Chef’s Table - Have ‘cue, will travel
One of Atlanta’s most award-winning barbecue restaurants, Lilburn’s Spiced Right is also a popular caterer, serving more than 150,000 pounds of pork annually to such companies as Coca-Cola, BellSouth, Pike Nurseries and the Home Depot. Owner Steve Lelle talked about the business that started 17 years ago.
Creative Loafing: What kind of barbecue do you specialize in?
My type! Our pork is slow-cooked all night. Most of the fat is cooked out and you can basically pull it apart. It’s traditional Southern pulled pork.
Where do you stand on sauce?
Barbecue should be able to stand on its own, but a great sauce is essential. We have nine different sauces to choose from. The most popular are tomato-based variations. The sauces came up by asking questions or by people insulting me. First, we had just mild and hot. Then we made the Lilburner, with a Tabasco kick and ground cayenne. People were still saying they weren’t hot enough. So I contacted my sauce company and got oleo resin capsicum - that’s the stuff that goes in pepper spray. It’s a defensive weapon.
Did that hot sauce shut your critics up?
Yeah, pretty much. They were gasping for air and going for water.
Pork? Beef? Chicken? Defend each.
Down in the South, people hold the belief that if it’s not pork, it’s not barbecue. But a purist defines barbecue as the method, temperature and time - not necessarily the ingredients. In Kentucky, mutton is big. We say, if it flies, swims, walks, or grows in the ground, we can cook it.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
The whole hog is the most fun. I love people’s reactions, especially in higher society. It’s a primal image, looking at a whole hog. But the texture is moist and it makes a beautiful centerpiece. Sometimes we even decorate them. For the CFO of Hooters’ 40th birthday party, we put baby tennis shoes on the feet, a hat on the head and a party blower in the mouth.
Ever meet anyone who didn’t like ‘cue?
Yeah, you’ll love this one: my son. He cooks it real well, but he doesn’t like the smoked flavor.
Spiced Right, 5364 Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn. 770-564-0355. www.spicedright.com.