Favorite BBQ spot???

[ctchandler]

I mentioned Beasley's. He originally was located in what is now Irma's near 63rd and N Western. He had gunny sacks for curtains but was a stickler for cleanliness. I don't think he ever received a warning from the health department. The gunny sacks fit into the decor which was chuck wagon/farm house style. He closed that one to work closer to home and he opened a store in Pink, Ok. Then he closed that one and opened another one at 63rd near Broadway in what is now The Shack Seafood and Oyster Bar. Not long after opening that store, he got cancer and retired. I think he died about six months later. He had an extra extra hot sauce that you had to ask for and it was really warm. I ate one beef sandwich with that and chased it with a second sandwich with just hot sauce. Yes, I remember Underwood's. It was OK, I ate there a few times.
C. T.

I like all types of "barbeque" from chicken to brisket, but I'd have to say that my favorite is pulled pork with (western?) Carolina sauce--which is basically that flavored, spiced-up vinegar. I don't think I've ever encountered that "gravy" type sauce.

Someone in here mentioned Beasley's BBQ . . . The name rang a bell along with jogging a pleasant memory.
Where was Beasley's located? I'm almost certain I tried their product at least once.


Does anyone in here remember "Underwood's" BBQ?
They used to have at least a couple of locations in the metro area.
I seem to recall that the owner of those establishments ran into some tax problems that allowed him to become a guest of the state or the feds for awhile.

[RadicalModerate]

Beasleys . . . 63rd and Western. Of course.
Very good BBQ, interesting decor.
Thanks!

[gen70]

I mentioned Beasley's. He originally was located in what is now Irma's near 63rd and N Western. He had gunny sacks for curtains but was a stickler for cleanliness. I don't think he ever received a warning from the health department. The gunny sacks fit into the decor which was chuck wagon/farm house style. He closed that one to work closer to home and he opened a store in Pink, Ok. Then he closed that one and opened another one at 63rd near Broadway in what is now The Shack Seafood and Oyster Bar. Not long after opening that store, he got cancer and retired. I think he died about six months later. He had an extra extra hot sauce that you had to ask for and it was really warm. I ate one beef sandwich with that and chased it with a second sandwich with just hot sauce. Yes, I remember Underwood's. It was OK, I ate there a few times.
C. T.

Beasley's was one of the best BBQ joints that I have ever eaten at. And I do remember the hot..hot sauce.

[ljbab728]

I hope this isn't off subject, but does anyone know of a good place in OKC for Jamaican "jerk" meat? It's very similar to BBQ but with very distinctive spices. I've been to Jamaica many times and love it.

[RadicalModerate]

I think that Bahama Breeze used to have some "Jerk-" items on their menu . . .
You are right: There should be a place around here where this can be enjoyed.

[kelly73099]

Try Carican Flavors for jerk meat. I haven't been there yet but I've heard good things.

[Celebrator]

Zarate's in Edmond on Broadway is supposed to have great Jamaican Jerk. Have not tried that menu item specifically, but enjoyed other things at this Latin American restaurant http://www.zarateslatingrill.com/

[ljbab728]

Zarate's in Edmond on Broadway is supposed to have great Jamaican Jerk. Have not tried that menu item specifically, but enjoyed other things at this Latin American restaurant http://www.zarateslatingrill.com/

The menu shows Jerk Chicken but doesn't mention pork or beef.

[OKC Heel]

I like all types of "barbeque" from chicken to brisket, but I'd have to say that my favorite is pulled pork with (western?) Carolina sauce--which is basically that flavored, spiced-up vinegar. I don't think I've ever encountered that "gravy" type sauce.

Someone in here mentioned Beasley's BBQ . . . The name rang a bell along with jogging a pleasant memory.
Where was Beasley's located? I'm almost certain I tried their product at least once.


Does anyone in here remember "Underwood's" BBQ?
They used to have at least a couple of locations in the metro area.
I seem to recall that the owner of those establishments ran into some tax problems that allowed him to become a guest of the state or the feds for awhile.

