Bar-b-Q?

[Quality Start Machine]

Went to T-Bob's in Des Plaines. The pulled pork tasted OK, but it was a little soggy.

Not worth a special trip, but if you're in the area it's better than Boston Market or any of the other stuff around there.

[CT III]

Shocked to find that this thread has been dormant for this long.

Anyway, for you Loop persons, Blackwood BBQ at 307 W. Lake is very good.  I've been going for breakfast - the breakfast bowl consists of eggs, potatoes and your choice of pulled pork or brisket and whatever sauce you want.  The meat is damn good a pretty good value at $4.00 since it's filling enough for me to split in half and have for breakfast and lunch (note: Yeti's mileage may vary).

Haven't been there for lunch, but as it's the same meat in sandwich form, I'm going to assume it's good.

http://blackwoodbbq.com/

[Quality Start Machine]

Shocked to find that this thread has been dormant for this long.

Anyway, for you Loop persons, Blackwood BBQ at 307 W. Lake is very good.  I've been going for breakfast - the breakfast bowl consists of eggs, potatoes and your choice of pulled pork or brisket and whatever sauce you want.  The meat is damn good a pretty good value at $4.00 since it's filling enough for me to split in half and have for breakfast and lunch (note: Yeti's mileage may vary).

Haven't been there for lunch, but as it's the same meat in sandwich form, I'm going to assume it's good.

http://blackwoodbbq.com/

Had the breakfast (CT is right, it's a metric Tonkful)  at the one on Clinton. Not a good decision if you work in a place with a no-naptime policy, even if you don't eat the whole damn thing.*

*Maybe it's just me, but reheated eggs are probably worse than the shit they serve in prison.

[Quality Start Machine]

bump.

I had the privilege of standing in line for an hour at Franklin's BBQ in Austin - which, by all accounts, was about 2 hours less than usual. If you are ever in Austin, and don't eat here, you're doing it wrong.

It was BBQ church. I have since bought Aaron Franklin's book, and it's literally a textbook on smoking meat, particularly brisket. Sadly, my space limitations make an offset smoker unfeasible. But I learned more about picking out and trimming brisket than I thought was possible to know. And I'm hoping this summer I can up my brisket game.

The guys who own Bat 17 in Evanston are going to open a Texas-style BBQ place around the corner, in what used to be Dixie Kitchen. Without a place for a huge wood-burning smoker (Franklin builds his out of 1000 gallon propane tanks, with a 250 gallon propane tank as the firebox) and a plentiful supply of oak, they're going to miss the mark.

[BigDrinky]

If you can find Franklin's show on PBS, it is a pretty interesting look at the techniques (and enough to discourage me from ever trying the same thing at home due to the equipment/time commitments).

[Quality Start Machine]

If you can find Franklin's show on PBS, it is a pretty interesting look at the techniques (and enough to discourage me from ever trying the same thing at home due to the equipment/time commitments).

The funny thing is, his approach is pretty minimalist - salt & pepper for rub, oak fire, basic offset smoker design. Nothing exotic or complicated. You could probably get away with a Traeger offset smoker (or something similar) and oak pellets and be very pleased with the results. Hell, I'm expecting the next brisket to go into my Masterbuilt will be the best I've ever done.

[Uncouth Sloth]

If you can find Franklin's show on PBS, it is a pretty interesting look at the techniques (and enough to discourage me from ever trying the same thing at home due to the equipment/time commitments).

The funny thing is, his approach is pretty minimalist - salt & pepper for rub, oak fire, basic offset smoker design. Nothing exotic or complicated. You could probably get away with a Traeger offset smoker (or something similar) and oak pellets and be very pleased with the results. Hell, I'm expecting the next brisket to go into my Masterbuilt will be the best I've ever done.

I've done tons of pork shoulder, ribs, wings and even inch-thick ribeyes in the Masterbuilt. Every time I try brisket though, it's a clowncar shitshow. The fat doesn't render down but the outside gets overcharred. Any help is greatly appreciated

[Quality Start Machine]

If you can find Franklin's show on PBS, it is a pretty interesting look at the techniques (and enough to discourage me from ever trying the same thing at home due to the equipment/time commitments).

The funny thing is, his approach is pretty minimalist - salt & pepper for rub, oak fire, basic offset smoker design. Nothing exotic or complicated. You could probably get away with a Traeger offset smoker (or something similar) and oak pellets and be very pleased with the results. Hell, I'm expecting the next brisket to go into my Masterbuilt will be the best I've ever done.

I've done tons of pork shoulder, ribs, wings and even inch-thick ribeyes in the Masterbuilt. Every time I try brisket though, it's a clowncar shitshow. The fat doesn't render down but the outside gets overcharred. Any help is greatly appreciated

Since your heat source is coming from underneath, if you're doing a flat, put it in cap side down. In mine, (a 30 in cabinet smoker) I need to cut the brisket in half, so I'll put the point under the flat since it's thicket and fattier - it can run interference.

Make sure you get through the stall before you crutch the brisket, and it's pretty much good to go once the meat temperature hits around 200.

I also can't recommend Jack Daniels oak enough for brisket.

[Canadouche]

There are a couple of legitimately good BBQ joints in Toronto these days. Adamson's BBQ, which is pretty close to my neck of the woods, and Cherry Street BBQ, which is within walking distance from Skydome. (Albeit, a long walk.)