Toms Smokehouse

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 3

Tom’s Smokehouse
3125 Bellmead Drive
Waco Texas 76705
(254)-799-2345
M-F 10:30 to 5:30 **hours may change upon owners whim**


So today my dad felt good enough to go to lunch with me and he wanted to try out this BBQ joint out in Bellmead, he had heard of it in the past, but never made a trip out there. Originally we were goin’ to Food For Thought, but I decided I needed some real food, not some organic vegan stuff… at least, not today, today I needed some real protein.

So we find the restaurant, but parking was exactly easy, it was a full house, front side and back. Luckily one opened up while driving around the block. So we park and head in. Its is fairly crowded and we are greeted by a guy behind the counter. Real nice guy and friendly, kinda funny. He tells us the daily special and hands us a menu to glace over. They have a nice variety to choose from, 7 different meats, 9 sides, potatoes, sandwiches and couple salads. I ordered the “Pig Out” Plate, which is 3 meats and two sides. I picked brisket, ribs and chicken for the meat, cole slaw and mashed potatoes for the sides. So we tell we get our drinks and take a seat, waiting for them to bring us our food. After sitting for a while, waiting, there is a nice and steady flow of people coming in… which is generally a good sign. The place had a overall great atmosphere. The guy behind the counter, probably the owner was very friendly. Walking around checking up on customers and striking up conversations.

Finally our food comes, my dad got the brisket plate and well my plate was massive. Came with a big ole chicken breast, a nice size rib and a few slices of brisket, along with a nice size serving of mashed potatoes (w/ gravy) and cole slaw. So the first thing I try is the mashed potatoes… they were alright, nothing really special about them, but they were still good. Next I tried the slaw, I loved the slaw. It has a slightly creamy dressing, rather sweet and the veggies were fresh and crunchy. I could’ve eaten a full bowl of this stuff. Then I tried the brisket, I don’t think they put a rub on it (if they do, it is very light) it had a decent smoke ring and subtle aroma, was fork tender and had a nice overall flavor. Was a little dry at times (like much lean brisket can be), but nothing a little bbq sauce couldn’t resolve. Speaking of sauce, they serve it in empty Louisiana jalapeno bottles, it isn’t a thick bbq sauce and it a little sweet. I liked it. The rib was good, could peel most of it just right off the bone (but probably could’ve been cooked a little longer), had a nice smoky flavor and covered with sauce… was pretty good eats. But my favorite meat was the chicken. They clearly smoked the chicken for at least park of the cooking, as it not only had a smoky aroma to it, but you could also taste the smoke from the skin to the meat. The skin was nicely seasoned, well smoked and crunchy, and I love chicken skin. The meat was juicy and tender, had a nice smoke flavor to it as well and it went great with the sauce.

After eating all that, believe it or not I still had room for some dessert. So I ordered their blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Was a great way to end the meal.

Over all I enjoyed the meal and will deff go back to try some of their other meats as well as their other sides (tater salad and mac specifically) and potatoes.
So if you are ever in the Bellmead area, give them a try.

I DID WHAT?

What Some May Find Unusual

Part 1


So one thing I love to do is try new things. New rub mixtures, marinades, sauces, and such.. and then try them out on family and friends.. to see if they are worth doing again, or if they should be buried for life. Well, actually all my rubs turn out pretty good (those are hard to mess up), but the marinades on the other hand…..ya. ummm. not. so. much.
Here are four of my most memorable experiences: pineapple teriyaki beef jerky, grape stir fried chicken, Original Smirnoff Malt Pork tender loin, Goldschlager and root beer baked chicken. Now… you try to guess which were the hits and which were the misses.

