty,  and then topped with a bunch of brunswick stew.  Before he died I got him to write his recipe down but it's not really of any use because he didn't know quantities (he was 99 at the time).  I've made some good brunswick stew, but nothing like his. 

Dobie

gamason said:

While I never intended to start a pissin match over stew, I should have stated it this way. "Good Brunswick Stew has no beans or potatoes", and just because there is a history for those items to be included, just means lots of people are making it wrong. LOL!!!!!!!

It's OK, pissing matches ensue on here all the time.
Just wait for the chili with beans matches now that fall is coming 

JRWhitee

I thought pissing matches were reserved for Fridays!

Dobie

JRWhitee said:

I thought pissing matches were reserved for Fridays!

Today's National Drink A Beer Day so just as good 

FATC1TY

thick brunswick stew is awful.

come to my neck of the woods and try the stew that people rave over from Sprayberry BBQ..

it looks like baby vomit and it's thick without potatoes or beans.

I like my stew like Southern Soul, which is similar to what my wife makes. Vinegar based, slighly sweet.. fresh corn, chicken and pork, hell sometimes brisket, and plenty of crap in it like green beans, onions and whatever else we use up.

AB1234

Take exit 29 off of I-95 and head west to Gary Lee's Market.  It is about 2 miles off of the interstate and looks like an old gas station.  You will amazing BBQ there.  My favorite was the half chicken.  It is also a butcher shop.  I lived in Brunswick for 3 years and ate there as much as I could!

https://www.facebook.com/Gary-Lees-Market-121181834598364/?ref=page_internal

CTMike

When you're back at home, take a trip to BT's Smokehouse in Sturbridge. I think you will be surprised by the quality of BBQ they put out. 

From wiki:

"B.T.'s Smokehouse is a dry-rubbed and slow-smoked barbecue restaurant located in the downtown section of Sturbridge, Massachusetts. On an average week, B.T's smokes more than 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of ribs, 1,600 pounds (730 kg) of brisket, and 1,400 pounds (640 kg) of pulled pork at their 38 seat restaurant.[1]"