home smoked chicken

12/21/10

It was 85 degrees here in Texas and my Mrs worked her usual wonders on some boneless/skinless chicken breasts tonight.  We were experimenting with some different marinades and basting tonight, hence the different colors.  It all was moist and tender with nice smoke flavor.  After the chicken came off she did a turkey breast.  Yum!

Sammie's Bar-B-Q, Fort Worth

Sampled 12/18/10 about noon

http://www.sammiesbbq.com/

One of my racquetball buddies finally graduated from college this weekend and he wanted to have a get-together with some family and friends at his favorite BBQ joint in Fort Worth.  How could I say no to that?  I checked with the BBQ snob and he thought the place was pretty average so I didn't expect too much.  As usual the snob was on the mark.

This place has sit down service in the dining room and a nice little lady came and took our orders and delivered them from the kitchen.  I ordered a 3 meat plate of ribs, brisket, and chicken along with their hand cut fries and onion rings which ran me just over $17.  The brisket was slightly undercooked, a little firm, and despite a decent smoke ring was devoid of smoke flavor.  Sort of the usual sliced roast beef brisket we get up here in north Texas.  The ribs were a bit chewy and seemed to suffer a bit from holding time.  Several folks at the table commented on this and said the ribs were not as good as usual.  A couple of us suspected the first few racks may have been left over from Friday.  One lady said her set was moist and tender so she must have gotten the good rack.  My three ribs were slightly dry and chewy, but not terribly so.  Again, no discernible smoke flavor and no flavor added from bark or rub.  Now I might have been just a bit biased since I had eaten most of a rack at North Main the day before, but these ribs were nowhere near the league of the ribs in Euless.  The chicken was the meat highlight for me and the nicely smoked quarter had some decent smoke flavor and was very tender.  It was just a tad dry, but it certainly would have ranked in the IBCA contest I judged awhile back.  For sides I got their handcut fries and onion rings, on the recommendation of my buddy, and I was pleased with their quality.  Both were excellent and I can see why they are some of his favorites.  I don't usually order fried to go with my BBQ, but I think I would revisit this place just to eat those fries and onion rings.  They were top notch.  The sauce was a thin vinegar base with little taste to it except the vinegar. 

Overall this struck me as an average joint, good for a quick friendly meal.  It is also the only BBQ joint where I have ever seen a mounted flounder on the wall!  Usually the critters on the walls of a BBQ joint have more hair and horns. 

North Main closed Xmas weekend

For those looking for some killer ribs from North Main BBQ in Euless, be forewarned that they will be closed all three days on Christmas weekend.

Dickey's to add jalapeno cheese sausage

Scott noticed that the Dallas Observer had a scoop on Dickey's new BBQ item, jalapeno cheese sausage. It's going to have to be mighty good to compete with Kreuz and (hopefully) Lockhart Smokehouse's version of the same thing, but I'm sure going to stop by my local Dickey's and try some.  According to the Observer, it's available now at the Dickey's in McKinney and will be rolled out nationwide in February. 

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2010/12/dickeys_puts_new_smoked_meat_o.php#more

Natty Flat Smokehouse, Natty Flat, Texas

visited around 5:30 pm, 12/2/10 (website link updated 8/15/13)

http://www.txhcountry.com/smokehouse/

Ok, I know the very first thing you will want to know is where the heck is Natty Flat, Texas??  Well it's between Lipan and Patillo, just north of Morgan Mill.  I'm sure that helps.  :)  If not, it is about 5 miles south of I-20 on U.S. 281.  Not only is there a good BBQ joint there, but also the world's largest largest cedar post rocking chair.  I had passed this joint once before, unfortunately on a Monday, the one day they are closed.  This time it was a Thursday so I got to eat some meat!

For $11 I got a generous 3 meat plate to go with brisket, ribs, sausage, and tater salad.  Honestly, I was not expecting much as this place is a bit isolated from any population and it was late in the day. I fully expected dry brisket and crunchy ribs from sitting in a warmer all day.  So much for expectations!  The brisket was moist and very tender but certainly not overcooked and there was zero suffering from holding time.  There was just enough fat to make me want more and there was a nice, but subtle, smoke flavor.  The ribs were similarly tender and chin-dripping juicy, if just a tad overcooked to falling off the bone.  Again there was a slight smoke flavor that made it's way past the sweet glaze but they mostly had a nice pork flavor.  Pretty nice ribs.  The sausage appeared to be Ekrich quality, but it had an interesting sweet taste of maple, almost as if it had been brushed with maple syrup before smoking.  A nice change-up for average sausage.  The sauce was rich, thick ,and sweet with a nice spicy kick.  It made for great sausage dipping.  The tater salad was average with a nice mix of mustard and mayo.

Now I don't know if I would make a special trip way out there just to eat their BBQ, but if you are passing nearby on I-20 or you ever have a hankering to see a really big rocking chair, a stop in the smokehouse might just add a little extra oomph to your trip.

Lockhart Smokehouse website is up

After only hosting a place holder for awhile, the Lockhart Smokehouse website is finally beginning to show signs of life.  It's making me hungry already!  They are also on Twitter and Facebook, for folks what use such stuff.

http://www.lockhartsmokehouse.com/index.html