Although Nelson Head looks at home on horseback and once sold real estate in the Washington area, his calling — as a true Southern gentleman — is to cook barbecue.
That’s just what he does, as those who drive the Interstate 95 South corridor know. At the Woodbridge exit, keep an eye out for the highway sign for Dixie Bones, because Head is the chief honcho behind this all-out, all-Southern eatery famed for its smoky ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket, not to mention its decadent Southern pecan pie.
Best of all, this tall, lanky gent exudes Southern charm with his drawl.
Hailing from Alabama and from a family that has revered the Southern barbecue tradition for more than a century, Head comes by his cooking passion naturally.
“I grew up around it,” he says, adding that he spent his childhood in the kitchen watching people cook. “Alabama is a big barbecue state, but it doesn’t get the same kind of publicity as Kansas and Memphis does. Gosh, I grew up going to three or four favorite barbecue places. That was just part of what we did.”
A basically self-taught cook who picked up techniques by trial and error — and plenty of experimenting over hickory wood cook fires — Head also credits Julia Child’s books and cooking series on helping him polish his skills.
“Her techniques were essentially those used by experienced Southern cooks, like the béchamel, for example. The ingredients are a bit different, but if you use good ingredients and the proper techniques, then people will like it,” he says.
In the end, Head describes his style as “Virginia with a bit of Alabama” thrown in. As with North Carolinian barbecue cooks, Head’s basic sauce has vinegar as the main component. And he proudly points out that his primo sauce is based on his mom’s recipe for ribs — with lots of vegetables cooked in a vinegar stock with peppers, onions and garlic — and splashes of ketchup for flavor and color.
But that’s just one of many dishes Head has created and cooked throughout the years, since he opened his first place in D.C. in the early 1990s in Georgetown on Wisconsin Avenue. From there, he started his very popular stomping grounds on Capitol Hill called Head’s, a favorite destination for Hill types who wanted to kick back and eat, drink and be merry.
When the lease ended, Head moved his entire operation south to Woodbridge, settling in to a faster-paced smaller place but a larger operation; the place on the Hill closed on weekends, he says.
“Last year,” he says, “we sold 350,000 meals. About one-third were takeout.”
Like all Southern barbecuers, Head is fussy about his meat source, describing how he gets his pork from a North Carolina packer and the ribs from a Chicago purveyor.
“We go through about 75,000 pounds of ribs each year,” he says. “We smoke our ribs with hickory with a light rub for background flavor.” He said the record for meat sales was 4,500 pounds, or 2 1/4 tons.
And watching all the folks drifting in, sitting down and then tucking into mounds of food, one wonders: What is the most popular dish here?
“The most popular at lunch are the stuffed potatoes with butter, sour cream, cheese and barbecue on top,” he says, eyeing a patron scooping into a stuffed potato. “The ribs are the most popular at night. The pies are all traditional Southern recipes … and all are made from scratch.”
Although he no longer spends much time doing the day-to-day cooking, Head oversees the daily operations and is fanatical about the details. After all, as a restaurant that’s made the Washingtonian’s 100 Best list, Dixie Bones has developed a devoted following, with D.C. folks who even drive down I-95 for a plate of Head’s ribs counted among his fan base.
If you go
Dixie Bones
13440 Occoquan Road, Woodbridge
703-492-2205
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Q&A with Chef Nelson Head
Do you cook at home?
Only when I am with my kids or their families, when we get together. I cook spaghetti or things everyone can eat. Or I will grill burgers, corn and tomatoes.
What is your comfort food?
I like our food (Dixie Bones) all the time. I like the greens, mac and cheese, the ribs, and cornbread from the skillet.
Which is your favorite cuisine?
Italian food, but I eat more barbecue.
Where do you go out to eat?
For pizza, Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown. We also go to Siam Bistro off Old Bridge Road in Woodbridge. In Birmingham, I go the Highlands Bar and Grill with Frank Sitter, who has published two cookbooks. He does real food just the right way.
What is your luckiest moment?
That people show up each day to eat this food.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Dixie Bones Pecan Pie
Yield: 6 to 8 pieces
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons softened butter (1.5 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 (9-inch) pie shell (if frozen allow it to thaw before using)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer on medium speed with a wire whisk, mix the eggs and sugar until blended together. Add the Karo syrup, vanilla, butter and salt. Blend until the syrup is incorporated, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. The pie is done when a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before serving.
