Keep It Coming Kenny!

How is everyone?  Been a while since I have written a blog so time to knock out a couple.  As everyone that reads my blog knows, I travel all over the US and I am always trying to find great BBQ and I have found a lot.  Well, it is always great to find a good place in DFW.  Truly good to great BBQ is kind of difficult to find in DFW so it is always fun to try a new place.

I was told about Kenny's Smokehouse by someone in Tennessee believe it or not.  I will say that I was skeptical when I saw the menu.  I mean what respectable BBQ joint serves an ahi salad?  Boy, let me tell you.  I had no reason to be skeptical.  Kenny's Smokehouse is some of the best BBQ in DFW.  I really enjoyed everything I had.  Every pork meat I had was moist and tasty.  They my have the moistest and tastiest pulled pork I have ever had and remember, I have had world championship pork in the Carolina's.  I am not a big fan of wet ribs but their ribs are really good.  Not too sweet and just enough heat.  The jalapeño cheddar sausage you can tell is homemade and is so juicy. Can you tell I liked this place?  The only thing that could be slightly better is they could cook the brisket a bit longer as the brisket had a little too much fat that had not rendered down.  But that is being hyper critical because the flavor was great.  The next time I went in, the brisket was much better. The test of good BBQ is the lack of a need for sauce.  You don't need sauce here.


A little side note here.  I made a comment on a comment card about the brisket.  Within 12 hours I had an email asking me about the experience and wanting my feedback and asking me to give them another chance.  Folks, customer service like that just does not exist anymore.  

If you want some great BBQ and you want to have a ton of choices in sides or maybe just a good grilled ahi salad, please give Kenny's smokehouse a try.  Trust me.  You won't be sorry.  Keep on Smokin!

Great BBQ in DFW? Yes Please!

Father's day was last weekend and it was a great day.  The day was filled with messages from the kids, a great movie, wonderful time with my wife and some great BBQ.  

If you read my blog, you know I am a huge fan of Central Texas BBQ.  Just love the way it is smoked and the simple flavors combined with excellent make it good enough to eat without sauce.  I think that is the best way to judge great BBQ.  Do I need sauce to make it good, if so then it may be good but not great. (note to sauce lovers out there.  Nothing against sauce just like it better if I don't have to use it.  I do love a good sauce though).

So let's talk about great BBQ in DFW.  Dallas/Fort Worth has some good BBQ but I think there is definitely a gap between D/FW and Central Texas.  Well I made a little adventure for Father's Day.  Shannon and I headed down to Pecan Lodge in the Farmer's Market in Dallas.  We walked in to see quite a line.  A 2 hour wait in line later revealed the wait to be worth it.  Pecan Lodge is a little unique in that they have things besides BBQ like fried chicken.  So to use Shannon's words (she got the chicken.  She is a huge fan of fried chicken and maybe I will get her to write a blog about Gus' in Memphis someday), the chicken was ok which is code for,"I should of gotten BBQ".  Now on to the good stuff.  The BBQ.  I will start with the brisket. It has a generous amount of rub on it to form a very nice bark.  This brisket is by far the best I have had in DFW.  The rub was almost a little too thick but it had great flavor.  I will say that Franklin's is better in my opinion but it was very good.  Now let's go to the ribs.  The ribs were spare ribs and they were phenomenal.  I really liked the ribs because they didn't have sauce on them and the flavor was outstanding with a lot of meat on the bone.  The rib sauce that is served on the side (nice!) was really good.  Vinegar based sauce with just a right mix of sweet and heat.  Really enjoyed that!  Last meat was the pulled pork.  Again, the meat was great.  They make their pork meat a little more salty and that taste is just so good with the pork.  The pulled pork was super tender and juicy.  I won't say much about the sides because honestly they were nothing spectacular.  Just your ordinary BBQ sides.

Summing it up, the food was very good and by far the best BBQ in DFW in my opinion.  However, the experience left a little to be desired.  I'm not talking about the wait.  That is expected with good BBQ but the overall experience felt a little cold.  I love watching the slicer slice my order up and serve it up. At Pecan Lodge, the order is placed and then sent to a back kitchen and produced through a door. You can't tell them  lean or moist or anything like that so you lose the experience somewhat.  Would I recommend Pecan Lodge?  You better believe it!  Great food and great BBQ in Dallas.  Finally!

