Chicken and Brisket, Catfish Tenders, Hushpuppies, and Obama

[bigtree]

JACKSON - After receiving a Beatles-like reception Monday evening from the 9,000-plus that packed Lee E. Williams Athletics & Assembly Center, Sen. Barack Obama further revved up an already red-hot crowd.

"How y'all feeling?" Obama said. "I heard you guys were having a little fun without me."

And a crowd that had started chanting, singing and even doing "The Wave" some 90 minutes before the Democratic presidential candidate even arrived on the Jackson State University campus seemed to enjoy every word he had to say.



Obama talked about his road, which began a year ago when he declared his candidacy, and the thousands of miles and chicken dinners he's seen since then.

"But in Mississippi, it's not chicken; it's catfish," Obama said, drawing a roar. "And it was good catfish, too. Put some hot sauce on it. It was good."

Barack Obama dropped by The Little Dooey restaurant in Columbus, Miss. today, an off-the-schedule stop during a campaign swing through Mississippi, whose primary he is expected to win tomorrow. After ordering some chicken and brisket for an aide, catfish tenders, hushpuppies, and a few other items, according to a media pool report, Obama took a few questions from reporters on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, on apparently being on Hillary Clinton's short list for running mate, and on a comment US Representative Steve King made last week that terrorists would be "dancing in the streets" if Obama won the presidency.



On Spitzer's alleged links to a prostitution ring, Obama didn't say much. "I really haven’t seen the details of it, so I don’t know what’s going on," he said. "I’m a little in the dark."

“I think that Mr. King has it backwards. The fact that the continuation of a presence in Iraq as Sen. McCain has suggested is exactly what, I think, will fan the flames of anti-American sentiment and make it more difficult for us to create a long-term and sustainable peace in the world,” Obama said.

“But I have to say that Mr. King and individuals like him thrive on offensive or controversial statements as a way to get in the papers, so I don’t take it too seriously. I would hope Sen. McCain would want to distance himself from that kind of inflammatory and offensive remarks,” he said.

Obama said there would be no more of what he perceives as a failure to respond to the New Orleans storm by President Bush and former FEMA Director Michael Brown. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who has pledged his vote as a superdelegate to Obama, said he believed the senator would address post-Katrina ills.



Obama said he wanted to work to get everyone the same health insurance he has as a member of Congress if they want it.

He also wants to end the Iraq war in 2009.

A $4,000 per year grant for students to attend college is also part of his platform.

But the money wouldn't be given away, the student would have to sign up for the Peace Corps, take a job teaching or working in law enforcement or vow to do some other public service before they could get the money.

Answering the criticism that his hopeful message is naïve, Obama said he was born to a teenage mother of modest means, but the family pitched in and he was now running for president. His story is one that should give others hope, he said. He also said some of the greatest Americans were driven by hope, including those who fought the American Revolution, abolished slavery and led the civil rights movement.







No switch of support from Clinton to Obama here. I just wanted to offer a positive thread of the rival candidate today, for what it's worth.

[femmedem]

1. Thanks, BigTree! n/t

[Medusa]

2. Wow-thanks.

:grouphug:

[Unsane]

3. lol thanks, I was reading through this and thinking "what's the catch?"

[Abacus]

6. Hehe, me too. Thanks bt :) /nt

[redqueen]

13. Hehehe... same here...

Thanks, bigtree. :hi:

[bigtree]

22. Barack can be very appealing, both visually and substantively

. . . he makes an effort like this easy and interesting. It's my pleasure.

[blm]

40. bigtree is a REAL Dem who wouldn't let a primary race stop him from LIKING a good Dem

and that is exactly why he and I go back and forth the way we do. Reminds me of my friendly battles with Andy. ;)

[Bluzmann57]

4. Thanks for posting this

And it sounds like some good eatin' as well.

[olkaz]

12. No kidding!

How can I concentrate on the issues when all this comfort food is being talked about?

[jakem]

5. that was classy BT-

you are all right, sometimes!

:hi:

[rodeodance]

7. good for you---and good example for the board:-)

[bigtree]

18. karma

I feel ancient, as though I had
Lived many lives.
And may never now know
If I am a fool
Or have done what my karma demands.

