Taylor International BBQ Cookoff, Taylor, Texas

visited 8/21/10
around noon

After saying our goodbyes to the folks at Louie Muellers and icing down my sausage purchases, we wandered over to the BBQ Cookoff at Murphy Park. For $6 you could wander the grounds observing all the wild and crazy antics of competition BBQ cookers, just before their first turn-in was due. Beer and smoke were everywhere. The rigs ranged from the simple to the outrageous. Some had sponsors and elaborate set-ups. Others had bare tables, basic smokers, and were just concentrating on the meats. As much fun as it was to watch folks make BBQ, we decided we'd much rather be eating it so we cut our visit short.

Before we left we ran into Drew from the Man Up BBQ blog under the nicely shaded pavilion. It was great to finally meet him in person and tell him how much we enjoyed their work. He was kind enough to fix us up with some Man Up goodies and we took him our DP sauce and some of the dreaded BBQ sauce ice cream.

Louie Muellers BBQ, Taylor, Texas

sampled about 11 am
8/21/10

Daniel over at Full Custom Gospel BBQ invited us down to a BBQ bloggers "meating" at Louie Muellers in conjunction with the annual Taylor International BBQ Cookoff. Knowing full well this was a most excellent excuse for a full day BBQ road trip, Scott and I headed south at the un-Godly hour of 7 am. I know that will shock some, who know I seldom rise before the crack of noon, but right there is the proof that the prospects of enough smoked meats can drive a man to do almost anything.

On the way down, we started picking out various places we had not visited before and started to plan a full day of smoked animal ingestion. By the time we arrived in Taylor, we had a list of 8 spots we hoped to hit in a single day.

At Louie Muellers I soon spotted Daniel in the parking lot. He is undoubtedly the Grand Poobah of all the BBQ bloggers and it was a great pleasure to finally meet the man who inspires us all. His lovely wife and daughter were also in attendance and I can testify that both have halos over their heads and wings on their backs. Daniel also introduced us to Chris and Gary from the Dallas Morning News who were in town for the Cookoff. We waited our turns in line and I somehow missed out on the usual bite of brisket while waiting. I made up for it by ordering a dozen chipolte rings and a dozen jalapeno rings to go, knowing the line was likely to be much longer when we were ready to roll out. That proved to be a wise decision.

Knowing we were in for a long day of consuming tasty animals, I opted for a light start with a couple of slices of brisket, one jalapeno link, and one rib. The brisket was a little dry and not much smoke flavor but plenty tender with their usual dynamite pepper rub. I had been standing in line a long time while they wrapped my sausage so a little dryness was no big deal. The jalapeno link was awesome. A little on the wet side but awesome flavor and bite. Last time I had visited Louie's I had promised to bring back sausage in quantity and that link confirmed my determination to do so. I have some good eatin' in the weeks ahead. The rib was curiously without their usual thick pepper rub but it was perfectly tender and cooked to perfection. There was not much smoke flavor but it was packed with juicy pork goodness. If we hadn't had a bunch of additional places to go that day I would have gotten back in the lengthening line for some more of those ribs.

Daniel fronted me a piece of smoked ribeye that was wonderfully tender, but honestly, it just didn't taste like BBQ to me. It was more of a nice grilled steak in need of a good rub. I know he was just experimenting after having eaten at Louie's so many times before, but I was glad I stuck with more standard Q items.

Much photography, and meat talk ensued around the table but eventually we whipped out Scott's special surprise, some Dr Pepper BBQ sauce ice cream he had specially made for the event. More photography followed and a general consensus developed that, while they were glad to try it, Bluebell is safe for the forseeable future. One honest soul from the Houston group stepped up to admit if he was left alone in the house with it, he'd probably eat it. Scott took it like a man and I managed to formulate an even more dangerous concoction which I shall produce and consume later this week! All in the name of BBQ science, of course.

Hawg's BBQ, Emory, Texas

sampled 8/5/10 about 11 am
location: just east of Emory on TX 515

I passed by this little joint once before on one of my fishing trips, but not during the three days they are open, Thurs- Sat. I planned a little better this trip and caught them just after opening on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the proprietor told me he would not have any ribs ready til later in the day as he sold few on Thursday and they are mostly a Friday/Saturday item. Darn. I made due with a generous 2 meat plate which was only $7.75.