I realize i'm reviving a dead thread, but i've been away for a bit. So yea, just to clarify in case you ever go looking for it and find you are not happy with what you find, the sauce you described is actually Eastern NC style. Western NC style is actually a ketchup based sauce that has vinegar as the secondary ingredient being added to it.

And yes, i do realize i come off as a barbecue snob on this thread and i'm not ashamed of that. While i certainly enjoy all manner of food that falls under the label of barbecue in different parts of the country - from brisket in texas to ribs in KC, i just cant overcome my upbringing and refer to it as barbecue. But if it's good, i have no problem saying so.


Back to the eastern nc sauce, anyone interested in making their own would likely be shocked at just how simple it is to make. I keep a gallon of it at the house at all times as we try and cook a pig or two every few months when i get homesick.

[CaptDave]

Don't worry about it Heel - I am from NC too and married a TX girl who to this day calls NC BBQ squished pig. I think the simplicity of the Eastern NC style is what I like - just get the meet right and don't go overboard with sauce.

[ctchandler]

OKC Heel or CaptDave,
Define barbecue if you don't mind. I know the original definition has been lost, but how do you define it? Until about ten years ago, we had some pretty fine que in the OKC area and of course Kansas City and Texas have some fine places as well as Tennessee. But, those are "places". How do you think it has to be prepared to be called "que"?
Thanks,
C. T.

[Roger S]

BBQ has to meet 3 requirements to be BBQ to me.

1.) Fire (I do give a little leeway to restaurants that use commercial electric smokers)
2.) Hardwood
3.) Will not be done for at least one hour (Anything that doesn't meet this requirement is grilling.)

[CaptDave]

In NC, it is shredded and chopped smoked pork with a sauce. The difference between Eastern and Western NC BBQ is the sauce as described by Heel.

Generally speaking though, I think slow cooked meat over fire with smoke is the starting point. Then throw in some sort of seasoning on the meat and we are on our way to BBQ. Pig or cow - doesn't matter to me.

Personally I like just about all of it. I will not turn down a good plate of smoked meat just because it might not fit a particular region's definition of BBQ. I generally prefer dry rub and am not crazy over the flavor of the meat being overwhelmed by the sauce. I like a little sauce, but the meat is most important to me. Now I am hungry....I think I will go find a plate for lunch today!

[kevinpate]

... Pig or cow - doesn't matter to me.

Man after my own heart. Mama was a W NC gal (a ways south of Lake Lure) and Pops was a TX panhandle lad whose family ultimately ended up spread out from Austin down se to Sabine Lake. Suffice to say a wide variety of cow, pig, chicken, fish and sea were part of my raisin'

[RadicalModerate]

BBQ has to meet 3 requirements to be BBQ to me.

1.) Fire (I do give a little leeway to restaurants that use commercial electric smokers)
2.) Hardwood
3.) Will not be done for at least one hour (Anything that doesn't meet this requirement is grilling.)

I think that this definition pretty much nails it for me. It's not so much what is being cooked as how it is cooked. Low, slow and with a lot of smoke. Of course, I don't know how one would then define the traditional Hawaiian (and probably the original Carrbe (sp?) barbecoa on Hispanola)which involved a pig in a pit, no smoke but so it goes . . .

Isn't authentic "Carolina" vinegar sauce basically just some vinegar and some sugar maybe with some pepper flakes for a little heat?

[Roger S]

I think that this definition pretty much nails it for me. It's not so much what is being cooked as how it is cooked. Low, slow and with a lot of smoke. Of course, I don't know how one would then define the traditional Hawaiian (and probably the original Carrbe (sp?) barbecoa on Hispanola)which involved a pig in a pit, no smoke but so it goes . . .

I can probably help clarify that.... Those 3 requirements are how I define American BBQ. Yes, I know Hawaii is part of America but I am only defining the mainland.

[RadicalModerate]

Way back in the early '80s I had one of the original versions of this wonderful device.
Patent US4094295 - Charcoal and water smoker and cooker - Google Patents

It was marketed as the "Cajun Cooker" (NOT "Cookin' Cajun"). There are similar cookers around today, but none of them compare to this one in terms of heavy durability and foolproofness of use. I wish I could get another one--and, in fact tried to track down Burl Boswell a couple of years ago (by phone and email) but to no avail.

