Whole Hog Barbecue Comes to Washington!

Regular readers know that 2fifty is easily the best barbecue place in the Washington metropolitan area and well beyond. In my last post on 2fifty, I mentioned that in addition to its outstanding every day menu, 2fifty has been offering weekly specials Wednesday through Saturday. I tried their brisket pastrami and, as detailed there absolutely loved it. I’ve been wanting to try their lamb, but top cuts of lamb are in short supply these days, and it hasn’t been offered recently. 2fifty more than made up for that, however, by offering whole hog.

Whoa hogs cooked over wood is the signature barbecue of North Carolina (see the 10 best) and parts of South Carolina and Tennessee. It’s starting to take off, much as has brisket in recent years, and you can find it in Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. Yes, Texas, and even Maine!

Now, 2fifty didn’t just watch a YouTube video on How to Cook a Whole Hog. 2fifty only started cooking commercially after lessons from Aaron Franklin, and Fernando prepared for whole hog with a trip to the Carolinas, where hog barbecue is a way of life. He met with Sam Jones of the Skylight Inn and Sam Jones BBQ, and then got with Rodney Scott, both at Scott’s eponymous place in Charleston and the inimitable original Scott’s in Hemingway, which Robert Moss recently named as the best barbecue place of any type in the South. You can imagine my eagerness to try 2fifty’s version.

I hustled over to Riverdale Park and found it busier than ever. They’ve added more indoor seating, and it was hopping. I only ordered a whole hog sandwich, my smallest ever order from 2fifty. (It’s been a voracious few months, with trips to Texas, North Carolina (2), and Florida, plus pastrami and pizza research.) My sandwich arrived, and I hustled home to be in place in plenty of time to pick up Ella at school. Here it is.

Doesn’t that look good? I like that medium-fine chop, and this was a generous serving ($13).

Look at that.

The meat had that good pork flavor enhanced by smoke. Every bite was moist and tender. A sprinkling of very finely chopped pork skin added both flavor and texture. Delicious. Note that I’m not talking about puffy pork rinds but the crisp skin that comes from cooking a hog. One of the glories of Sid’s Catering is the square of skin you get with your pork.

Back in Bill’s glory days you could break a big piece of skin off the whole hog that adorned their buffet. The whole hog at Bum’s and at the Skylight Inn is chopped and blended with the pork, and it adds a lot.

The sandwich comes with slaw, and I asked for it on the side.

I tried the sandwich first without slaw, then with slaw, and then with pickle and no slaw. The slaw was very fresh and crisp, with no noticeable mayonnaise. This is the kind that goes best with barbecue. It adds lightness and a crisp texture to a sandwich, but personally I don’t want anything to stand between me and the crisp skin.

Right now, 2fifty hasn’t set a regular schedule for their whole hog barbecue. You should check their weekly specials regularly — I check every week — to make sure you don’t miss it. Let’s hope it becomes a regular item soon.

The real challenge of 2fifty is knowing what to order at 2fifty. It’s all good. I almost ordered a sausage, which I’d done on every single visit before (it’s really good), and I almost added another special, Salvadoran chicharrones (fried rib tips), to my order. Oh, and here’s a tip. 2fifty adds post-trimming scraps of prime and wagyu to the mix for their hamburgers, which they serve from Dumm’s Pizza next door. Just sayin’.

One more thing — it is important — some days vital — place your order the day before and set your own time for pickup, whether to eat there or for carry out. If you don’t, advance ordering may be shut down, you’ll have to wait your turn behind people who planned ahead, and/or 2fifty may have run out before your turn comes. It’s hugely popular, so plan ahead.

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