Done guessing?
Here are the answers:

1. Pineapple Teriyaki Beef Jerky: Sounds odd at first, and catches most people off guard. But its been done for centuries in oriental stir fries, so why not jerky? Throw in some crushed pineapple, unsweetened pineapple juice, half a bottle teriyaki sauce and some seasoning, let it sit over night then dehydrate. Sounds simple, smells very odd and tasted great. Just about everyone that tried it loved it, even those who were very weary at first. The only people who didn’t care much for it, were those who don’t like sweet jerky, and this, unlike traditional spicy or peppery jerky was rather sweet. Not only was the flavor nice and subtle, with a little sweetness, the juice helped break down some of the fat in the meat, making it more tender and less chewy so it didn’t kill your jaw like some do. Verdict = Hit

2. Grape kool-aid stir fried chicken: Chicken stir fry = Awesome. Grape Kool-aid = awesome. Chicken stir fry + grape kool aid =? So I was bored one day and in the mood to try something out of the ordinary. I knew I had some raw chicken in the fridge and I wanted to cook it later that night. So I prowl through my fridge and come across some grape kool-aid that I made earlier in the week. Thought to myself, what the hell… WHY NOT? So I throw the chicken in a bag, pour in some aid and add some seasoning, let it sit for a couple hours before I start dinner. So prep time is upon us, I take the chicken out of the bag… its rather bluish now… kinda cool looking. So, now how to cook it? bake it… take too long. Grill it… too cold out side. Stir fry… simple and fast. So I whip up some simple stir fry seasoning and coat the chicken, heat up my wok and toss it in. Then of course gotta add some veggies and a little bit of soy sauce. Smells kinda good, definitely not bad. So the stir is done, the rice is done, and rolls are done. Time to eat. MY mom took a couple bites Yep… we ordered a pizza. It didn’t work.. not at all. Now when I cook, she always asks what Im doing, to make sure I dont try to pull any more"funny stuff" tests on her. Verdict = Miss

3. Original Smirnoff Malt Pork Tender Loin: I like to marinate my loins to add flavor and keep them juicy throughout the cooking. So once again its my day to cook, I got a loin in the fridge and Ive done used several types of beers already in the past… but I have a Malt left over from a party, so what the hell why not give it a try. The original have a sweet, slightly lemony taste to them. IT could work (and the alcohol will help tenderize the meat). So I through the loin, the malt and some garlic and lemon pepper in the bag to marinate for a few hours. Now time to cook it, I could either grill it or roast it. I decide to roast it. So I go over to the fridge to take it out, what was once a pinkish toned slab of meat is now ghostly white. Hmmm, that’s interesting. But theres no turning back now. I throw it in a pan, sprinkle a little more lemon pepper and some paprika on it, then toss it in the oven to cook. Time to eat. The loin, was juicy, flavorful- not to sweet with a nice lemony taste with the kick of pepper. Verdict = Hit


4. Goldschlager and Root Beer Baked Chicken: One of my favorite alcohols to take shots of and smells awesome and Root beer is one of my favorite sodas.. Ive never had them together as a drink, so Im not realy sure where I got the idea to combind the two for a marinade. What I do remember is I had come from a party earlier that week and had less than fourth a bottle of schlager left over and wanted to use it up. But I didn’t want to drink it nor waste it down the sink. So instead I thought, hey use it on some chicken! But I couldn’t use it straight up, its too powerful for that, so I had to dilute it with something… why not a soda. I was out of Dr. Pepper and coke, but had and A&W RB left. So “You’re it”! So I throw it all together with some chicken breasts, let them sit for a couple hours. After words I take some ruffles potato chips, cursh them up and sprinkle some seasonings in, stir it up. I take my chicken, dip them in a egg bath and then coat them with the crunched chips. I place them on a rank and bake up. The chicken comes out nice and juicy, the crust is nice and crunchy with a nice slightly spicy sweet flavor, while the chicken has a distinct cinnamon flavor with a hint of root beer. All combined… verdict = Hit

Part 2 will be coming soon, and Ill throw in some more of my failures next time.

My First Brisket

Some Of My Own Bar-B-Que Experience


So along with trying Bar-B-Que around Texas, I’ve been practicing BBQing some of my own meats. The last 3 weeks I have smoked a couple of briskets, a couple of pork tender loins and a couple racks of 3 ½ down ribs.