Thanks and let me hear what you think.  Keep on Smokin!!!

Texas in Atlanta?! I Love It!!!

Ok, generally, when I see people say things like "just like Texas" or "authentic Texas Style BBQ or Steaks", I make a rude face and think to myself,  "see ya.  You ain't no Texas joint".  Well, I have to say that today in Atlanta, I was more than pleasantly surprised!

Fox Bros. BBQ is truly authentic Texas BBQ but with a twist.  Texas BBQ with southern style cooking.  You can get collard greens, black-eyed peas and fried okra.  I got mac-n-cheese for my side (sorry doc!)  The menu is definitely unique.  You can get your traditional BBQ items.  Pulled pork, (real) Texas Brisket, and smoked chicken.  No sausage, which was a little weird.  They also have smoked wings and tons of appetizers plus unique sandwiches.

I went a little bit different this time.  I usually do sampler platters but I always ask what they are famous for.  Fox Bros. is famous for something called the Fox Bros. Burger.  I had to bypass my usual sampler and try that.  I kicked off the lunch with smoked wings.  I have to tell you, those may have been the best wings I have ever had.  Sorry Plucker's but wow.  Those were awesome and not heavily fried, so even better. I finished off the wings and out came the burger.  Now understand.  The "burger" was actually chopped brisket covered with melted pimento cheese and peppered bacon with pickles, onion and jalapeno mayo.  The brisket was smoked perfectly and totally reminded me of authentic Texas brisket.  I can never find that outside of Texas so it was so refreshing (little note here.  The owners of Fox Bros. are from Fort Worth Texas so that answers how they know how to do their brisket so well!)  The "burger" was just amazing and it was huge, just like the wings.  Guess I have my dinner already in my hotel room with my leftover "burger"!!

Gotta tell you, if I gave out stars or thumbs up or whatever rating score other people use, I would give Fox Bros. BBQ my highest rating.  When you are in Atlanta, you have to try that place. You will be so happy you did!!!

Enjoy a great "burger" and Keep on Smokin!!!!!

Southern Soul is Southern Taste!

I have to say that I love Savannah and St. Simon.  I had to go there for work this week.  The geography here is just beautiful.  Quick side note, Savannah is a very cool town from the architecture to the history.  Could spend a lot of time in Savannah just studying. Luckily, the food is just as beautiful.  

I went to a well known place called Southern Soul.  It is in St. Simon and has just a cool and funky feel to it.  It has been on several food shows on TV so I of course had to check it out.  I went there this afternoon and tried the sampler platter.  I asked the young lady what they are famous for and she of course said, wait for it, ........the pulled pork!  I got pulled pork, ribs, sausage, fried okra and potato salad.  The food was all very good.  I think the sausage was best.  The pork was excellent.  Tender and juicy.  I will say, as with a lot of pulled pork, you need the sauce to really give it the kick you want.  The sauce was excellent.  They had a spicy mustard based sauce that was really good with just the right amount of kick.

Overall, I would say you can’t go wrong with some Southern Soul!!  Now, they do have some other things besides BBQ, like some very unique sandwiches.  If you find yourself in St. Simon, stop by.  You will be glad you did!!!

Keep on Smokin, ya’ll!!!

Birthday Bash!!!

Time to write up a little something different.  I know I usually write about BBQ places I visit but this evening time to write up a little bit different.  

I was invited to cook for a big birthday party last weekend.  It was a big b-day and they wanted something special to eat, so they called me.  I was quite honored to be asked to do this.  The evening started at midnight.  A good time to start a BBQ.  I got over and fired up the smoker and spent some good time talking to some folks from Iowa about how they did their BBQ.  I've found that when I fire up the VooDoo Child, people love to talk about hey they BBQ or grill and it is definitely fun and a good time to swap war stories.  I always learn something whether it is a seasoned vet or a rookie just starting.  Something my family taught me.  Look at every opportunity as an opportunity to learn.  You never stop learning.

