IT'S BBQ OR BUST IN THE SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA BBQ BADLANDS

Traders didn't appear to still be in business
but they still had a really nice looking
offset stick burner setup near
the west end of the building

One of the first things I learned making BBQ road trips is to be prepared for Q-raunts to either no longer be in business or to have quite possibly never even have existed despite showing up on Google Map.

So what you do is pick a couple you are sure about and cross your fingers about the rest.

When Judge #1, from the OKC Broken Rib Tour, and I took off from my house at 9:30 in the morning. We had 7 Q-raunts ready to be crossed off our list.

Since we had 7 potential Q-raunts on the list I made my first rookie mistake of the day. At about 8:00 AM, and suffering from allergies, I decided all I would have for breakfast was a Mucinex to save room for all the Q I was about to eat.

THE STAMPEDE TO BUFFALO'S BBQ

I had been wanting to try Buffalo's BBQ since I started this blog but it's only open during the week for 7 hours, or until the meat is gone, and is about a two hour drive from where I live.

While I make several trips a year to the Tulsa area. They usually fall on a weekend and Donny Teel, the owner of Buffalo's BBQ, is usually somewhere competing in a BBQ competition or teaching aspiring BBQ pitmasters how to compete.

I had also been wanting to see two of my favorite bands play live for a few years so when it was announced that Lucero and Drive-By Truckers would be sharing the stage at Cain's Ballroom on a Wednesday evening. Well I put two and one together and decided to cross all three off my bucket list.

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.

SMOKIN' OKIES IF YA GOT'EM

Hunting trailers can be kind of difficult and I've had a lot of near misses trying to catch Smokin' Okies.

Most days they are setup at Covell and Kelly in Edmond which is difficult for me to get to during lunch but recently they have been parking in or near the downtown OKC area at least once a week.

The first time I tried to find them at the OU Health Science Children's Hospital but couldn't find them until it was too late. Then when I found out they were parking at Elemental Coffee at 8th & Hudson I made plans to catch them the next week only to find out they had bent an axle on their trailer and they were out of commission.

So finally I see them post that the trailer is repaired and they will be at 8th and Hudson and I make plans to bag and tag the last Q-Trailer I'm aware of in Oklahoma City.

SOMETIME TWO OUT OF THREE'S NOT BAD

What does a self-professed BBQ addict do when they have too much free time on their hands?

GO ON A ROAD TRIP!!!

So I hopped on the intarweb and start charting a path. First stop is going to be the BBQ Barn in Minco, Oklahoma.

WHO WOULDN'T WANT THEIR HANDS ON SOME DOUBLE D'S?

This is the elusive Double D's BBQ trailer in it's natural environment. I had been stalking the trailer for about a month up and down the reaches of South Eastern Avenue in Oklahoma City after hearing a report about it.

I had found many signs about the trailers grand opening located near the Diamond Ballroom and had been told by my BBQ scouts that they had seen it parked there but after multiple attempts to catch it ending in failure. I was about ready to give up.

Then I found some cryptic writings about this elusive trailers whereabouts on Facebook and I began staking out that location but still with no luck.

A TALE OF TWO TRAILERS: SMOKEY RAY'S AND CHUCK'S BBQ & MORE

My wife was bored and made the mistake of asking me if I wanted to go do something. "How about a BBQ trailer trek?" I said. With a little further persuasion we were on the road.

My plan was to hit Smokey Ray's, Chuck's BBQ & More, Smokin' Okies, and Oklahoma Smoke BBQ had mentioned they might be in OKC this weekend.


A quick check on the internet and I find out Oklahoma Smoke is in Liberal. We have tickets to the Thunder game tonight so a 5 hour drive isn't going to happen and Smokin' Okies was doing a private catering.