I probably got the first slices off a fresh brisket and they were mighty tasty. Perfect tenderness and moistness, definitely plastic fork tender. There was a decent smoke ring but just a hint of smoke flavor. Great meat flavor, though. Certainly enough smoke to qualify as good Q. The sausage was excellent. Sort of a medium grind with nice flavor but not at all spicy. A wonderful change from the "store bought" most little Q joints (and some bigger ones) seem to serve. The casing was an easy chew and the slight coarseness of the grind really brought out the flavor. I enjoyed the sausage, even though I usually like it spicy. I need to ask them about that sausage on my next trip and I for sure need to sample some ribs.

The sides were nice and different from those you get most spots. The potato salad was chunky with mayo base and a sprinkling of fresh chives and bacon. The pinto beans had a touch of spice and smoke with bits of brisket crumbled within. Both were way better than your average sides.

The sauce was super thick tomato base with a touch of spice and lots of smoke flavor. I liked it, too.

Overall, I think this place is a find and someplace I look forward to sampling again, when they have ribs!!

Missed opportunity

Location: at the intersection of TX 154 and TX 515 south of Yantis

I passed this cool little BBQ shack just south of Yantis, Texas near Lake Fork. I assume it is a weekend only location but unfortunately I passed by on a Thursday. No signs or anything to indicate when they are open. I loved the artwork. Now I wonder about the food!!.

Big Racks BBQ, Grapevine, Texas

sampled about 4 pm 7/22/10

I've driven by this place multiple times next to Bass Pro Shop and finally talked myself into stopping today. I really wasn't expecting much. In the restaurant biz, this is in the "breastaurant" category, sort of like Hooters or Twin Peaks, only with BBQ. The inside was much as expected, lots of scantily clad ladies in a sports bar setting with flat screen TVs every two feet on walls covered with brick a brack kitsch. The surprise was the BBQ was pretty decent.

I went for the Grand Slam 5 meat combo which came with brisket, sausage, pulled pork, turkey breast, and ribs. Of the meats, only the sausage was a disappointment. "Supermarket quality" says it all. The smoked turkey breast was thinly sliced, had very nice smoke flavor throughout, and perfect moistness. Some of the best smoked turkey I have had and almost on a par with my Mrs's smoked chicken. The brisket was equally nice, very tender and moist with nice smoke flavor and a hint of crunchy crust. The pulled pork had lots of smoky crunchy bits with a very sweet crust and was a tender chew. The ribs weren't as good as the rest of the meat but they were not terrible, either. These were "candy" ribs, with a sweet wet mop so thick they were almost gooey. I prefer to have a little more meat to taste in my ribs but these were overpowered by the heavy saucing. This partial rack was also a bit dry and overcooked, the rib tip was rock hard. However the inside was not too bad, meat pulled easily from the bone and it was not too chewy. I'd like to put it down to holding time til I get back to try them again. The sides were very un-inspiring and tasted like they'd come from a big tub. I had mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, for the record. The dinner also came with 2 dinner rolls and the little lady did a nice job of keeping my tea glass filled.

For dessert, my server recommended the chocolate lava cake, which was some really rich hot dark chocolate cake surrounded with ice cream and whipped cream. Not too shabby.

Apparently, happy hour is a good time to go because the Grand Slam is about $10 more at other times. Timing is everything. It is $19.79 during happy hour so I guess I did well to be there for the early bird special, being the old geezer I am. When I got there at 4 pm, the place was almost empty. It was bustling when I left a little before 5 pm.

Unfortunately, being a BBQ opportunist, I didn't have my camera with me for plate pix this time. I suspect I'll need to go back to Bass Pro Shop someday soon and I'll make up for that. They have a website at: http://www.bigracksbbq.com/ but the only thing that seems to work is the front page.

Coming soon to Grapevine, FREE BACON!

Bedford Blues and BBQ

Last year the Bedford Blues fest re-emerged from several years of hiatus and added a BBQ competition. It is back again this year, September 4 and 5 and they have added a KCBS BBQ judging class. I think I will sign up and do that, just for fun. Here's the link: http://www.bedfordbluesbbq.com/bbqinfo.htm