THE ONLY THING STICKY AT MAPLE'S IS THE SMOKER

I've never kept it a secret that I'm a fan of Central Texas style brisket. I cook my briskets at home using that style (meat seasoned with salt and pepper and smoked with oak and pecan wood) and heaven forbid I ever end up on death row. My last meal will include brisket from Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX and a bottle of Big Red... But let's hope that's not how my story ends.

Anyway... I was pretty excited when I heard a new place was opening in the Midtown District of Oklahoma City that was going to bring Central Texas style BBQ to a town dominated by Kansas City style BBQ... Not that there is anything wrong with KC style but it's not my personal choice for a death row meal.

2016 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR

Well we are a little behind with the 2016 version of the Oklahoma City Broken Rib Tour but better late than never I hope.

Nothing has changed from the previous two years except for a couple of judges and a few new locations. As I've always said in the past. This is not intended to be a "Best of" list. I'm not about telling you who makes the best BBQ. I'm about telling you which BBQ tastes the best to me. You and I may have varying ideas on what makes great BBQ and I'm not vain or snobbish enough to claim to know what's best. I just know what I like and my volunteer carnivore rib eaters are instructed to score each slab of rib based on what they like.

2015 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR

Well after four weekends of sampling ribs at 16  Oklahoma City area Q-raunts. The 2015 Oklahoma City Broken Rib Tour is over and the results have been compiled.

Let me start by saying that this is not intended to be a "Best of" list. I'm not about telling you who makes the best BBQ. I'm about telling you which BBQ tastes the best to me. You and I may have varying ideas on what makes great BBQ and I'm not vain or snobbish enough to claim to know what's best. I just know what I like.

A NEW BEGINNING AND A GRAND OPENING

I had first heard of the Double D's Smoke & Soul BBQ truck about a year ago but had been unable to find it. Then one day while I was out trying a new hotdog place, yes I eat food other than BBQ, I noticed it parked near 17th and Portland in an old gas station parking lot. I also noticed people there working on a new building out back and on the gas station.

After posting about the trailer on my Facebook Page I was notified by a fellow Q-aholic that they would be serving from that location on the weekends.

SNAPSHOT: BACK DOOR BARBECUE 08-25-14

I was in the mood for some Q so I decided to give Back Door BBQ another try and see if they had improved any over my previous visits.

I went with the 3 meat sampler, which with a drink is over $20, and I chose the moist brisket and pork belly, because I had been disappointed in both on previous visits, and ribs, because they had done well in the OKC Rib Tour earlier in the year.

I'LL DO THE CURLY SHUFFLE FOR SOME MOE'S SMOKEHOUSE CHICKEN & BBQ

UPDATE: CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

I've often said that some of the best BBQ I've eaten has been served from places most people are afraid they might not come back out of alive.

I call it my 1st Law of Q-Raunts.

Moe's Smokehouse Chicken and BBQ fits that description to a T!

Moe's is located in a strip center. In a not so nice part of Oklahoma City. In what appears to have once been a discount Chinese take out restaurant from the sign that remains above their door.

SNAPSHOT: JACK'S BAR-B-QUE 03-07-14

After Jack's ribs were my highest rated slab, and 3rd over all in the inaugural Broken Rib Tour. I decided I wanted to go back and try them again.

On this visit I went with the 2 meat combo, sliced brisket & ribs, and I added sausage. For my sides I chose macaroni salad and garlic cole slaw.

2014 OKLAHOMA CITY BROKEN RIB TOUR

Welcome to the first ever official (unofficial) 2014 Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous Broken Rib Tour 2014!

You may wonder why I call it "official (unofficial)" and that's a good thing to wonder.

The reason is because this list of the Best Ribs in Oklahoma City does not contain every Q-raunt in Oklahoma City. I chose 16, non-chain Q-raunts and my two brave volunteers and I traveled around Oklahoma City eating ribs and scoring them on a rating system that I suppose you could say was inspired by other BBQ sanctioning bodies but with qualities that were all my own.

It is also completely subjective. Unlike competition BBQ where the judges are taught what standards the meat should be cooked to. I did not try and define the qualities that the Best Rib in Oklahoma City should have. I left that up to each volunteer to decide based on their own tastes.

While I do believe this list to be a fairly comprehensive study of the rib landscape in Oklahoma City. If you look over to the right at that rather lengthy disclaimer in the side bar. You should understand that what I think is good BBQ may not appeal to others and vice verse. The same goes for my volunteers

So have fun reading this and if one of your favorite Q-raunts comes out the winner. Feel free to jump up and give yourself a high five..... After all who doesn't like being #1? Even if it is in an official (unofficial) contest conducted by a two-bit-hack, wanna-be, Q blogger.

SNAPSHOT: BACK DOOR BARBECUE 02-17-14

On this visit to Back Door Barbecue I ordered the 3 Meat Dinner. I had not tried the sausage on my prior visits so I ordered the Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage along with Brisket (Moist), and Oklahoma Tenderloin (Bologna) with creamed corn and fried onions/jalapenos.

