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Customers feel heat of inflation at BBQ joints


RETIREDFAN1

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I've only seen this at Spring Creek Barbeque.  I'll pay more though for Bar-B-Q than I will a burger so $15 is my limit for a sliced beef sandwich.  I won't go to Spring Creek, because it's now $9.95, but at Smoken J's which is the best I've had in my lifetime it's only $6.95, and on Friday they have a $5 cash only sandwich special, but don't get their sides their not very good, Valley Ranch current online menu has their sandwich at $5.95, but I'm sure it's gone up.  I have bought the smoked brisket at Kroger and Wal Mart, but you can barely taste the smoke in the meat, plus I've never found a good BBQ sauce in a jar or bottle except at a real BBQ place.  Then I need my fixins with it jalepanos, pickles, a chunk of cheddar cheese, and potato chips.  

I do know that several BBQ joints have closed across Texas in Houston Chronicle articles that I've read.  I think people will pay more for BBQ, because it takes so long to smoke it at home.  I had a wood smoker in Birmingham, but it took 12 hours to smoke a brisket, because the fire would be out in the morning, because it didn't have enough space for all the wood needed to smoke a good brisket.  If you have a larger gas smoker it only takes about 6 hours, but you usually have to clean the pit which takes about 45 minutes.

This is one of my favorite videos of smoking brisket only because one of my favorite Cowboys all time shows how he does it.  He smokes his for 16 hours, but this is time lapsed :  

 

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3 hours ago, EnjoyLife said:

I cheat...I bought an electric smoker. Def not as good as a big 'ol pit...but a lot easier. Just set it and forget it...........

You must use that liquid smoke then to cook it in an electric smoker.  It ain't the same. What Is Liquid Smoke and How Is It Used? (thespruceeats.com) .  I tried that a couple of times to speed up the true process of smoking meat.  I have to have the real deal, and what I love about Smoken' J's is they use pecan wood.   

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8 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

You must use that liquid smoke then to cook it in an electric smoker.  It ain't the same. What Is Liquid Smoke and How Is It Used? (thespruceeats.com) .  I tried that a couple of times to speed up the true process of smoking meat.  I have to have the real deal, and what I love about Smoken' J's is they use pecan wood.   

No liquid smoke lol. Wood chips...mesquite/oak/pecan/apple or whatever I am in the mood for. Like I said...it is not as good as an actual pit but it sure is easy. Ribs, chicken, sausage etc are no problem but a briscuit is a tight fit. 

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15 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

I've only seen this at Spring Creek Barbeque.  I'll pay more though for Bar-B-Q than I will a burger so $15 is my limit for a sliced beef sandwich.  I won't go to Spring Creek, because it's now $9.95, but at Smoken J's which is the best I've had in my lifetime it's only $6.95, and on Friday they have a $5 cash only sandwich special, but don't get their sides their not very good, Valley Ranch current online menu has their sandwich at $5.95, but I'm sure it's gone up.  I have bought the smoked brisket at Kroger and Wal Mart, but you can barely taste the smoke in the meat, plus I've never found a good BBQ sauce in a jar or bottle except at a real BBQ place.  Then I need my fixins with it jalepanos, pickles, a chunk of cheddar cheese, and potato chips.  

I do know that several BBQ joints have closed across Texas in Houston Chronicle articles that I've read.  I think people will pay more for BBQ, because it takes so long to smoke it at home.  I had a wood smoker in Birmingham, but it took 12 hours to smoke a brisket, because the fire would be out in the morning, because it didn't have enough space for all the wood needed to smoke a good brisket.  If you have a larger gas smoker it only takes about 6 hours, but you usually have to clean the pit which takes about 45 minutes.

This is one of my favorite videos of smoking brisket only because one of my favorite Cowboys all time shows how he does it.  He smokes his for 16 hours, but this is time lapsed :  

 

Back around 1973-4-5 my grand father took me to the Gladewater rodeo and Walt Garrison was there signing autographs. He signed my program. I still have it somewhere packed away.

"I like Walt because he is dependable. If you need 4 yards you can give the ball to Walt and he will get you 4 yards. If you need 7 yards you can give the ball to Walt and he will get you 4 yards"...Tom Landry.

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7 minutes ago, EnjoyLife said:

No liquid smoke lol. Wood chips...mesquite/oak/pecan/apple or whatever I am in the mood for. Like I said...it is not as good as an actual pit but it sure is easy. Ribs, chicken, sausage etc are no problem but a briscuit is a tight fit. 

I have a Webber Smokey Mountain that I use on occasion. I have a "thermal control" device that I use on it as well. It holds it's heat pretty good.

