Summertime in Texas, specifically in DFW, means all things BBQ. As a follow up their their Top 50 BBQ guide, Texas Monthly‘s Daniel Vaughn lists the roundup of all the smoked meat goodness to found in Dallas, Ft Worth and surrounding counties. Finger lickin’ good!
We gave smoking a brisket a try on the Big Green Egg this weekend. It was our first attempt at smoking Texas brisket in a BGE. The results were tasty, but not close to the ideal Texas texture and flavor we were hoping for. A few issues marred our attempts, but the man was staunch about doing it his way. He did spend a good 8-10 hours at it, but the end result was undercooked. We learned a great deal about how the Big Green Egg did a better job of maintaining temperatures over long cook times.
A salt rub the night beforehand is key to investing a brisket with flavor, and something I’ve learned to do during my smoke experiments with the Weber kettle. Previously, I did my dry brine and rubs in one step, then let the brisket rest overnight before hitting the grill.
Using a combo of pecan and oak lump, my man finished his brisket at 198F, which seemed too low to me. The dome temp on the BGE never exceeded 270F at its highest, and remained mostly on or below 250F. Unfortunately his coals did die out within the first 4 hours of the smoke, and he failed to use the convEggtor indirect heat plate during that time. So while the brisket nearly approached the right color, it just didn’t have enough time or strong heat to form a good crust.
The result was a mildly smoked, slightly chewy piece of roast beef that needed an electric knife for slicing. It was a decent freshman effort, and I have a nice flat to use in my brisket chili recipe.
Sometimes sifting through the comments board of an article can be an exercise in patience, especially when filled with trolls. Often you can also dig up a gem or two from the hate speech.
Planning a road trip to Texas? Texas Monthly has a map of the 2017 top 50 BBQ joints as well as their honorable mentions!
Memorial Day weekend is almost here. Time to fire up those grills! I’ll be making brisket chili for a potluck lunch.
Here’s a sneak peek: brisket is rubbed, bone broth is a-simmering.
STOP PRESS! Is it that time again??
Texas Monthly published their 2017 top 50 list of best BBQ in the state. In a shocker turn of events, Dallas BBQ darling Pecan Lodge did not place in the top 10 despite producing some of the tastiest brisket I’ve ever drooled over. Instead, the only Dallas-based BBQ joint to enter the top ranks is Cattleack BBQ. If you’ve ever stumbled over my Yelp, you’ll know that I’ve nothing but love for Cattleack’s brisket and beef ribs…but I’m utterly frustrated by their short hours and even shorter run of “boutique” specials that only folks with no working life have access to.
I am happy to report that Hutchins in McKinney still ranks in the 50, even though the Frisco location tends to bring down their overall score. I also have less affection for Lockhart Smokehouse in Oak Cliff due to the inconsistent quality of their food, and ever since Will Fleischman departed the brand. Lockhart in Plano never really matched up to the south Dallas location.
An astonishing entry on the top 10 is Bodacious BBQ, which I graded poorly during a 2012 trip to the Tyler location. Bodacious is a relatively ubiquitous chain in East Texas with a long history. Apparently a recent change in management has elevated the quality of the food, placing Bodacious among the BBQ elites in the state.
A new entry in the top 50 that has piqued my interest is Top 5 BBQ in DeSoto, though a friend knew of them during their food truck days and reported that they were just okay. Even Yelp seemed to rate the DeSoto joint only average. (Highly suspicious, Mr Vaughn!)
My personal favorites The Slow Bone (Irving) and Meat U Anywhere (Grapevine) are conspicuously absent from the list (though Daniel Vaughn himself gave Slow Bone an honorable mention). I am also hoping that Post Oak Smokehouse (Irving/Las Colinas) steps up their game (their beef ribs and burnt ends are almost there) and someday make the list. Because…really, anything is better than tourist trap BBQ, right? (I’m referring to Salt Lick of course! And Hard Eight…)
I must admit I haven’t been keeping up with Texas BBQ in the last few months, focusing more on Mexican, Korean and Chinese BBQ, if you’ve followed me on Instagram. But now that summer is here and armed with a Big Green Egg, I’m ready to get my smokering back on.
Want to know more? Check out Texas Monthly’s splashy site about the Golden Age of BBQ honoring 2017’s top ten.