This thing produced perfect ribs, every time, in about 3.5 hours. You may wonder how you added more charcoal/wood chunks but it wasn't necessary as one load of the charcoal pan lasted for the necessary cooking time. I also cooked a few prime rib roasts and other cuts on it. I'll bet there are a few of these, still in the box, stashed in a warehouse somewhere. I'll also bet they would sell for more than the $60 I think I paid for mine. You could also use it as a grill . . . and it was actually made in America. =)

It helped to make my own back yard MY "favorite BBQ spot."
(and that was back when I hardly knew how to cook anything. =)

[ctchandler]

First, RadicalModerate, look again, the South American/Carribe(sp) style of barbecoa produces a lot of smoke sometimes from wet banana leaves and other wet natural things that were placed on top of ? the hog or fire. I asked the question because back in the 80s when pork had just returned to OKC BBQ stores, I was on a vacation to NC and I asked if a BBQ place had pork and he was all over me like white on rice! He pretty much told me that if it wasn't from the pig, it wasn't que. I really didn't care for the vinegar type sauces and as I have said before, sauce is only needed if the que is not done properly (for me), but I use almost no condiments so if a person likes sauce, what difference does it make, I don't have to use it. I had one of the large smokers with a drop down fire box and learned a lot about que, but it is like the term golf, lost in time, nobody knows the origination of either term. I did learn "slow" cooking, at about 200 degrees, indirect heat (various woods in the fire box, meat in the smoker portion of the monster). I bought Hickory or Pecan (part of the Hickory family, but a little milder) by the rick, and the Texas weed (Mesquite) by the bunch/bag. And occasionally, I used fruit woods. By the way, the heat source (fire) could be from the moon (or electricity) as long as it can produce smoke from the wood of choice. As far as choice of food to be smoked, if it's a meat (fowl, fish, shellfish, sausage, pork, beef et al) and you like it, why not smoke it. Of course if you smoke some things like fowl or meat without feet (seafood), that sort of negates BBq Eater Anonymous one hour restriction to call it que.
Now, it's time for someone to jump in and tell us they have smoked products from the earth.
C. T.

[Roger S]

As far as choice of food to be smoked, if it's a meat (fowl, fish, shellfish, sausage, pork, beef et al) and you like it, why not smoke it. Of course if you smoke some things like fowl or meat without feet (seafood), that sort of negates BBq Eater Anonymous one hour restriction to call it que.
Now, it's time for someone to jump in and tell us they have smoked products from the earth.
C. T.

Doesn't negate my 1 hour restriction. It get's disqualified due to the one hour restriction.

On the other hand. In my own personal opinion, I could never consider smoked seafood BBQ. That just seems odd to me. LOL

Cheese is actually a food that I smoke that meets all of my requirements but I don't consider BBQ either. During the winter I cold smoke cheese (Temp stays under 90 degrees for entire process) using charcoal briquettes and hardwood chunks and I usually have it in my smoker at least one hour.

So it's not a hard and fast set of requirements as much as it is a basic set of guidelines.

Radical Moderate - Look into the Weber Smokey Mountain bullet smoker. They are almost identical to what you posted and I regularly get up to 16 hours of cooking time on only one load of charcoal in mine.

[Roger S]

Way back in the early '80s I had one of the original versions of this wonderful device.
Patent US4094295 - Charcoal and water smoker and cooker - Google Patents

And actually other than the Weber Smokey Mountain. There is another cooker made by Brinkmann that is even more similar to this in design and price that we in the BBQ world lovingly refer to as the ECB or El Cheapo Brinkmann.

And don't let that name fool you into thinking that is a derogatory name. We all admit that some mighty fine Q can be made on the ECB. But anyone that knows much about making tasty Q knows it's not what you are using to cook it's how well you know how to use the device you are cooking in. A lot of people are out there also using what we call UDS or Ugly Drum Smoker that are made out of food grade metal barrels and putting out some really good Q.

[RadicalModerate]

I bought one of those El Cheap Brinkmann's several years ago, but it just doesn't seem the same as my good old Cajun Cooker. In fact, after a couple of attempts at duplicating the former product from the former water-smoker I just use it as a grill.

