I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxiously awaiting the opening of Back Door BBQ.I had been following their progress for months. I had also seen the list of BBQ Cathedrals they had trekked to in Texas. To learn from some of the best pitmasters on the planet.
I had also seen some things that left me wondering why they made those trips to Texas and despite their reassuring comments to have faith in them. I was honestly beginning to feel a little trepidation.
When you go to Back Door BBQ you don't have to take the name literally. There is a front door but the better parking is in the back.
You are also greeted by the smell of smoke coming from the mini-logs, some people call them pellets, that Back Door BBQ uses in their Fast Eddy Cookshack smoker. One of the sources of my trepidation.
Whether you come in the back door, or the front door, you will place your order at the front counter. There are large, easy to read, menu boards overhead. They also have regular menus at the counter for those that can't look up and read while they are waiting in line.
Back Door offers some items you don't find at most Oklahoma City Q-raunts. The two that stand out the most are pork belly and portabella mushrooms...... Ummmm... Yeah, I just said portabella mushrooms in a blog about BBQ. I don't think it will cause Hell to freeze over or anything but.... Mushrooms?
They also offer salads and burgers for people that just like smelling smoke but don't really like eating meat cooked in it.
I went with the 3 Meat Dinner.... Spareribs, bologna, and brisket ordered moist. They offer it as fatty or lean. Those of us that make BBQ know a fatty as ground pork sausage, sometimes stuffed and sometimes not, but at Back Door it's moist brisket.
For my sides I chose smoked jalapenos and creamed corn. The meal also came with two pieces of white bread which are not pictured. I'm fine with just white bread. It doesn't have to be toasted. It's just the one sided toast that makes me go off on a Lewis Black type rant.
The brisket appeared to have been sliced from the middle of the brisket from the crease of fat down the middle. This meant I had a little of the flat from under the point and some of the point. It had a nice crust and a nice smoke ring but smoke rings are just for appearance, not flavor.
The brisket had a mild rub on it. I picked up a few hints of pepper but for the most part the flavor of the meat came through well. I did not pick up a lot of smoke flavor. Unfortunately my slice of brisket was overcooked. The part from the point was still moist enough for me to eat but I was dipping the part from the flat in sauce to add some moisture.
The pork spareribs were nice, big, meaty, untrimmed, ribs. The color was decent. Slightly hammy looking but didn't have a hammy taste. They had a good smoke flavor and a nice rub. Unfortunately....... These were also overcooked.
The bologna was pretty good but you know what I say..... Well you do if you've read any of my previous blogs. If you haven't, I've always said no one should be able to screw up smoked bologna.
The creamed corn was tasty. The smoked jalapenos were.... Well they were jalapenos.
I tried 4 of the 5 and my wife tried the 5th. I'll start with the Classic, which was my least favorite, and honestly didn't taste like any BBQ sauce I had eaten before. So my definition of Classic must vary.
The Hot, which would be closer to what I consider classic, wasn't overbearingly hot and I enjoyed it quite a bit on the brisket.
I put the Mustard on my ribs and it complemented the pork well. I also tried it with the bologna because mustard and bologna go together in my world.
The Espresso was my favorite. I thought it might work well with the brisket, because some people rub briskets with coffee, and I was right. It went very well with the brisket.
My wife said she liked the Sweet.... So I'd rate 4 of the 5 sauces highly and I know they are house recipes. So even though I did not like the Classic they get kudos for the sauces.
Now I'm sure at least one of you wondered why the witty title has the (Part 1) in it. No, it wasn't you. It was that person about 200 miles from where you are, but trust me. They did notice it and wonder why. Possibly out loud.
Well the reason why is because even though this visit left me underwhelmed. This was the first day of business for Back Door BBQ. So I'm not going to expect everything to be perfect. And all in all it wasn't terrible but as of this visit I can only give it my "I'd drive across town to eat it again" award.
I also want to go back and try the pulled pork, and pork belly, that I just didn't have the appetite to sample today.
So in the coming days, weeks, probably not months. I'll be sneaking back in the Back Door BBQ, or maybe the front door, giving the food another try, and writing (Part 2). Until then go and form your own opinion. Just in case I'm wrong.
Click here to read Part 2
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