The briskets I cooked up pretty much for a small family reunion. We had between 20-30 members coming, so I picked up two 6 pound briskets (trimmed). So a couple nights before I put a fairly decent amount of seasoning on them both, and let them sit in the fridge to “marinate”
The day of the BBQ I got up at 7am, got cleaned up and headed over to my uncles (where we were throwing the get together). I had brought my smoker over there earlier in the week. So I get there, and we set up the smoker and start the chimney. Using mesquite lump coal, which Ive never used before, we were in for a show. Once it started to catch, sparks were flying several feet high, a lot like those cone firework things you get for the 4th of July… were a little worried there for a bit that it might light a tree on fire. Once it settled down, we added it to the smoker, got the temp to level out then relaxed for most of the day. Listened to Eric Clapton’s new CD, worked on a doggy door for my cousin and played a couple games of washers (kicking my uncles butt of course) until the family started to show up. The doggy door is actually a funny story… my cousins new dog has been breaking into his house during the day and climbing all over his tables and furniture, even though he has blocked the door with a chair and heavy books and what not. But that’s a story best told by him. So while hanging out with the family and watching the Cowboys v Vikings game I would check the heat and smoke levels and adjust properly, only opened the actual smoker twice to look at the briskets and calculate time (since my aunt wanted them done around 5pm).

So I pull them off the pit, they look wonderful and smelled AWESOME! BUT as any chef knows, you never just cut them or any meat right away. You gotta let them rest, so the juices flooow back and settle. Man that was hard to do, the entire house was just fulled of the smokey goodness aroma. Though the horrific playing of the Cowboys did help distract us for a bit, as rage and anger filled our eyes.

Once it has rested enough, its time to slice and dice. But, yes another BUT, I forget that my uncle doest keep exactly sharp knives. lol. Thank god the briskets were nice and tender, but the crust wasn’t exactly the easiest part to get through… but we managed. The smoke ring on the brisket was perfect, the crust was nice and flavorful, the smokiness flavor in the brisket was just right. The only problem was that on the second brisket, I slightly overcooked park of the lean section.
But besides that, they were pretty damn good, and for my first time smoking a brisket out side of work and by myself, I was very happy with the results. And seeing as how most of the 2 briskets disappeared, the family seemed to enjoy it too.

I plan on doing a couple more soon for some friends and family, I’m gonna change up the rub some and add more apple wood to the first stage of smoking… now that I can get it in bulk and not just stupid chips. (and Im sure that story will be much more entertaining, I just was bored so I decided to type this lame excuse for a blog post up).

Old School Detail Bar-B-Que

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 2

Old Fashion Bar-B-Que
900 West Waco Drive
Waco, TX 76701




So today I slept in and watched a documentary on Texas Bar-B-Que, after all that and getting cleaned up, I went by Academy to pick up some wood (mesquite and apple) and new boots for work. After finishing my errands, I was hungry and wanted some lunch. But I wanted something new to try… I could try a couple of Mexican joints, and one odd seafood, but I was in the mood for BBQ and I remember seeing one on Waco Drive on the ride back from a Shakira concert a month back. So I headed that way and finally came upon it, only to find out they weren’t open at the time being… or at least that’s what I gathered from the old guy standing outside. So I turned around and decided to go home to eat a sandwich… when low and behold I spotted another BBQ joint… so I pulled a quick Uie and turned into the parking lot.

When I got out of my car and could smell the awesomeness of BBQ smoke… made me very happy. When you walk up to it, you’ll notice it pretty much is a hole in the wall… but that’s the great part about it. It has a area where they smoke the meat, you can tell by the blacked top of the wall and the small chimney pipe, they have a ordering area and a small place to sit and eat out side… if you wish. There were two guys there before me, one of whom said he could smell their smoke across the street while getting gas and just had to stop by for some chow. Now that’s just plain awesome.

So why they are placing their orders, Im glancing over the menu. I already knew what I wanted, so I didn’t read too much on it. But they do carry the classics- brisket, ribs, sausage, links and chopped beef. Can get individual plates, or 2/3 meat combos, sandwiches and family packs. They have 3 sides- yellow potato salad, beans and chips and then every plate comes with 2 sides and bread.

So its finally my turn to order, I choose the 2 meat combo with brisket and ribs. The guy working the window is real nice and easy going, wouldn’t mind talking to him more next time I go. Get their back story on the BBQ and what not.

