Buckingham Smokehouse BBQ

"Hmmm, " I wondered. "Either someone bought a franchise from back home in Springfield (Missouri) or they're in for a shock once they're open and are served with a 'Cease and Desist' order." A display sign sat empty on the facade, devoid of the graphic which would soon be in place. This would confirm my thought one way or another. As we drove by this afternoon, the sign was filled with the familiar blue and pink logo of a man riding a pig (a bucking ham) and I was elated! A little taste of home is going to soon find me here in the desert.

Buckingham BBQ started with a single man and his Oklahoma Joe smoker. I hate that I cannot remember his name. He would set up shop in the parking lot of an antique store caddycorner from the #1 tourist attraction in the state of Missouri: Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro has a huge festival each spring and fall which draw tens of thousands of sportspeople from all over the world. You could tell the Fall Hunting Classic or the Spring Fishing Classic was a few days away because the smoker and his green tent would appear in the parking lot. His Q was so good that the public (of which I was a part) eventually convinced him to go full time, take over the antique store, have a huge custom Oklahoma Joe smoker installed, and open the first Buckingham.

I talked with him on one visit and found out some of the colorful history behind the store. (This conversation was years ago, so I might miss a couple details, but the gist of it is correct.) He was a tour bus driver for Fleetwood Mac during their heyday, so he knew everyone in the band quite well. Lindsey Buckingham's family owns or owned a produce distribution or packing company. So when he needed a logo for his restaurant, he thought of the man on the pig. I don't know if he bought or licensed the rights to the name and image, but he procured them and named his restaurant after one of the most successful rock musicians of our time.

The recipe for the unique horseradish cole slaw came from an old African American man who sold BBQ by the side of the road in Memphis. He bought it for $50 and two passes to the Fleetwood Mac concert that night. Buckingham's hot BBQ sauce is what inspired me to take up the fine art of smoke cooking and sauce making.

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