We brought the rain with us from Cork and it lashed down as we were driven out to the Salt Lick BBQ which is, as they (and probably Ned Flanders) would put it “a heck of a long way out yonder”. It is also in a dry county where the sale (but not consumption) of alcohol is illegal. I think many of my Irish readers have probably had some sort of aneurysm reading that last sentence. Imagaine trying to create a dry county in Ireland. Well maybe in Leitrim after the last person leaves. Joe kindly brought a cooler full of beer (which is the legal way to deal with it). He also pointed out that in some dry counties, the restaurants give you the booze for free but ask that you might take it into consideration in the gratuity. Where there is a will….
I predicted we would be the only patrons due to the horrendous weather. Nope, the place was jammed - on a wet monday night. That tells you how popular it really is. Joe told us that one one summer weekend they sold 5000 lbs of meat. I jest you not. My plan for tonight was to make some progress towards that 5000 number.
It’s a real rustic place that looks like a bunch of sheds clustered together. A lot of smoke has been generated here over the past many years:
This is not a politically correct part of the world. This sign was outside:
I immediately imagined people in wheelchairs being thrown out of fast-moving pick-up trucks.
Then their menu decided to insult everyone over the age of 60 (I think maybe they are joshing here):
I, like the last time, went with the family style (alone). This is $15.95 for ALL YOU CAN EAT. Just call me Homer:
“You want all three meats honey?”. “You betcha sweetie”.
Mmm, brisket:
Mmm, mmm, ribs and sausage:
Did I get seconds? Darn tootin I did!
The food was awesome. The brisket, oh dear god, how do they make it so succulent? Even the sides were great - slaw and potato salad. Cormac did point out rightly that a big pile of creamy mashed spuds would have made it totally perfect.
We asked about the cooking of the food. The brisket gets 14 hours, the ribs and sausage a lot less. This is the main prep area. I’m not sure if this smoker is for show or is really used:
It really is an incredible place doing the same very small set of fabulous food for many years. We could all learn from their focus. As I’m such a total geek, I had to buy some merchandise. The t-shirts are hilarious and I obviously had to get their triple back of hot sauce, dry rub and BBQ sauce. There’ll be smoke in Bandon soon:
This sign got me all excited until I remembered that nationwide does not mean Ireland. Damn. They will ship a cooked 5lb brisket in the US for $49.95.
What amazes me is the value for money. $15.95 for all you can eat of top quality food. I would love to see what this could be done for in Ireland.
A great night had by all and a long bloated trip back to the hotel.
Jack K may be the devil. The following morning we had a business breakfast in the office and he had arranged breakfast tacos. Oh no, I was still full from last night. Actually, oh yes. Eggs, bacon and cheese with chilli and salsa. Perks you up for sure. Then lunch; the evil swine gets BBQ from Rudy’s, whose byline is great “the worst BBQ in Texas”. This was also superb. Lunch:
And to round it all off, the spawn of satan takes us for dinner at a Surf n Turf joint called Trulucks. Great seafood and awesome steaks. I had a top chat with Timmy D about Food Franchises which might work in Ireland. Some of his ideas has me crying with laughter into my food.
I’ll be going back to Trulucks once I get my pants taken out. Our kind hosts rolled us back to the hotel. It is now the following morning and I don’t think I’ll be eating for a week. I shudder to think what Jack has arranged for breakfast today. Beef sushi? [tags]BBQ, Salt Lick, Trulucks, Rudys, Texas[/tags]
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