SNAPSHOT: KOSMO'S BBQ 01-24-14 & 01-29-14

Visited Kosmo's BBQ for the first time on 01-24-14 and ordered two of their basic sandwiches, chopped brisket and pulled pork.

CHOPPED BEEF SANDWICH:

Knowing that Kosmo's also sells injections and rubs for competition cooks. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this brisket has been shown a little more love than your typical Okie Brisket.

Served on a buttery toasted bun. The meat, while chopped finely, has a great texture and is moist with just a hint of smokiness and really good flavor.

RETURN TO THE BLU'S BBQ & BURGERS

Needless to say my first blog about Blu's created a lot of excitement. I won't rehash the entire scenario but there were a lot of accusations thrown at me that left a bad taste in my mouth...... Being a food blogger..... Well bad tastes are not what I'm looking for.


Now I'm not a believer in the adage that the customer is always right. Having been a retail business owner at one point in my life. I realize that most of the time the customer is a freaking idiot.

THAT'S NO BULL AT BEEF & BUNS

If you lived in the Oklahoma City area in the 90's. You might remember a commecial for a car dealership called Broadway Ford.

Generally at the end of the commercial the owners kids would be sitting on a bull and they would end the commercial pitch with "And that's no bull!"

You might notice there's a bull in the picture to the right. Well when you walk in to Beef & Buns you will also notice the two little boys, all grown up now, that used to set on that bull are no lunger in the automobile business but the restaurant business.

I SNUCK IN THE BACK DOOR BBQ (Part 2)

This is the second part of a two part blog. Click here to read Part 1.

 Well my initial trip to Back Door BBQ wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be. It was however their opening day and I might have set the bar a little to high in my expectations of their Q. So I wanted to make a follow up visit at a different time of day from my first visit..

Six days later the lure of burnt ends, as their Daily Beast offering, drew myself and a bunch of those people you see in the line in the pic to give them a lunch time try.

I SNUCK IN THE BACK DOOR BBQ (Part 1)

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.

A SILENT NIGHT AT BEDLAM BAR-B-Q

I had been working lots of overtime and hadn't had a bite of Q in a couple of weeks and I was really starting to have some serious BBQ withdrawals.

So after I got home from working another Saturday. I really didn't feel like cooking and I definitely didn't have enough time to make my own Q since I had to be back to the office Sunday morning. So we loaded up and headed out to find some Q for dinner.


It had been a couple of years since I had been to Bedlam BBQ and I remembered it being pretty good on that occasion.

WOULD I BE DERAILED AT OKLAHOMA STATION

It's odd how you can pass by a place for years yet never find the time to try it.

Oklahoma Station BBQ has been like that for me. I've been passing by it since I was a kid and somehow I just never found the time to try it.

Now that I'm a semi-wannabe-successful blogger with over 12k page views and whose Pinterest account is being followed by the Destination America cable channel. I decided it was time to  make time to try Oklahoma Station BBQ.

I WAS FOULED AT CENTER COURT GRILL

My mom had made reservations for us to eat at the new restaurant in the Chesapeake Center before the George Strait concert.

She had sent me a link to the menu after she ordered the tickets and I saw BBQ. I didn't hold out much hope for it being that great but hey... Good or bad it would give me something to blog about.

YOU COULD SCORE A HOMERUN AT COACH'S

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED

When I heard that  Russ "Smokin' Okie" Garrett had taken over the job of pitmaster at the Coach's in Bricktown I immediately put it on my list of places to try.

When I first started working on the Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous concept. It was going to be a group that would go around Oklahoma City rating the Q-raunts similar to a group that has done the same thing in Kansas City.

BIG RED ON TAP AT BLU'S BAR-B-Q & BURGERS

When I heard a new Q-Raunt was going in the old Markie's Deli location across from the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. My first thought was "Where will I park?"

I think there are 3 meters in front of the building and everything else is either 15 minute parking or you have to have a parking pass. So if you make the trip to try it. Be prepared to walk or try and eat in under 15 minutes.

Blu's has a fairly expansive menu so be prepared to do some reading before you decide what you are going to order. Unfortunately nowhere in the menu board does it list what kind of meats they have. A lot of the meals also seemed like the same options with different names.

I attempted to order the One Meat Dinner with the option to add meats for $2 each. After picking my meats I was told I had ordered some kind of special but it came with one side instead of two. Ok, I was there for the meat anyway. So I went along with it.

BIG SMOKEY BAR-B-Q : BIG SMOKEY CHARACTER

I've been driving by Big Smokey BAR-B-Q for years on my way to my favorite Soul Food restaurant, A Family Affair, and every time I would tell myself I needed to stop some time and give it a try because as the sign says... You know you want some ribs.

Today marks one year since I started the blog and the very first blog I wrote was for Smokey's BBQ & Diner. So I decided I would stick with the Smokey theme to begin year two.

Smokey Ray's trailer was my first thought but last time I tried to catch them on a Wednesday they weren't there and I have already blogged about them.

So I took into consideration that I may be meeting a friend for lunch at A Family Affair on Friday and decided the time was right to finally try Big Smokey BAR-B-Q.