By August 2022. Memphis summer, 63 years old, and the heat wraps around Orange Mound like a wet blanket that nobody asked for but everybody wears because that is the deal you make when you live in the South. The smoker calls louder in summer — something about the heat amplifying the smoke, the way humidity amplifies everything in Memphis — and I answer, because answering is what pitmasters do.
Charlie in Nashville, thriving in the way Charlie thrives — quietly, competently, with the determination of a Johnson woman and the grace of something uniquely hers.
Smoked turkey wings this week — big, meaty, brined and rubbed and smoked at 275 for three hours until the skin crackled and the meat pulled clean. Turkey wings are the working class of BBQ: cheap, underrated, and transformed by smoke into something extraordinary. Uncle Clyde served them on Fridays at his stand, and I serve them on Saturdays in my backyard, and the tradition bridges the gap between then and now.
Sunday at Mt. Zion, the choir sang and I sat in my pew and let the music hold me. The bass notes I used to add are quieter now — my voice is aging, the way everything ages — but the listening is its own participation, and the church holds me the way the church has held this community for a hundred years: faithfully, unconditionally, with room for everyone who shows up. I show up. That is enough.
Those Saturday turkey wings — brined, rubbed, smoked low and slow the way Uncle Clyde taught without ever saying a word — they remind me that the best food is the food that brings people to the yard. These Barbecued Party Starters carry that same spirit: smoky, a little sweet, built for sharing on a folding table while the neighbors pull up chairs. When you feed people something made with intention, it don’t matter if it’s wings or starters — what matters is they showed up and you answered.
Barbecued Party Starters
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cocktail-sized smoked sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup grape jelly
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sausage pieces on all sides until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker or large oven-safe dish.
- Prepare the ground beef. In the same skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain excess fat and add to the slow cooker with the sausage.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, grape jelly, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika until smooth.
- Combine and cook. Pour the sauce over the meat mixture and stir gently to coat. Cook on low in the slow cooker for 45 minutes, or bake in a 325°F oven, stirring once halfway through, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened.
- Serve warm. Transfer to a serving dish and provide toothpicks or small forks. These hold well on a warm setting for up to 2 hours — perfect for a backyard spread where folks come and go.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 385 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 890mg