Alton Brown did a whole show one time on using a large clay planter/pot and a small electric "burner" as a smoker. I think he used a remote probe thermometer to set the burner--with a pan of wood chips on it--to about 225-deg. Pretty ingenious. Another time he smoked a whole salmon (NOT BBQ =) in a cardboard box. Both episodes (of "Good Eats") are probably available on Youtube . . .

P.S.: I don't like to overdo it on the sauce no matter what kind of sauce it is. As has been said: If the meat is done right, it doesn't require a lot of flavor enhancement.

[Roger S]

Yeah, I've seen both of those Good Eats episodes. Alton is very interesting and inspiring.

Most people do make some modifications to the ECB to get them to work better. I got one for free at a garage sale one time and it was my dedicated cheese smoker until I started getting so many requests for cheese that I had to upgrade to something bigger.

I'm not a fan of sauce either. I think it should be used to complement the meat and not as an enhancement to the meat.

[RadicalModerate]

OKBBQEA: I'll bet you can answer this question that I've wondered about for some time . . .

I've liked the original Oklahoma Station BBQ over on 50th for a long time. And it wasn't just because of those coupons every Wednesday in the Gazette or the Railroad Decorating Motif. =) I've never had a bad meal there. Sometimes it's better than other times, but it's never "bad". One of the nicest parts of the experience there involved that nice young lady at the start of the serving line but I guess she moved on to other public service activities. I tried the far NW location a couple of times and the food was good while the "ambiance" was far too "sterile" . . . I think that location closed. (that was all just background. on to The Point . . . =)

Did this place change ownership two or three years ago?
It seems as if the entire "original" crew went away and was replaced by a different group of folks on the other side of the serving line. I have NO COMPLAINTS about any of this as the last time we ate there (too long ago, sadly) the food was just as good or better than ever but I am just curious if the same people who started the business are still involved with it.

(Side Note: Alton Brown--along with Emeril LeGasse, Tyler Florence, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and a host of others going all the way back to The Galloping Gourmet and Justin Wilson are responsible for my love of cooking as a hobby. I have now "graduated" to appreciating The Art of Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. =) Did I forget Steve Rachlen? I watched him cook a huge steak on a shovel, over some coals, a few months ago. "Gaucho BBQ From The Pampas" he called it . . . Really, "Gaucho Grilling" if we want to get technical . . . Sure hope they burned all the paint off the shovel before cooking with it. I do have to wonder . . . Why would an Argentinian Cowboy want to be saddled with a shovel . . ? =)

[Sooner_Fan]

BBQ has to meet 3 requirements to be BBQ to me.

1.) Fire (I do give a little leeway to restaurants that use commercial electric smokers)
2.) Hardwood
3.) Will not be done for at least one hour (Anything that doesn't meet this requirement is grilling.)

I don't post much but have to disagree with your one hour rule. Primarily when it comes to boneless skinless chicken breasts. They take about 45 minutes @225.

Some will say you can't smoke boneless skinless chicken breast! Wrong, I cook them all the time and the come out juicy with a great smoke flavor. I usually smoke 15-20 at a time and food saver some for later use in nachos, enchiladas, sandwiches, pretty anything you would but chicken in. If fact I think the smoke flavor is enhanced by food savering, then freezing, and using at later date.

To me the key is to pull the breasts with a temp between 157-160, wrap them in foil, and let them sit for at least 10 minutes. So is a smoked chicken breast considered que?

[CaptDave]

(Side Note: Alton Brown--along with Emeril LeGasse, Tyler Florence, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and a host of others going all the way back to The Galloping Gourmet and Justin Wilson are responsible for my love of cooking as a hobby. I have now "graduated" to appreciating The Art of Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. =) Did I forget Steve Rachlen? I watched him cook a huge steak on a shovel, over some coals, a few months ago. "Gaucho BBQ From The Pampas" he called it . . . Really, "Gaucho Grilling" if we want to get technical . . . Sure hope they burned all the paint off the shovel before cooking with it. I do have to wonder . . . Why would an Argentinian Cowboy want to be saddled with a shovel . . ? =)

Giada - nothing to add.