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10 minutes ago, Monte1076 said:

I have a Webber Smokey Mountain that I use on occasion. I have a "thermal control" device that I use on it as well. It holds it's heat pretty good.

Buy a pellet smoker and thank me later.  They are the easy back ovens of smokers.  But so easy anybody can do it.  Pour in pellets, set your temp, put the meat thermometer in the meat.  Eat when ready.  People will argue that it isn't as good as a stick burner smoker and it may not be.  But it is very close.

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15 hours ago, DaveTV1 said:

I've only seen this at Spring Creek Barbeque.  I'll pay more though for Bar-B-Q than I will a burger so $15 is my limit for a sliced beef sandwich.  I won't go to Spring Creek, because it's now $9.95, but at Smoken J's which is the best I've had in my lifetime it's only $6.95, and on Friday they have a $5 cash only sandwich special, but don't get their sides their not very good, Valley Ranch current online menu has their sandwich at $5.95, but I'm sure it's gone up.  I have bought the smoked brisket at Kroger and Wal Mart, but you can barely taste the smoke in the meat, plus I've never found a good BBQ sauce in a jar or bottle except at a real BBQ place.  Then I need my fixins with it jalepanos, pickles, a chunk of cheddar cheese, and potato chips.  

I do know that several BBQ joints have closed across Texas in Houston Chronicle articles that I've read.  I think people will pay more for BBQ, because it takes so long to smoke it at home.  I had a wood smoker in Birmingham, but it took 12 hours to smoke a brisket, because the fire would be out in the morning, because it didn't have enough space for all the wood needed to smoke a good brisket.  If you have a larger gas smoker it only takes about 6 hours, but you usually have to clean the pit which takes about 45 minutes.

This is one of my favorite videos of smoking brisket only because one of my favorite Cowboys all time shows how he does it.  He smokes his for 16 hours, but this is time lapsed :  

 

I love Walt.  But think he cooked his brisket a little too done.  Was falling apart and hard to slice.  Probably not bad though slathered in some of his fine bbq sauce.

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44 minutes ago, ObiOne said:

Was falling apart and hard to slice.  Probably not bad though slathered in some of his fine bbq sauce.

Yeah, BBQ should be tender but not just falling apart. Not a good thing when you pick up a rib and the meat falls onto your plate. I want to actually bite it...not scoop it up with a fork. I have heard those pellet smokers do a really good job.

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6 hours ago, ObiOne said:

I love Walt.  But think he cooked his brisket a little too done.  Was falling apart and hard to slice.  Probably not bad though slathered in some of his fine bbq sauce.

I thought so too, but it was the fatty side of it and that is always tender, but like you said it was falling apart and should have been used for chopped beef or pulled beef sandwiches.  I've always called the flat the lifter cut, because when trimming a brisket you lift that part up to separate it from the point.  I prefer a mix of the two, because the point is always drier than the lifter. 

 

6 hours ago, EnjoyLife said:

Yeah, BBQ should be tender but not just falling apart. Not a good thing when you pick up a rib and the meat falls onto your plate. I want to actually bite it...not scoop it up with a fork. I have heard those pellet smokers do a really good job.

I like ribs where the meat falls off the bone.  I don't like gnawing on the bone to try and get all of the meat off it.  I know many places cook it that way for their rib sandwiches, because they want as much meat as possible and nothing wasted.  I can't stand the McRib though.  I tried it when it first came out in the early 80's and haven't had one since.   

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21 hours ago, EnjoyLife said:

Yeah, BBQ should be tender but not just falling apart. Not a good thing when you pick up a rib and the meat falls onto your plate. I want to actually bite it...not scoop it up with a fork. I have heard those pellet smokers do a really good job.

I like my ribs to have a little "bite" to them.  I don't want to have to work very hard, but I also don't want all the meat to fall off at the first bite.  

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On 4/5/2022 at 5:02 PM, DaveTV1 said:

I can't stand the McRib though.  I tried it when it first came out in the early 80's and haven't had one since.   

Ditto. I have absolutely no idea what has made that awful thing some kind of cult classic sandwich.

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11 hours ago, EnjoyLife said:

Ditto. I have absolutely no idea what has made that awful thing some kind of cult classic sandwich.

I think it's the same stuff that Banquet makes their Salisbury steak or Hungry-Man makes their fake ribs for their Bonless Rib shaped Pork patties.  When I had that first one that's what it tasted like.  I've never tried the Hungry-Man, because it looks like the Banquet Salisbury Steak.  McDonald's BBQ sauce is terrible to me.  It's worse than store bought BBQ sauce.  

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