-- Gary Snyder (U.S. poet)

[Flabbergasted]

8. I applaud you bigtree. nt

[elixir]

9. Well done, BigTree. I enjoyed the post and your positive attitude.

[bigtree]

17. kick

:kick:

[thevoiceofreason]

10. [Jaw hits floor] Class move from a class act -- Thanks Bigtree

[Kittycat]

11. Grea post BT - thank you for sharing it with us

:hug:

[XemaSab]

14. Can I get a plate?

:shrug: :9

Thanks for this thread! :hi:

[bigtree]

28. catfish

hot sauce

*drool*

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Thank you for the post!

:thumbsup:

[Not the Only One]

16. Good job

Thanks!

[bigtree]

34. .

:thumbsup:

[Bolo Boffin]

19. Perhaps we should have a day of this type of posting.

Posting in support of the rival candidate for the nomination. I like it!

And not the snarky way it could go, but genuine posts like yours. Thanks for contributing to civility!

[bigtree]

20. I like the way you think

:kick:

[WolverineDG]

21. You said "hushpuppies"

:9

Where's mine?

nom nom nom

:hi:

dg

[bigtree]

29. here ya go

[K Gardner]

23. Wow.. now, how could you look at those pics and all that info, and prepare such an

outstanding post and NOT c'mon over?! You're a natural :-)

Thank you for this.. some of the best pics I've seen of him, glad to have them. Much gratitude, Bigtree ! :hi:

[bigtree]

30. your candidate makes it easy for me

best of luck today in Mississippi :hi:

[Cali_Democrat]

24. Love it. n/t.

[scheming daemons]

25. That was very nice of you, bigtree.....

...

[bigtree]

33. well,

I thinks most political fools like myself aren't bad folk . . . just election crazed, amateur pols.

[DemVet]

26. Hmmm....I just can't picture proper brisket being made in MS.

In Texas for sure, but MS? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[bigtree]

27. you may be on to something there

Andrew Busch: Maybe just talk a little bit about what you think barbecue is all about.

Ben Wash: Thank you. My name is Ben Wash. I’m the president of Ben’s Long Branch barbecue—has been for thirty-six years. In 1971, yes, 1971 when I started it all, and I’m still—still going, you know. And well, you know, the thing that—what I was trying to tell these guys, they’re a little younger than I am, just a little bit you know, not much—nice guys, though, you know, man. I’m trying to, I’m trying to explain to them—I’m trying to explain to them that what barbecue—what it’s really like and where it all started—it all started right here in Texas. It’s called—Texans used to call it—what’s it called?—the trail they used to punch cows across the state—and all the way from Texas to Kansas—mostly, if you was any where else in Texas other than Fort Worth— we used to also punch some from—from the East Texas area, and the west part of Texas, also the south part of Texas, they used to push ‘em to Fort Worth, Texas. It was kind of like the headquarters of the Texas cattle—Texas cattle, cattle run—that was back in, oh, 17, 1800s from history—I read a little bit about it. But, but the thing about it, now, here’s the story that I read, and some of the old guys from Texas says I’m right. They said that one of the slaves started the barbecue—and started the brisket—where that you find brisket, I, it’s been, it’s been known here to go back into the 1800s. And they said the slaves, when the slaves came here—when the guys used to—the masters used to take their—their cow and kill her—and they used to throw the brisket away—and so, the slaves got the brisket, and they dug a hole in the ground. And they made some fire and some coal——they used to use hickory wood, I believe they said they mostly used hickory wood, you know—to smoke with, you know—and they used to build a hole in the ground, and they put some wire—some like some chicken wire, you know, chicken wire, and lay it up on there you know, and then they, get it real hot and they set the brisket up there and let it cook overnight. So, they, stay up late that night and change it over maybe twelve or one o’clock that night, they change it over push over to the other side, and let it cook on that side, you know. Now, just go back to the, to the cattle race , punching cows now, now they said when they used to get hungry and wanted some beef, and so, this is the way the barbecue started—they got the name for barbecue. So these, normally, you know, well originally, the slave was from Africa. They always dug holes in the ground and cooked their food. If you could go back to some of the history, some of the movies they made they was cooking it then, and they used to live in these little tents, and they used cook in these—dig a hole in the ground. So, these slaves was trying to tell them say look, we don’t need a stove or all this stuff that you have in your kitchen at home to cook food. You see, what I—what I’ll do—you kill me a cow, and dress him out for me, and I’ll dig a hole and I’ll make a hole in the ground and put some fire in it, and I’ll do some barbecue. I’ll smoke it for you, you know.

