Category Archives: BBQ

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We Got Pulled Pork and Ribs

We usually have a bit of a BBQ for 4th July and have a few friends over – only problem it is always absolutely freezing cold and even though the Egg has some heat it’s not the kind to keep you warm and huddle over. Anyways, a few of our regulars were away so we toned down the invite list and maybe will reschedule our USA night for some other day.

But it was still a good day to pull out the Egg and I sat in the carport watching it warm while strumming away – this is what came to my head as I strummed some slow 12 bar blues:

It’s cold out here … It’s cold out here … And when the barbey’s done … grab yourself a beer … It’s cold out here

Pulled pork and ribs … pulled pork and ribs … and when the barbey’s done … grab yourself some bibs … pulled pork and ribs

Soft buns and slaw … soft buns and slaw … and when the barbey’s done … grab yourself some more … soft buns and slaw

And this is what came out of the Weber and Big Green Egg

 

Beer can chicken

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Big Boy BBQ

Now, I bet you thought I had finished up with the slow-cooked American BBQ reviews – well, there can never be enough pork stories. I’d heard of an American style BBQ place starting up in Melbourne and one Sunday afternoon we thought we should venture over there rather than joining the queues at the Ikea checkout.

Big Boy BBQ is on one of the many strips along Glenhuntly Road in Caulfield South and the day we arrived it wasn’t busy so parking across the road was easy – but we were there early and there not long after opening. A few groups started to nestle into the booths and there were a few gazing at the take-out getting quite confused with the difference between an Australian hamburger and an Aussie pulled-pork sandwich.

Before

We went for the Carolina pulled-pork sandwich (for Caroline of course) and I went for the half-rack with a side of potato salad and onion strings. And let’s not forget the bottomless cup of soda.

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Just One More Tiny, Little, Thin Rib

Cousins BBQ

Before

What do you do at Dallas International for a few hours before take-off – eat BBQ of course! Cousins BBQ (another tick from Texas Monthly) has an outlet at the airport so we thought we better get one last filling of ribs in before we get home and I find the energy (and the right rack of ribs) to fire up the Big Green Egg.

Cousins BBQ

After

I went the ribs and chicken and a very nice volcano of mash and gravy. The ribs were moist with a nice smoky flavour but they also tasted “old” – perhaps because they are kept warm in a large oven tray rather than coming straight from the smoker (but there probably is no smoker at the airport). I did enjoy the lightly toasted bread and the slaw was okay, and the chicken was tasty, moist and melt in your mouth. For a ribs rating – maybe a 3.5 out of 5.

There are several eating choices at the airport (which is quite nice, clean and modern) so if BBQ is not your choice then you can have something else. But BBQ is my choice (I now have to try the Australian BBQ joints I heard have started up).

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Is this the Winner?

Before (my mouth still waters)

Picking a BBQ winner is not an easy task as each has their own individualities. However, for overall flavour Smitty’s Market in Lockhart TX is a clear winner. It is also very traditional – smoke stained rooms, meat carved in front of you on an old fashioned butcher’s block and straight from the smoker, meat sold by the pound, long trestle tables, lemonade, no-forks no-plates no-sauce, plain white sliced bread, and all served on brown butcher paper. This is BBQ.

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The Home of BBQ

Well, I don’t know which place is the real home of BBQ but Memphis, Kansas City, The Carolinas, and Texas are the crowd favourites. Each has their own characteristics (a lot to do with the rub, when to apply the rub, and the sauce – if needed at all). Texas was the first place I tasted real BBQ when a local took us to one of the real BBQ places on our first visit to Austin several years back – that’s when I fell in love with BBQ ribs and sauce and pulled pork and have been trying to replicate or come up with my own flavours ever since (some are successes, others maybe not so good but no-one has died yet).

So on this trip to Texas going to BBQ was a priority – but which one was more of a problem. There is an excellent iPhone app put out by Texas Monthly who rate the top 50 BBQ places in Texas. The other problem is man can not live on pork ribs alone so obviously we couldn’t go everywhere everyday so we limited to one on the first day and one on the second (we were at the football on the third but more on that later – hook ’em horns).

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I Sold My Soul to the Devil

The Crossroads Clarksdale MSWell, we went to the crossroads – or one of the supposed crossroads as there are about four or five different possibilities. But the junction of highways 49 and 61 is recognised as the crossroads where legendary blues singer Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil for his musical ability (maybe I should have checked in for some musical ability of my own).

But the only thing we did at this corner was take a quick photo – still miserable weather – gave a beggar some money for lunch rather than my camera to take a photo (and I don’t think he was going to buy anything edible either) and guess what, we had some more BBQ. I love the flesh of the swine.

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There’s More to Nashville Than Music

Well, there isn’t actually too much more to Nashville than music. However, if you don’t like all types of music – country and western – then maybe this is not your place. But if you have the slightest liking, then again, another highly recommended location.

Jacks BBQ NashvilleAnd not only is there music everywhere, even at the traffic lights where music is piped, we found another great BBQ place – Jack’s BBQ. The ribs are getting better. Jacks is on honky-tonk row and is one of those more traditional BBQ joints where you line up, order what you want, pay, grab your sauces then grab a seat. And cheap.

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Join the ‘Cue

We were looking for some more BBQ (or ‘Cue as the locals call it) and had a few places in mind when we ran into a chap on the street who thought I looked depressed – I was just hot and thinking of how we’ve only had one “proper” breakfast (let me digress here for a moment and tell you a better story about how people look which was when we were going into the civil rights museum and the girl collecting tickets thought Caroline was Sally Field 😮 )

Back to the local and he had little chat about he served alongside Australian Forces overseas and spent time at Darwin, then we mentioned part of our trip was to taste the BBQ. We told him we’d been to Rendezvous and he said that was for the tourists and although it was number two, the place where the locals went and his number one was A & R BBQ.

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Rum Boogie Cafe

Rum Boogie Cafe is a Beale Street stalwart since 1985. The house bands are generally of a high standard (although most bands along this strip are pretty good) and the food is okay. It is also renowned for having over 360 guitars signed by different bands, singers, etc. hanging from the roof. We came here on our first visit to Memphis back in 1997 and thought we better check back in – still good. I had the ribs and as I have been doing a rib score – these were a different cut to those from the Rendezvous so were maybe a little sweeter but the dry-rub was not as good and the sauce was a bit too ketchupy so I give them a 3 out of 5. Also the coleslaw and red beans were not a match on those from Rendezvous.

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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

First night in Memphis – the home of the dry-rub BBQ ribs – and we headed to one of the classic BBQ places Rendezvous. This place is down an alley not unlike many of our Melbourne establishments but easy to find. And very popular; we were there relatively early and managed to get in the window as when we left they were queued up outside.

Food was quick, glass tabletops to save on cleaning, linen napkins and no need for cutlery (or silver as I should be calling it now). Went for a Ghost River beer which was quite nice pulled from the tap accompanied with some ribs and chicken (or should that be the other way around?). Both meats were coated with a generous rub that was sweet but spicy at the same time. There were some sauces to try in case you like wet ribs but the dry was probably the best (although the chicken went well dipped in the sauce that came with it.)

Ribs from Rendezvous BBQ Memphis

Before

After

If anything, the ribs were maybe not as moist as others I have had  but I don’t think this deterred from the flavour, just maybe made them a little too chewy at times (someone sitting near us actually sent theirs back to the kitchen because of this). I have to be tough on the first rib rating but I will give them a 3.5 out of 5. And I would recommend the restaurant to anyone who visits Memphis because of the history and uniqueness.