Posse favorites: Boudin at the Baby Back Shak

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I always struggle with what meat to order at the Baby Back Shak. Their baby back ribs are the best is Dallas, bar none. The smoked chicken is among the best I've ever tasted and the other meats follow in this tradition of excellence.

We've written several times over the past year about the Shak, the unofficial headquarters of the Texas BBQ Posse. What I've neglected to mention is their boudin, one of the best and most unusual sides, or Shaksessories, you can get at a Texas BBQ joint.

By definition, boudin is a Cajun sausage stuffed with pork and rice. According to Louisiana food historians, it's one of those food products that originated in frugality; the rice was meant to stretch the meat. Now, it's a unique and delicious treat all its own.

Depending on what you order at the Shak, a sandwich or a plate, you get either one or two sides respectively. It's hard to pass on the Shak beans, among the best BBQ beans on the planet. The green beans take me back to my grandma's kitchen. The buttered corn is to die for. And the potato salad and cole slaw ain't bad either.

We eat at the Shak at least once a week and sometimes twice. When it comes time to order a side, nine times out of ten I'm ordering the boudin. Once you've tried it you will too.....

(Photo by Chris Wilkins)

The secret to a great brisket is in the wood

There's a really good article on the wood and barbeque on page one of The Dallas Morning News this morning. Writer Erinn Connor takes a look at Arnold Brothers Forest Products, who supplies wood to most of the barbeque joints around the region.

Texas BBQ Posse member Marshall Cooper is quoted in the article. He's been a long-time customer of Arnold Brothers and sums up the importance of good wood in the story.

"A lot of people who don't do this don't realize the wood is really important," Marshall said. "The smoke gives the meat the flavor."

Click here to read Erinn's article in the Morning News. Here's a video on Arnold Brothers, shot by Dallas Morning News photojournalist Nathan Hunsinger.

(Photo by Chris Wilkins)

BBQ and blue highways - Just follow the smoke

The North Texas BBQ Tour schedule had three bonified stops, based on reviews by Daniel Vaughn, aka the BBQ Snob. Since last November, we’ve taken four barbecue tours, and driven a total of more than 1,100 miles, from Central Texas to the Oklahoma border.

We didn’t plan for that horse-trailer-turned-barbeque-joint on Highway 377 north of Whitesboro, Big Ronnie's Texas Pit Bar-B-Que. Damn, those ribs were pretty good. We’d work them off at the planned exercise/horseshoes break on the shores of Lake Texoma. If that’s possible when you exercise with a cigar in one hand and a cold beer in the other.

Nor did we plan to stop at the intersection of Hwy 82 and Gibbons Road, as we hustled to make closing time at the OO Smokehouse in Sherman. Lemontt and Sonya have built their dream at that corner, The Bone on the Grill.

In the end, I’m beginning to understand that the highlights of a tour are the unexpected stops. Not the places we read reviews about on Yelp or Urbanspoon.

I’d like to plot out our next tour with no known destinations, just a tank full of gas and a cooler full of beer. Of course we’d have the horseshoes in the trunk for an exercise break. Follow the blue highways and look for the smoke. This barbeque thing is really starting to make sense to me……

UPDATE - From posse member Marshal Cooper: " Just spoke with someone that drives to and has frequented Big Ronnie's
every Saturday on his way to the lake for a good while. He told me they packed up lock stock and barrel and vanished sometime last week!"

(Photos by Chris Wilkins)

BBQ Signs of our times

You can always get an idea of the character of a BBQ joint by the sign out front. The more down home the sign, the more amazing your meal will likely be. Here are some signs from our recent North Texas BBQ Tour. Also a couple from posse member Irwin Thompson, shot as he drove though east Texas last week.

Big Ronnie's Texas Pit Bar-B-Que, Whitesboro

The Bone on the Grill, Sherman

OO Smokehouse, Sherman

Clark's Outpost, Tioga

Pitt Stop Bar-B-Que, Lufkin

Lindsey's BBQ, Alto

(Photos by Chris Wilkins, Mike Gibson & Irwin Thompson)

OO Smokehouse - The end of the BBQ trail

Our marathon five-stop North Texas BBQ Tour a couple of Saturdays ago ended at OO Smokehouse in Sherman. We cruised into the lot a little before 7pm, hoping to make closing time.

The OO had gotten a top 50 ranking in Texas Monthly magazine, so expectations were high among the nine surviving posse members.

Despite the fact they were sold out of ribs, we were impressed. Here's some feedback from a couple of posse members.

Marshall Cooper: "This place was an icon of an authentic Texas BBQ Stand; no dining room or restrooms, you know, tailgate in the parking lot on the hood of your car or bed of your truck! The sliced beef plate was really good, heavy smoked, tender, but maybe a little dry. No detectable rub. Definitely ranks with some of the best brisket around. As for ribs, they ran out. What does that tell you?"

David Guzman: "By the time we got to OO Smokehouse I was already full. I ordered four pork tamales and two pork stuffed jalapenos. I loved the stuffed jalapenos, they were delicious. The BBQ Tamales, a far cry from my grandmothers homemade pork tamales, were also very tasty. It's nice when someone takes a common food and gives it a little flair.They were excellent."

Postscript: I went back to the OO last weekend around noon to sample the ribs. As expected they were excellent, cooked perfectly and worth the trip.

OO Smokehouse, 200 S. Montgomery, Sherman. Open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

(Photos by Chris Wilkins)

Unplanned stop on the BBQ trail

Since our North Texas BBQ Tour last weekend, I've had a hard time explaining the discovery of The Bone on the Grill, located on Hwy. 82, around six miles west of Sherman. I turn to Texas BBQ Posse expert Marshall Cooper to describe this inspiring stop on the BBQ trail, as follows:

"This place deserves first place in sexy Texas drive-up appeal for all roadside BBQ joints! The two attached trailers with the attached spongy deck had outstanding views of bordering ranches with vast spreads of producing cornfields and oil wells. A Texas Classic! The BBQ pit was nothing more than two side-by-side 55-gallon drum grills available at Home Depot for $49.95!

The grilled baby back pork ribs were very meaty with falling off the bone near tender meat. The taste of the meat without sauce was way below average, as they were not smoked. However, they were presented with a secret sauce that smothered and drowned the ribs to a non-traditional flavor. Something between an Asian Jerk Hawaiian flavor but not salty or sweet, you figure it out because we couldn't! You were given the choice of mild or hot and we chose hot. The flavors were really intense and good.

If you are looking for traditional hickory slow-smoked BBQ this place does not have it - but try the place anyway for something new to experience! They deserve a first place in creativeness!"

This is one of the most amazing eccentric BBQ joints the posse members have ever seen, both in appearance and menu. Don't forget about the homemade ice cream pie, that alone is worth the drive. In fact, I'm heading back there again this weekend.......

The Bone on the Grill, 4933 Gibbons Road (at Highway 82), west of Sherman. Open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.




(Photos by Michael Ainsworth & Chris Wilkins)