Branding the BBQ

CLOSED

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 8


Branding Iron Bar-B-Que
514 Ave C. (Hwy 6)
Valley Mills, Texas 76689
254-932-5577
Hrs: Tuesday- Sunday 6am-8pm



Bout once or twice a week I go out to my ranch to tend to the donkeys, tend to the property and sometimes just chill. Just about every time I head back from there I eat lunch or dinner at some place in Valley Mills. After my last trip out there I noticed a new BBQ joint had opened…. but alas they were closed, so decided to head back up there on my day off with my father to give the place a try.

It’s a nice small place, not hard to find. Big ole smoker in the back, looks like they took an old propane tank or tanker and modified it into a smoker…. if it works, it works. That’s one of the beauties of BBQing. The inside is nice and clean, pretty friendly atmosphere… a big part of that is the small community. So after glancing around the joint, I take a gander at their menu. They sale meat by the 1/4lb, ribs by the half or full slab, CFS, Chicken tenders, something called the “BBQ Trash Pak” (seems similar to Viteks Gutpack), Burgers, kids meals, plenty of sides and desserts of the day. They also serve the usual American breakfast items.

I decide to get a 1/4lb Brisket, 1/4lb Pork Loin, yellow potato salad, cole slaw and butter milk pie. My dad orders a half rack of ribs, slaw and potato salad. Both with sweet tea of course.

So you place your order, pay up, they give ya a number, get yo drink and take a seat. After a little while they bring you your food on a big ole tray covered in parchment paper…. kinda like in the ole days. With a side of pickles, red onions and bread. First thing I notice is the brisket and the loin…. both have a good smoke ring…. but look really dry, as if they had been sitting under a heat lap for a while. The ribs on the other other hand look pretty awesome. So I try both the brisket and the pork loin first… and they were most definitely dry and really couldn’t taste much because of that. Im sure they would been much better cut off fresh. Next I try the ribs, the meat falls right off the bones, its juicy and it has a great crust formed from the rub and smoke. Some of the best ribs Ive had from all BBQ joints I’ve visited. The owner must’ve been proud of them too, cause while we were eating, he did the rounds visiting the customers and while at talking to us he asked us our thoughts on the ribs… and nothing else on our plate. The slaw, not to fond of… was rather dry, all I could taste was the cabbage. Blah. On the other hand the yellow potato salad was very good. Nice and creamy, with chunks of potatoes, sweet and just the right amount of mustard flavoring. Last but not least, I tried a slice of their home made butter milk pie. One of my favorite pies and one of the simplest to make. I loved it, was great, sweet, buttery, creamy texture and fresh…. just like a butter milk pie should.

The owner seemed real nice. Like a good owner does, he made the rounds chatting it up with the customers, bringing out the food, cleaning up some… staying alive.

Over all, it was a decent experience. I will deff go back to try it out again… see if I get the same results on the brisket and to try a couple of their other items on the menu. So if you’re in the VM area, go ahead and give them a try.