So, eventually, everyone went to bed and it was just me and VooDoo doing our thing.

Now, we did have a couple of visits from some local coyotes and that was fun.  They got about six feet away and just wanted to say hello.

The product turned out pretty good and more importantly, everyone enjoyed the food.

So thanks for having us out!  We really enjoyed the evening and morning and so glad you enjoyed the food.  So Detlef, happy birthday and we at Trinity BBQ hope you have plenty more!!!

Tell us about your best birthday meal.  We would love to hear.  

Keep on Smokin!!!!

More Bama BBQ!!

I travel a lot for work and happily, I travel almost exclusively in the South.  You can't beat the people , the weather, the history and of the food.  Southern cooking is just different.  It puts some meat on your bones and packs such amazing flavor.  I am in the South again today.  I am in Crimson Tide country (which I just tolerate because they have good BBQ!)  I went to a place today called Saw's BBQ.  It was recommended to me by some customers of mine.  I of course had to try it!

The place is small and looks just like an old BBQ joint, even though it is only 4 years old.  The ambience is awesome.  The food is better.  I had smoked chicken with a white sauce.  Amazing. Now if the sauce had not been on there, it wouldn't have been as good but it was on there so it rocked!  The rib I had was perfectly cooked.  Not too long but perfectly moist and tender.  The pulled pork was super tender.  Again, as usual in the deep South, pulled pork has to have a good sauce on it and this did.  It was a sauce that was a blend of Carolina  and Bama Q sauce.  Very tasty.  I of course tried their sausage.  It was just ok.  It tasted too much like breakfast sausage.  It was good but I would have it with breakfast, not lunch.

Overall, I have to say I loved this place.  Some of the better BBQ I have had outside of the Lone Star State in quite a while.  If you are in Birmingham, give it a try.  You won't be sorry!

City Slickers!!!

Normally when I say that, I am making some flippant reference to someone who thinks just because I am from Texas, I am a country bumpkin...ok will stop because I don't want to get off on a tangent but feel free to ask me about that and I will be happy to share!!

City Slickers this time refers to a great event where the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce gets together music, auction, food and good times to raise money for charity.  The event is a lot of fun and good times are always at hand there.  I was fortunate enough to be invited this year and to bring some good ol' BBQ to the fray.  This was my first large event where I got to cook a lot of food for people that don't know me.  So to say I was nervous is an understatement.

Nervous makes sense though.  There were probably 800 people there trying all kinds of different food.  Great local restaurants were in attendance and I tried amazing pork belly sliders from NeXt Wood Fired Bistro and Vino Bar  (thanks for all of the great convo Mr. Martinez) , great crab cakes from Mac's, tasty brats from Red Dog Right and way too many salted caramel cupcakes from LaSera Cupcake Bar.  I was next to seasoned veterans who have been to this type of rodeo more than once and they were all great.  It was great to get to meet people and get advice from them and them eagerly providing and offers of help in the future.  

I had the smoker blowin' and goin' for 12 hours Sunday night and produced over 100 lbs of smoked meat.  Yep, 100 pounds.  Needed about 20.  We are giving meat to friends, family, work and if you want any, call me!  The food was very well received.  People came back 4 or 5 times to sample the brisket, chicken and pork.  People were asking me where they could buy my sauces and where my restaurant was because in the words of several "I would be there every day!"  The event was a huge success and I am so fortunate to have attended and met so many wonderful people. 

A special thank you to everyone who donated to the victims of the West Explosion. We raised $150 that was added to a special fundraiser hosted by Man Up BBQ.   A special shout out to two special ladies for helping me make this happen.  One I have known a lifetime and one I have just gotten to know.  Thank you to both for helping me get this business smoking!!!  Another shout out to my graphic designer Ms. Deborah Faitt-Esker.  She designed some beautiful menus and they were a hit as well.  If you need some graphic artistry done, contact me and I will get you in touch with her.  And of course I have to thank my partner in crime.  She got the table designed, made our signs, made sure everything we needed was packed and most importantly, kept me sane!  Love you honey!

Thanks for reading and I look forward to doing this much more often.

Keep on Smokin!!!