DON'T STOP BELIEVING IN BURN CO BBQ

I've eaten a lot of good BBQ in Oklahoma but at the same time I feel that most Oklahoma Q-raunts cook for the masses and put quantity over quality. Burn Co BBQ breaks that model.

I was warned beforehand to get there by 10:30 AM or some of their meats might be gone.

We pulled into Burn Co's lot at 10:20 AM and there were already cars in the parking lot filled with other Q-aholics waiting for the doors to open and more pulled in after we arrived.

Now I've seen this kind of behavior at Q-raunts in Texas.

When we went to Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Texas we arrived there at 8:15 AM and there were already about 20 people there and a line was really starting to form by the time we left. I have never seen people lining up this early in the day to eat BBQ in Oklahoma.

I've also been met with a lot of friendly service at Oklahoma Q-raunts but I've never seen the kind of interaction like I saw at Burn Co.

They are slicing and serving up their Q right out in the open where everyone can see, and drool over it, and they are having a great time while they are doing it.

One customer asked if a sandwich had any tomatoes or anything on it and the answer was "You won't find any tomatoes in this restaurant!"

They also did something I have never seen in any Q-raunt I've ever been to. While the customers were standing there watching them put together orders. They started slicing ribs off a slab of baby backs and handing them to the customers waiting to order.

  We were the first customers they started giving free ribs to. So we got this nice piece off the end of the slab.

My wifes not much of a rib fan but she had taken a bite out of this one before I even had the chance to snap this picture of it and I thought I was going to have to fight her over it.

I took this picture shortly after we sat down but it really doesn't do justice to how many people were already in the building. Several were to the right at the soda fountain and you can't see the people that were in the booths to the left or in front of the booth I was in. It wasn't standing room only but it was getting pretty darn close to it.

Now not to get totally off topic but I do have one complaint. They had some pretty decent music playing in the place and I was enjoying it while fighting over the free rib and waiting on our food but then..... Ok, let me preface this at the risk of offending any Journey fans.... I ABSOLUTELY <BLEEP>ING HATE JOURNEY.... and then a Journey song began playing..... I almost had to get up and leave.


If any Q-raunt owner ever wants to find out if I'm in their Q-raunt. Just turn on some Journey and look for the guy gouging his ears out with eating utensils..... That's going to be me!

I don't think burnt ends are an every day item at Burn Co BBQ but on this day they were the special. So I chose the burnt end special and added bologna and a rib and I chose grilled potato salad for my side.

I personally prefer spare ribs but the baby backs at Burn Co are cooked and seasoned really well.

They had just a slight hint of heat in the rub but even my spice sensitive wife raved about how good they were. So it's not enough to put you off if you don't like some spice.

 The burnt ends had just the right amount of sauce, a wonderful smokiness, and just a slight hint of spiciness to them. Once again it wasn't an overpowering heat. I could detect it but it was just enough to enhance the flavors.

I was expecting the special to be just the burnt ends but it was actually served as a sandwich. I ditched the top bun but I put the bottom one to good use with the bologna below.

I know I've said I'm a bonafide smoked bologna junky but I almost didn't order the bologna because I wanted  to try the pulled pork. Then they unwrapped a chub of bologna in front of me and all thoughts of trying pulled pork went right out the window.

This is the first smoked bologna I've ever eaten that actually had a crusty bark to it. The outside about 1/8" of it was crispy and had great smoky flavor in it.

I scarfed down several chunks before turning my attention to the burnt ends. Then I took the bottom bun, from the burnt end sandwich, that still had some small burnt end crumbs and the beef fat and sauce from the burnt ends soaked into it, and wrapped a few pieces of bologna up in the bun...... It was at this point that I coined a new term.....

BBQ-gasm

I'm pretty sure my eyes were rolling back in my head while I was eating it. My stomach was screaming at my mouth "HEY MOUTH! YOU GOTTA SWALLOW THAT!" and my tongue was saying "YOU BE PATIENT DOWN THERE STOMACH! YOU'RE GETTING SLOPPY SECONDS!"

Ok, maybe I got a little carried away there but it was a pretty darn good idea to take that bologna and put it in that fat and sauce soaked bun.

My wife had the sliced brisket sandwich and it was pretty good. The brisket could maybe use just a bit more flavor but it was cooked really well. It was very  moist and tore apart with just a slight tug without falling apart. It's not as good as what we had in Central Texas but it's some of the better brisket we've have had in Oklahoma.

The grilled potato salad was a neat concept. I was actually expecting potato salad with grilled instead of boiled potatoes but it's actually a hot bowl of grilled potatoes with bell pepper and onion. It went great with the Q and I don't believe I've ever seen it served anyplace else.

I also tasted both of their sauces and both were good. The mild had a mustardy flavor profile while the hot was more sweet with just a hint of heat.

I enjoyed a lot of things about Burn Co BBQ. The metal cookie sheets they used for serving trays were a nice touch. They also offer a Fatty sandwich and they are the first Q-raunt I have seen offering up that item. Their fatty is also a kicked up ginormous version. I didn't get a picture of it but it's about the size of a chub of bologna and they were slicing off pieces about 2" thick to put on the sandwiches.

Burn Co BBQ is cranking out some tasty and innovative Q. They are also breaking the mold for typical Oklahoma BBQ.

After we left Burn Co I drove down the street to check the parking lot at Wilson's BBQ. It was empty at 11:30 AM while Burn Co had people waiting to get in the door at 10:30 AM.

If I was to make any suggestion to the guys at Burn Co that could take them over the top, and make them even more unique to Oklahoma, it would be to add beef ribs to their menu or at least make beef ribs an occasional special. No one is making beef ribs in Oklahoma anymore and I think these guys and their Hasty Bake Ovens have the skill to get it done.

I'm not quite ready to give these guys my 6 Hour award but I've created the brand spanking new 3 Hour award which means I would drive 3 hours to eat there again.... And I only have to drive 2 hours to get there now.

As it is it's going to be difficult for me to try other Tulsas area Q-raunts after having eaten here. It's not easy to drive two hours to possibly eat mediocre or bad Q knowing Q this good is minutes away.