Grits.

Greens.

Barbecue.

It doesn’t get much more Alabama than that.

But the signature dish at one of the Yellowhammer State’s favorite barbecue joints -- a mash-up of flavors that features all of those Southern food staples -- began almost by accident.

Nearly eight years ago, Saw’s Soul Kitchen in Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood had been open barely a week when Brandon Cain, the restaurant’s executive chef and co-owner, overestimated his sales one day and found himself with three leftover pork butts.

Not wanting to waste food, Cain did what any creative, budget-conscious chef might do and came up with a daily special on the fly.

He ladled some cheese grits on a plate, built a pyramid of pulled pork and collard greens, drizzled on a little Saw’s barbecue sauce, and then crowned his creation with a handful of crispy fried onion rings.

“I thought, ‘I’ll sell those three butts today as a special, and I’ll never see this dish again,’” Cain recalls.

Instead, Cain’s concoction became an immediate hit.

“We were selling it like hotcakes,” he recalls.

Customers started sharing pictures of the dish on Facebook and Instagram, and later, a writer from Southern Living dropped in to see what all the fuss was about.

“They were like, ‘What’s the special today?’” Cain says. “I was like, ‘Pork ’n’ greens.’ They loved it, and they blew it up.”

So, just like that, what Cain humbly refers to as a “leftover dish” went from a one-and-done special to the main attraction on the menu.

“I mean, there are people who have been eating here for seven, eight years who have never had anything but that dish,” he says.

On a typical day, Saw’s Soul Kitchen will sell about 75 orders of pork ’n’ greens during lunch and dinner, Cain says.

“It outsells everything we do here,” he says. “We could stack multiple menu items up against this one, and it would still win.”

With its combination of Alabama’s own McEwen & Sons grits, spicy collard greens and slow-cooked pork barbecue, the dish is like a medley of Alabama’s greatest culinary hits in a single serving.

“It’s kind of like that little hodge-podge of everything that goes great together,” Cain says. “I mean, people love our greens. They love our grits already. They love the pork. So, we put it all together.

Cain’s business partner, Saw’s BBQ founder Mike Wilson, came up with the idea of topping the pork ’n’ greens with onion rings to give the dish some crunch.

“To me, the onion rings really make that dish,” Cain says. “Mike Wilson was the one who was like, ‘We’ve got to do that.’ I want to make sure to give him credit.”

It’s also one of those dishes that is as eye-catching as it is appetizing.

“Visually, it’s very appealing,” Cain acknowledges. “Once the first pork ’n’ greens goes out in the dining room, you know you’re going to sell a bunch right after because everybody sees it.”

Cain -- who worked for Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans and was executive chef at Ocean before he partnered with Wilson to open Saw’s Soul Kitchen in 2012 -- admits he likely would have overthought his most popular dish if he were planning it instead of winging it.

“Not knowing what I know now, if I was to start over back in time and make that dish with the purpose of it being great, it probably wouldn’t have been great,” he says. “I probably would have made some souffle grits and made the collard greens fancy. It would have not been the same.

“It’s funny how it works,” he adds. “It’s like a happy accident.”

The pork ’n’ greens entrée is featured on the Alabama Tourism Department’s list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die, and it also made Birmingham Magazine’s list of 55 Dishes You Must Eat in Birmingham.

As word has gotten around, tourists from Germany, Australia and Canada have also made the pilgrimage to Avondale to sample the signature dish at Saw’s Soul Kitchen, Cain says.

“It’s comforting to people,” he says. “People are always looking for value -- is there enough food, right? It’s a dish that’s definitely going to fill you up.”

The pork ’n’ greens, which sells for $12.99, is also on the menus at Saw’s Juke Joint in Crestline Park and Saw’s BBQ on Southside, but it is not available at the original Saw’s BBQ that Wilson opened in Homewood in 2009.

It also will be a featured menu item at future Saw’s BBQ franchise locations that Cain, Wilson and their business partners are planning to open in markets outside of Birmingham in the coming year.

“We’ve just been really lucky,” Cain says of his inadvertent smash. “People really dig the dish.”

Saw’s Soul Kitchen is at 215 41st St. North in Birmingham. The phone is 205-591-1409. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For a full menu, go here.

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