So the slaves used sort of the throw away parts of the animal—?

Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. The brisket was the one—well, what was the problem with the brisket—even if you baked a brisket like you do a roast, you have to bake it 3 or 4 times longer, and I guess the master and them, they didn’t like the idea that you have to cook it something that long to make it tender, you know. And so, but the black people they just put it out there and they just let it cook all day all night if they needed to. So, when they got done—so, somehow or another the master went outside and tasted that, tasted that brisket and he fell in love with it.

I fell in love with it also the first time I had it.

Oh, you did—he fell in love with the brisket and he like, “Well hey man——so he started telling all the other guys about it, you know. So, they all started coming around and tasting the brisket, and they all started liking it. Next thing they know, they was building barbecue places with brisket, you know. Yeah, they was, they was building barbecue places and that was—that was their barbecue. And, even today, the number one seller in Texas is brisket—right now. I mean, I can buy five hundred pounds of brisket, five hundred pounds of sausage, and hell, I mean, I can sell three or four—I’d have, I could have two hundred pounds of sausage still left and all the brisket’s gone. That’s, I mean, when, and I’m selling to just a variety of people, you know, yeah—so, the brisket is still the number one thing in Austin, Texas. But now, this story I’m telling is something I read about and I did talk to some of the older guys, and they said it’s the truth, though. And even some of them have told me this, so I’m going by something I read, ‘cause I’m not old enough to know what happened in those days—.

That was a great story too.

This is—this is the way they said—this is what the brisket started. And then, the barbecue, and then after that, you know, in 19—1885, when the black people in Texas was free, um, they—they, they kept cooking the barbecue like that. They continue to cook it outside like that, you know, and had the Juneteenth—remember the Juneteenth? I know y’all know about the Juneteenth—go ahead.

I’d like to hear about how you started this business coming from Mississippi, and how you got into the barbecue business yourself.

Well, the first thing I walked in the place and I saw that big ol’ brisket and I though it was burnt—you know how—how they cook brisket and I though it was burnt, right. So, I looked around the grill and I said—I saw—so, when he sliced it, it had a little burn on the tip—just a fraction of an inch or whatever, you know—and then up under there it was so pretty—I said, “Give me some of that roast beef.” I didn’t know what barbecue were, man, I didn’t know what it was.

Now, where are you from exactly?

Meridian, Mississippi. Hell, I’d never heard of barbecue until I got here.



I’m serious, really—yeah—and so the guy say—he starts laughing—so he went on and says “I’m going to give you a barbecue brisket sandwich”—so, he sold me a barbecue brisket sandwich. I said “damn, that taste pretty good,” you know——I said “what is it”—he said “brisket”—well, I didn’t know much about brisket, because we didn’t do brisket too much in the east, and even in Mississippi—that brisket was hard to cook, man, because we didn’t even know how to barbecue it, then if we did cook it, we’d have to put it in the oven and let it bake, you know. Hell, you gotta bake it five or six hours before they get done, you know, so we didn’t eat that much brisket down there. But I ate that man, and it was so good man—so, the way I found out. Then I said, well “I’ll help some of these old guys,” you know.

article: http://www.southernbbqtrail.com/bens_longbranch.shtml

[Blue_Roses]

31. Dang! Catfish, brisket...

damn that sounds good...:D

[bigtree]

32. I know.

All day long, craving

[bigtree]

35. congrats on the win, Obama folks

:toast:

[Flabbergasted]

36. kick

[anonymous171]

37. Whoah. Thanks for the thread.

lol. I was all prepared for some bizarre attack on Obama involving Chicken and Brisket. Instead I find a nice positive thread. Thanks! :toast:

[thevoiceofreason]

38. Obamafan kick for the mighty oak

[Catherina]

39. What a nice gesture.

Thanks for reminding me it's uncalled to loathe all of Clinton's supporters just because of a few. :yourock: