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The Great BBQ Review Thread

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  • Vaquero

    Moving stuff to the gas prices thread.....
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    Apr 4, 2011
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    Dixie Land
    Turn 3 BBQ
    Krugerville, TX.
    Had a brisket plate at lunch today.
    Tender, moist, lean.
    Real good flavor.
    Fridays are rib days. I'll give those a try next time.

    Oh, 9.99 for more than I could eat.
    Got leftovers.

    If you're in the area, go try it.
    I think you'll be impressed.
     

    HKSig

    Let's Go Brandon!
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    May 15, 2013
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    Spring
    I'm going to try to visit Snow's soon; is there any other place near there worth trying? What about the places in Taylor? (Yes, Louie is a possibility, although I see bad reviews here.)
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Boerne
    I'm going to try to visit Snow's soon; is there any other place near there worth trying? What about the places in Taylor? (Yes, Louie is a possibility, although I see bad reviews here.)

    If you’re in Lexington, Lockhart isn’t too far. Kreuz, Black’s, and Smittys are in Lockhart.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ
    3317 Inwood Rd.
    Dallas
    http://bigalsbbq.com/index.html

    View attachment 150005

    Had to go to Allen today for a medical consult, so I booked a round-trip on SWA to Dallas Love Field. Since it was just me and I arrived at noon, I couldn't pass up barbeque. So I hit the google machine for a little bbq roulette. My rule is first one that pops up isn't a chain is where I go.

    Today, BBQ roulette pointed me to Big Al's Smokehouse, about 5 mins from DAL, where they've been 'Smoking the good stuff since 1973'. Besides, who wouldn't eat at a placed called Big Al's.

    Big Al's is a storefront and a catering operation; they've got daily specials and today was rib day. Since Vaquero wasn't here, I passed on the ribs and instead went for the old standard 2-meat plate with moist brisket and a hot link with two sides. Sides are abundant, I chose the pintos and potato salad for consistency. Add a drink, turn over a $20 bill and you get some change back. Not much, but some.

    Brisket: Done the way I like it. Smoke ring and bark were on the thin side, but I kind of like that. Rub was standard salt & pepper, maybe some garlic powder. Most important part is that the salt didn't overpower anything. It was truly just enough. Brisket was probably held a little long as the slice would bend and then come apart in chunks if you kept it up. Beef flavor was up front followed by enough smoke to tell it was cooked over oak. While it's not the best brisket, Big Al's can hold their own and was pretty full of customers while I was there (12:30 - 1:00).

    Hot Link: Again, done the way I like it. Crisp casing, heavier beef than pork, just enough jalapeno to let you know it's there. Certainly not the best sausage, but they can hold there own.

    Sides. Sides are said to be in-house but neither was anything to write home about; make me wish I went for some of the better looking options like the black beans and the cucumber/tomato salad. They have a ton of sides, probably to provide options for their catering operation.

    Serving size for the meat was ~4 oz beef and a small link (1/2 link size). In my mind, it was the perfect size for lunch. Beef by the pound is $17.50, a little pricier than Rudy's, but better across the board for the step up. I'm a little biased and believe brisket is generally overpriced by the pound, but the market says plenty of folks'll pay $20+/lb for beef. This ain't $20/lb beef, but it's probably priced right for what you get.

    Overall: I'd go back if I was in the big D.
     
    Last edited:

    SloppyShooter

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    Apr 24, 2018
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    White Settlement, Texas
    I'd pay $20 a pound for brisket all day long, IF....IF.... it's good brisket. Considering what it takes to make good brisket, and the consequences of crappy on both sides of the counter, that's more than fair. Lot of time and money on the sellers side lost on a failed brisket.

    On the consumer side....say you pay $5 a pound more for good brisket , beats the hell out of paying $15 for crap, right?
     

    toddnjoyce

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    I'd pay $20 a pound for brisket all day long, IF....IF.... it's good brisket. Considering what it takes to make good brisket, and the consequences of crappy on both sides of the counter, that's more than fair. Lot of time and money on the sellers side lost on a failed brisket.

    On the consumer side....say you pay $5 a pound more for good brisket , beats the hell out of paying $15 for crap, right?

    For $20/lb brisket, there’s gotta be a happy ending.

    I’ve had some high-dollar brisket. Most places the premium is based on a primary factor of the owner’s name and a secondary factor of very limited supply, resulting in artificial pressure to the market.

    Brisket is people’s food and should be priced appropriately; 20x cost is out of line in my opinion.

    Doesn’t mean your view is wrong; we just have different opinions.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    17 Oaks Ranch
    Up in Grapevine on business and had to make the trek down to North Main BBQ about 2 blocks N on North Main in Euless. Been eating there at least since the early 80's.

    I did not see the owner Mr Green and I asked. RIP Mr Green in your day it was some of the best Q in the US, rated in the top 10 BBQ joints many times, nation wide. Mr Green passed away at 91 last year.

    With his passing the days of hour waits in line to eat his Q are gone. I got their on a Fri eve and the place was near empty. In his day they made their own BBQ sauce and was great, today they buy it in gallon jugs and its sweet enough to make a Bee gag.

    The beans was clearly canned and not the homemade ones of Mr Green, so was the potato salad, more store bought stuff from Dallas Restaurant supply.

    The family still owns it and they were there working, and it was not $15 for all you could eat. The ribs were good, other than that the rest was the standard poor quality and cook of wannabe BBQ joints to be found across Texas. All told there were more family members there than customers.

    It was sad, knowing it was last meal there and I suspect that sooner rather than later there will be a sign on the door saying closed and For Sale. Family will come out ok as Mr Green wisely bought up the entire strip shopping center years as as his fame and business expanded into the entire strip center. I remember the days when you could sit there and see the Taxis dropping folks off from out of state that landed in DFW airport and asked a Taxi driver for the best Q in DFW.

    Goodbye Mr Green, you are missed.
     

    SloppyShooter

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    Apr 24, 2018
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    White Settlement, Texas
    For $20/lb brisket, there’s gotta be a happy ending.

    I’ve had some high-dollar brisket. Most places the premium is based on a primary factor of the owner’s name and a secondary factor of very limited supply, resulting in artificial pressure to the market.

    Brisket is people’s food and should be priced appropriately; 20x cost is out of line in my opinion.

    Doesn’t mean your view is wrong; we just have different opinions.

    Well if you can make brisket for $1 a pound, you're a magician. The fresh meat alone costs more. Then you have to have wood. Overhead. Even illegal aliens aren't going to work for free.

    @ $20 per pound is pretty much the going rate in this area anyway.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Well if you can make brisket for $1 a pound, you're a magician. The fresh meat alone costs more. Then you have to have wood. Overhead. Even illegal aliens aren't going to work for free.

    @ $20 per pound is pretty much the going rate in this area anyway.

    If you really want to go there, we need to break down all the profit margins since there’s about $2 profit in a large ice tea that sells for $2.29.

    I digress. Brisket cost is about $1/lb. Depending on the smoker, it’s a set it and forget it, doesn’t have to be minded smoker.

    I use Rudy’s as a gauge for break-even point for retail sales. Rudy’s sells brisket for ~$13/lb.

    To demand a premium of nearly 50%, it’s got to be worth it as the costs probably don’t vary that wildly.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    May 23, 2013
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    17 Oaks Ranch
    Well if you can make brisket for $1 a pound, you're a magician. The fresh meat alone costs more. Then you have to have wood. Overhead. Even illegal aliens aren't going to work for free.

    @ $20 per pound is pretty much the going rate in this area anyway.
    Ar $20 per lb BIG profit. Unless they are stupid they are getting brisket at a restaurant supply. While the price varies over time you can figure it's almost always under $3 lb. In fact I was over at the big one here in San Antonio few days ago (my company has an account there) and brisket was $2.31 lb by the case. I suspect if you are a BBQ joint you are buying more than a case at a time...I don't know where the price break is on cases but my guess 10 cases get you bulk pricing, around $2.19 per lb would be my guess. That said next week it could be more or less.

    If you use the general business model of 33% for cost of goods sold, 33% overhead (advertising, building, etc and 33% for labor costs, then at $20 lb they are making roughly $7 lb pre tax gross profit.

    When I studied Tax Law our Prof had us do a case study for the final exam. He has a list of bar restaurants in Dallas and you signed up to do their taxes for that year. NOTE, you did not do their taxes for them, you did it as if you were doing it for them. So you went in, intro'd yourself to the manager and took a seat at the bar where you could view the action. Then you guessed the food/beverage gross sales, overhead and labor costs. We had all semester to do this. You turned in the 1040 form and you grade was based upon your work. What you turned in was just and educated and observed guess, I got either an A or B for the course, forgot which. One of the most interesting things I did in college. To this day I set in some eatry and think in my mind just how profitable they are, lot of fun still.

    Most Q joints are barely profitable and one might note they go out of business quickly.
     
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