So I get my food and head on home. I noticed the meat is just covered in sauce and the YPS looks amazing. The first thing I try is the potato salad, cause it looks really good. And it was, its probably my favorite YPS so far- its creamy with some chucks, sweet, not too much mustard, can taste some may, and they didn’t over do it with the pimentos or onions… as there were almost none. It was really good. Next I tried the brisket.. which isn’t sliced like most places. Its kinds just hacked up and threw in there, like they used to do in the older times. It was juicy and tender, had a very nice subtle flavor…. could tell it was fresh off the pit. The ribs were short pork ribs, I got about 3 of them.. and they were cooked to perfection. The meat just peeled off the bones with extreme ease and had a nice smoky flavor. If they used a rub on either meats, it’s a very subtle one that was easily masked by the sauce. Next time, Ill have to ask for sauce on the side so I can try it dry (and ill update y’all when I do that). The sauce was a vinegar based BBQ sauce, and was very sweet. Im usually not a fan of the vinegar based, but I really enjoyed this one and kept using my bread and brisket to mop it up with The plate also came with beans, but I’m allergic to them and too be honest not a fan of beans in the first place (so even without allergies I would eat them… haha). But I had my dad try them, he said they were decent, and had a bit of a pepper bite to them. He compared them to bushes baked beans with more bite. This entire meal only cost me 8.50, and I didn’t even finish it all… they piled on the meat.

Over all I really enjoyed it and will deff be going back to try more of their meats and for more of their delicious potato salad. So stop on by one day for lunch, they open at 11am and tell’em DavieG sent you by…. haha.

Hearty Food and a Hearty Pint

Barnett's Pub
420 Franklin Avenue
Waco, TX, 76701
254-714-1356
http://www.barnettspub.com
And can be found on Facebook



So after a day of running around looking for wood to BBQ with and then sanding & painting my smoker, I decided to finally hit up Barnett’s Pub for some grub and a pint.

I had been to Barnett’s once before for a friends birthday. It’s a nice little place on Franklin, with a little outdoor seating area and a dart board in the back. Currently all they serve is beer right now (as of 11/04/10), but I hear they will soon be serving Top Shelf liquors.

For food they have a small and simple menu, appetizers, some heartier items and dessert.
While there I try a new beer, a Hearty Oat Stout, recommended by my friends Casey and then place an order for their Home made Shepherd’s Pie and their Guinness 4 cheese sauce on the side. The beer was fine, fairly mellow, with a slight bitter aftertaste. Not bad, and I’m not usually a stout fan.

After hangin’ out a bit with Casey and sippin’ on my beer, my food is ready to dine down on. The Shepherd’s pie comes out in a while large gratin dish, and both are piping hot. The pie consists of ground beef, carrots, onions, peas and topped with mashed potatoes and green onions. The potatoes are fresh and creamy but with a flaky top from being in the oven. They had a nice mellow flavor and topped the dish nicely. The meat is flavorful, well seasoned, tender and juicy, while the veggies have a nice flavor and good texture, not all dry and bland. Wasn’t a big fan of the peas, but I just hate peas. lol The cheese sauce I had ordered on the side incase I wasn’t a fan, but I ended up really liking it. The guy who makes it also tends bar there. Told me a little bit about it while I was eating, he makes it fresh every day. Using 4 different cheese and Guinness beer. It had a nice consistency, you could actually taste the beer and the cheese flavors mixed well. I finished it all, minus most of the peas ;) and was stuffed. Great dish for this slightly cool and wet weather…. warms your body, heart and even soul.

But I still had enough room for their Bread pudding… oh yeah. I actually usually don’t go for dessert, but Id heard a lot of good things about this one, so I had to give it a try and besides who can pass up home made Bread pudding! Its comes out in a little dish, it’s a pretty nice helping. Smelled awesome, you could smell the cinnamon and freshness of the ingredients, and it looked just as awesome. The pudding had a great flavor, just the right amount of seasoning and “sauce” and nicely sweet. It was warm and delicate and creamy in texture with just the right amount of raisins. Was the best bread pudding Id ever had and will definitely be getting it again.

Next time I go back I’m going to try a new beer and their Club sandwich, which Casey told me is pretty good. Over all I had a great dining experience and good company.

So if you are in the down town area and are looking for a place for some hearty food and a pint, check out Barnett’s Pub.