Brisket smoke, 7/23/26

 

We had two bargain briskets ($1.97/lb) sitting in my Mrs.'s nephew's industrial freezer out in Aledo.  With a long string of 100 degrees plus temperatures we figured it would be a good time to thaw them out and smoke them.  We got the first one done yesterday and will do the second one tomorrow.  This first one weighed out at 16 lbs plus, but I had to trim off almost 4 lbs of extra fat.  We followed the usual procedure; cut the brisket in half to fit our little bullet smoker, douse liberally with Mr. Green's All-N-1 seasoning, smoked for 7 hours with oak and pecan, followed by 6 hours at 250 in the oven in a cooking bag, then rested over night in a cooler wrapped in towels.  We will do the second brisket on Saturday and I won't change a thing.

Smoked Hatch Chiles, 7/23/26

 

On sale this week, so my Mrs. bought a bunch and we smoked them good.  Half went in the freezer for making queso later and the rest into the fridge and soon into my tummy!

There was a 16 lb brisket, too.  Photos tomorrow after it rests overnight in a cooler.

Not yet!

 

Scott sent me this and I laughed out loud.  It's Ai generated and not real, yet!  Plus we all know the baked beans don't fit.  Must be some Ai from Boston.  A Texan would include some jalapeno pintos or some tater salad, or better yet, a Texas twinkie.  Still good for a nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

Kafi BBQ, Irving 6/28/26

 

https://www.kafibbq.com/

sampled 6/28/26 about 11:15 am

After seeing a story about this joint online and seeing some rave reviews I asked Scott if he would like to check it out.  He was down, and off we went on a Sunday morning.  I got there a little later than him and found a line of about 6 people behind Scott.  The doors opened promptly at 11 am.  Be aware they do not accept cash, cards only.  

This is a halal BBQ joint with no pork on the menu or in the building.  They do have chicken and lamb, but most of the offerings are beef.  Because of the special halal processing, the prices are through the roof.  To paraphrase Hubert Green, "Good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't good."  I wanted to try a bit of everything and the tray above cost me $161, plus tip.  That's the most I have ever spent on a tray of BBQ, by far.

The brisket was moist and tender but I did not detect any smoke flavor.  The beef back rib was excellent as were the lamb ribs.  The brisket burnt ends were also moist and tender and the pomegranate sauce was very good.  The twinkies were a bit different.  These just had brisket inside and the pepper was wrapped in beef bacon.  Very tasty.  They had 3 different beef sausage links to try and I asked for the Iraqi sausage and the jalapeno cheese.  I think there was a mix up because there was no cheese or jalapeno in either sausage.  I think I got their specialty sausage instead, which was ok because both sausages were excellent.  The Iraqi sausage had a nice spicey zing and the other was an excellent beef sausage.  If I had to pick a favorite for the meal, it would be the Iraqi sausage.

The steep prices may discourage some folks and that is too bad.  There is some pretty good BBQ here.  In fact, I suspect they will make top 10 in the next Texas Monthly listing.  The lamb ribs are very good but the requirement of buying half a rack may keep folks from trying them.  I wish more BBQ joints would experiment with lamb and goat.  With the price of beef skyrocketing, that might just happen.  

Mail Order BBQ!

 

https://www.kreuzmarket.com/

sampled 6/24/26

So I asked my Mrs for just one thing for my birthday.  I asked for enough freezer room for 100 crappie fillets.  I got my wish, but my crappie guide has gone soft in his old age and no longer fishes in the Summer heat.  Drat.  So I decided to pivot and ordered 50 jalapeno cheddar sausages from Kreuz Market down in Lockhart.  They were shipped Tuesday and arrived on my doorstep Wednesday around 7:15 pm.  As you can see above, they arrived plenty cold, even though the styrofoam shipping box split down the sides during shipment.  With the 2 day shipping it came to around $5/link.  They even threw in a Lockhart postcard.

Yes, it's still my all time favorite sausage.  My freezer is full, my belly is full, and all is right with the world again!

Railhead Smokehouse, Fort Worth 6/3/26

 

https://railheadsmokehouse.com/

sampled 6/3/26 about 11:30 am

A friend of a friend has been raving about this place every time we see him.  The same guy said he found Dayne's "disappointing".  I ate at Railhead long ago (they have been open for 40 years) but have not been back in a long time.  I just needed an excuse to drive over there.  Scott said he wanted to try it so off we went.

We got there about 11:30 and found no line, but a mostly full parking lot and plenty of folks dining inside.  Scott had noticed their prices on the website and I was sure they just hadn't updated their website.  Nope, the prices were still pre-pandemic.  $22/lb for brisket and $19.50 for ribs.  That's almost half of what we pay at the craft BBQ joints.  Well, you get what you pay for.  The brisket was dry and almost crumbly with zero smoke flavor.  The ribs were good, but a bit dry, and the sausage was average.  My bill for the tray above was just $24.65.  These days, even for average BBQ, that's a deal.  That would barely get you a half pound of brisket at Roy Hutchins in Trophy Club ($38/lb).  The tangy tomato sauce helped a lot.  I can see why this is a long time Fort Worth favorite along with Angelo's, but I believe I will keep on driving to Dayne's or Panther City, where I've never been disappointed.

When we left they had a long line to the door, proof that there is a market for all kinds of BBQ and a tribute to their many successful years in operation.

Dayne's Craft Barbecue, Aledo 4/30/26

 

https://daynescraftbarbecue.com/

sampled 4/30/26 about 11 am

I had a couple of buddies who had never been to Dayne's and I'm always looking for an excuse to go back.  Today was the day.  I-30 is even more screwed up than usual due to construction.   A light rain had the construction stopped, which helped a bit.  I got there just before 11 am and found my friends waiting inside.

I recommended the Texas Trinity Platter for them to share, and I got a Trinity plus some bacon brisket and no sides.  Everything was as impressive as ever.  One of my friends loved the sausage and even got a package to go.  The other loved the ribs.  Both were mighty impressed and said it was well worth the 100 mile round trip from Big D in the rain.

I still miss the chocolate lasagna, but I would go again tomorrow.  Just give me an excuse!