Dallas Food - DFW Quest for 'Cue (Part 12)

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DFW Quest for 'Cue (Part 12)
Posted on Thursday, September 22 @ 19:05:58 PDT
Topic: Barbecue

This week’s report takes us farther down South Lancaster to another pair of barbecue joints. The first of the two, TD’s BBQ, is similar in style to the ones described last week--all-wood and African-American owned and operated. The second, Big Bruce’s Bar-B-Que...isn’t. On to the food...

TD’s BBQ, 3403 S. Lancaster.

I stumbled upon TD’s BBQ while looking for another joint on Lancaster which, it turned out, was no longer in business. TD’s looked small, but seemed to be doing a fairly brisk lunch business. Décor was minimal. Portrait prints of civil rights heroes dotted the walls. Hickory logs were piled in a couple of places in the dining area--apparently for storage, not to remind anyone of how the food here is cooked.

If anyone needed reminding of how the food is cooked, they had only to look behind the counter to the dark metal doors of the smoke-blackened pit (pictured at the top of this article). I ordered brisket, short-end ribs, and hot links. As the pit-master piled the meats high, he cocked his head and asked with a doubting tone, “You going to eat all that?” If it was as good as it looked, I was certainly willing to try.

The hot links were smoother in texture than most I’ve had in South Dallas. And they were on the fatty side, falling somewhere between a more typical hot link and the generic-tasting sausages at many DFW barbecue joints. Not bad, but definitely not one of the better hot links I’ve had. But sauce covereth a multitude of sins.

TD’s brisket was frustratingly uneven. Some pieces had a fair amount of crust and fat, resulting in a pleasant, smoky sweetness. The leaner slices, however, were more ho-hum--smoky, but kind of flat tasting. Overall, I’d say it was solid sandwich-grade, though some pieces were better than others.

The ribs were quite good. Though the surface texture had degraded somewhat from storage (becoming gummy in some places, leathery in others), the meat wasn’t over or undercooked, and the smoke went down deep into the pork. Very enjoyable ribs.

At the tail end of my first string of barbecue reports, I was on the verge of burnout. One mediocre barbecue joint after another was taking a toll. The few weeks I intended to take off from the project stretched into half a year, since I just couldn’t bring myself to get back to eating bad barbecue. My recent experiences in South Dallas, however, have been mostly pleasurable. And, in a lot of ways, TD’s is representative of the joints I’ve been eating at in those parts of town--wood-only, low volume, with pretty good hot links and brisket and even better ribs. As I headed down Lancaster from TD’s, I was thinking my luck had permanently changed--that as long as I kept heading south, it would be wood pits, short lines, and short-ends all the way.

Wrong.

Big Bruce’s Bar-B-Que, at 8018 S. Lancaster.

I should’ve known by the corrugated tin barn look. I should’ve known by the lack of smoke emerging from the stacks. And then I did know the second I walked in and saw the logo on the pit: “Ole Hickory.” Go to the Ole Hickory web page to get a sense of what they’re all about. Scan the specs on each model of pit they manufacture and you’ll find that all of them use gas. Check out some actual quotes from the Ole Hickory web page:

“Ole Hickory Pits are simple to operate. They are fully automatic and therefore do not require constant attention to maintain an even temperature. This alone saves many man-hours of costly labor each day.... This also minimizes the need for extensive training. Anyone can become a barbecue expert!”

“Is training required to operate an Ole Hickory Pit? Customer orientation is recommended to familiarize new owners and their employees with operating procedures. Orientations rarely last longer than one hour.”

“Do I have to burn wood? No, you may cook with gas only. Wood is not required for the unit to operate. Ole Hickory Pits are primarily used for barbecue and smoking, but they may also be used as a convection oven for roasting.”

“What about electrical requirements? Regular electrical outlets are all that are required for operation....”

“Two (2) regular fireplace size logs will last for up to 6 hours of cooking” (of the Model EL-ES, which can hold up to twenty 12-pound briskets).

Brisket, sausage, and ribs. In the line of duty.

The brisket was extraordinarily poor. Smokeless, dry, rubbery, and bland. Note the dryness of the meat, as well as the totally unmelted fat and connective tissue. Hard slogging.

Here we have sausage and hot links. Both have been patted down with a paper towel to reduce glare, but still they ooze. The pork sausage was spongy, salty, and greasy. The hot links had the texture of a hotdog wiener with a bit of spiciness. Smoke was undetectable on both.

The exterior of the ribs was gummy, as though sauce had been baked onto them. The meat approached mushiness, breaking free of the bone in large, wet clumps. Flavor was bland. Again, no smoke.

Big Bruce’s does not have the best barbecue in Texas. I only say that because on their catering trailer parked in front of the restaurant they claim to have the best barbecue in Texas. If the ownership/management truly believe that they have the best barbecue in Texas, then they’re unjustifiably arrogant and/or profoundly ignorant. If they don’t really believe it, they’re unscrupulous. I won’t be back.

Caveats and Conclusions
All the standard caveats apply. These impressions are of particular cuts of meat on a particular day. Though the holy trinity of brisket, sausage, and ribs may be a good measure of a barbecue spot, it doesn't tell the whole story. But, for my purposes here, I'm honing in on the backbone of barbecue--the smoking of meat to perfection. I'm trying to find out if anyone, anywhere in or around Dallas-Fort Worth, is doing work that can compare with the best Texas has to offer.

Noteworthy Meats. TD’s short-end ribs were good enough to justify a return visit.