We drove two hours from Nashville to Helen’s in Brownsville to catch her in pre-lunch preparation mode. On a very grey day we drove through the middle of endless cotton fields; spiky brown branches with bright white tops, a little darkness lingering behind their fluffy exterior.
Helen’s ‘Bar-B-Que’ is operated from a 100-year-old dark red wood-panelled shed in the middle of a parking lot. She’s one of the few female pit-cooks in the country and by lunchtime trucks were whipping into the lot for her pulled pork and coleslaw, baloney sandwiches and beans. What looked like the smoking remnants of an arson attack was actually Helen’s pit room, built onto the back of the shed. The room was entirely filled with smoke; you couldn’t see 30cm in front of you and we were all crying immediately, Helen with a little more composure.
Inside resembled a David Lynch set; dark wood veneer and daylight filtering through dust to land on the ketchup and salt. Helen was behind the serving hatch, pushing white cabbages through the blender with a characteristic grit.
Various family members came through the kitchen swing door during the morning: her niece, to ask for money (to no avail); her cousin, to peel potatoes in exchange for a can of Coke; her daughter, to serve at the hatch for a bit. The meat was smoky and delicious, paired with her signature sauce. There was a mild or spicy barbeque sauce, and we were absolutely not allowed to know the recipes for these.
Helen’s barbecue sides
Feeds 4
Ingredients
For the baked beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4 rashers streaky bacon, finely diced (Helen uses offcuts of pulled pork)
1 green or red pepper, finely diced
2 x 400g tins pinto beans, drained
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
For the coleslaw
½ white cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, shredded or grated
100g mayonnaise
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
For the potato salad
1 egg
500g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 stick celery, finely chopped
5 small gherkins (or 2 big), finely chopped (plus some juice)
80g mayonnaise
1 tsp yellow mustard
3 spring onions (optional)
Method
To make the beans: preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Heat oil in an ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes until it begins to soften, not brown.
Add the bacon and diced pepper and cook and stir until bacon is browned, 7–10 minutes more.
Tip in the beans, tomatoes, sugar, Worcester sauce, salt and smoked paprika. Transfer the pot to the oven with the lid on and bake until bubbling and browned, about 1½ hours. Return to the top of the stove and reduce without the lid until sticky and resembling baked beans as we know! While they cook, prepare your slaw and potato salad.
To make the slaw: combine the cabbage and carrot in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl or jar, mix the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt to make the dressing. Pour over the cabbage and carrot and pop in the fridge until needed.
To make the potato salad, put the egg on to hard boil, about 8 minutes. Once the egg is done, remove with a slotted spoon and run under the cold tap. Keep the egg pan boiling and add the potatoes for 7-8 minutes, or until tender. Drain the potatoes and place in a mixing bowl.
Peel and finely chop the egg and add to the bowl of potatoes, followed by the celery and gherkins.
Mix the mayonnaise and mustard together with 1 tbsp gherkin juice in your dressing bowl or jar. Pour over the potato mixture and stir gently but thoroughly to combine. Add spring onion if you like. Keep in the fridge until needed.
When the beans are ready, serve with the slaw and potatoes and partner with pulled pork and BBQ sauce.
