BBQ 101: The Smoke Ring

The Smoke Ring.

I get asked all the time "Why the hell do you keep saying that stupid phrase "Smoke Ring" - Person X

The Smoke Ring is one way of measuring a balance of how well your meat has been smoked with the moisture of your pan. To find the smoke ring, you can catch a pink ring following the border of the meat. Pink = Good. So next time you are off eating bad BBQ, first check the meat and see if there is a smoke ring. This is a good visual indicator to tell if you are eating oven baked BBQ or properly smoke BBQ.






Here is the science behind the smoke ring:

The Smoke Ring is actually...

nitric acid building up in the surface of meat, absorbed from the surface. This nitric acid is formed when nitrogen dioxide from wood combustion in smoke mixes with water in the meat. Basically it is a chemical reaction between the smoke, the meat, and the moisture in the pit.

With time people have learned how to create an artificial smoke ring. By coating the meat with Salt Tenderizer, the nitrogen dioxide will create an artificial ring. After years of this kind of Heineken-Drinking Yankee Bullshit, judges at BBQ competitions have eliminated the smoke ring as any visual consideration when judging competitions.








Here is an example of a brisket with a smoke ring.





Here is an example of a yankee brisket with out a smoke ring.




Get it got it good.

I know that I'm not reviewing a restaurant here but I'm going to give the concept of BBQ having a Smoke Ring a 5 out of 5.

Dickey's (Hattiesburg, Ms)

In the James Westfall BBQ Bible: Article 39 Section 103 clearly states

"...and all men shall relinquish such BBQ whose correlations are those tied to and not unlinked to the affiliation of such heresy of that which is defined as/of a franchise".

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have given myself such a pass to this rule in the name of exposing all BBQ (good, bad, and mediocre). While not all of us have the time and privilege to eat BBQ that is both bad or mediocre, I have been chosen to take on such a challenge as a martyr for all those that seek out good BBQ. To quote the words on the NOPD Cars, I am here "to protect and serve".

In fear of quoting myself too many times; "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that" Dicky's BBQ is the best franchise BBQ that I have ever had. Let's not twist my words around. I didn't say it was good. The ribs were surprisingly tasty and the brisket was tender and somewhat moist. The only thing they needed was to add more wood (smoke) to their food and they wouldn't have a somewhat ok - halfway decent establishment...besides the fact that the sides were horrible.

Again...not a very smoky flavor. I didn't catch much of a smoke ring in their meat. The Smoke Ring is one way of measuring how well your meat has been smoked. If you see the border of your meat being followed with a pink ring. Pink = Good. So next time you are off eating bad BBQ first check the meat and see if there is a smoke ring. This is a good visual indicator to tell if you are eating oven baked BBQ or not.

Click here for my full blog post on The Smoke Ring.

Is it a coincidence that Dicky's is the best franchise BBQ because their from Texas (Dallas area)? Answer: No. I am a bit surprised that a Texas BBQ joint prides itself on Hickory Wood instead of Post Oak. I assume Hickory is the cheapest wood you can get but THE best Texas BBQ Joints use Post Oak Wood. Why not learn from the masters?

Impressed that they smoke their BBQ, being from Texas, and serve brisket in pork country...

Dicky's BBQ will be receiving a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(If you stay away from the sides, you will agree with me)

Voodoo BBQ (New Orleans, La)

House lights cut out, stage lights are on...curtain opens.

Kathleen: "What would you like to eat for your birthday before the BBQ tonight"?

James: "How bout' BBQ"?

Kathleen: "Where"?

James: "I heard Walkers out on Haynes is suppose to be good".

Kathleen: "Lets stay Uptown because I know it's your least favorite area of New Orleans".

Kathleen: "Since you've already reviewed Ms. Hysters and Sequel for your blog, what's another BBQ place Uptown you can review"?

James: "Well, there's Voodoo...never been...I'm sure it's horrible because their sign looks a little too fancy, they have a twitter account, things are a little too clean over there, and it's Uptown".

Girl #1: (nods head)

Kathleen, James, and Girl #1 walk into Voodoo BBQ (where the cleanliness had a more potent smell than the actual food).

Server/Cashier: "Because I have to work here, I'm going to give you an attitude for placing an order. Even though an order requires as little from me as pressing a few buttons on a computer screen".

James: "Ok, I apologize that my order will cause you to do little to no work. Since the whole process of using your brain is enough to upset you, I'll make my words short and simple. I will also try my best to keep my words no more than 2 syllables".

5 minutes later...a microwave bell sounds



Microwave Bell: "Ding".

James: "Wow, even though I'm dining in, I'm being served with plastic ware and a spork. Lucky me".

James: "Wow, this brisket is very average. Let me go refill my water glass".

James: "These ribs are super ok. Let me go refill my water glass again".

James: "The pulled pork is tasting like pulled pork. I'm still thirsty, let me refill my water glass".

Kathleen: "Is it me or is this plane jane BBQ a lil' salty".

James: "I can't finish this BBQ or I'll end up like Lot's wife (from the Bible)".

Girl #1: (nods head)


James precedes to the counter and struggles to catch the the eyes of any of the three people that are "working" behind the counter.

...10 minutes later...

James: "Can I have a to-go box"?

Cashier: "Excuse me did you just ask me to work? I don't get paid for that".

Cashier: (hands James a to-go box) "Your Welcome".

Curtain falls, audience applauds. Actors then precede to the stage for a bow. A random person gives Girl #1 a bouquet of flowers.

James then precedes closer to the audience with a 2 foot stool. James places his right foot on the stool and leans on his right knee with his forearms as he engages the crowd with his charisma and charming looks.

James: "Listen, I'd rank Voodoo BBQ as a good meal compared to any T.G.I.Friday's frozen TV diner packages they sell in the freezer section of your local grocery store. Let me make this clear, Voodoo BBQ isn't bad...it's just not good. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Voodoo BBQ is a scaled down Corky's BBQ (That is not a good thing)".

Crowd is filled with tears and emotion as they stand up a second time for yet another standing ovation.

On a serious note, my search for good New Orleans BBQ still continues...my list continues to narrow itself down as the blog continues...will I find good BBQ in New Orleans before I die? Stay tuned...

Voodoo BBQ will be receiving a 2 out of 5 stars.

Louie Mueller BBQ (Taylor, Tx)

Part 5 of 5

This is the 5th (and final) installment of my 5 part "Texas BBQ Road Trip 2010". Texas Monthly Magazine listed the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and I had the honor/dishonor of attending 5 of the 50 establishments during Memorial Weekend.

Taylor, Tx is boring. It is your normal small town with nothing to do outside of raising cattle and picking cotton. If you want to drive a little down south you can go watch some minor league baseball in Round Rock. If your up for a longer drive you can take back your sanity (or lose it even more) in Austin, Tx. Luckily for the residents of Taylor, Tx there is Louie Mueller BBQ to help them cope from dying of boredom. Louie Mueller's isn't just some great BBQ joint that wins awards (like the James Beard Award) and serves an incredible brisket. Louis Mueller's is the best BBQ I have ever put in my mouth.


After watching this video on the Texas Monthly Website, I will relay the secrets of their bbq.

+Rub is exclusively pepper and salt (w/ a 90/10 ratio of pepper to salt).
+Uses a smaller cut of Brisket (6-7 lbs).
+Never turns the brisket 90 or 180 degrees).
+Smokes it using only post oak.

The flavor is so simple yet very peppery (due to the rub being 90% pepper). If I could make a brisket like this I would have no problem going on the Atkins diet.

There is not much for me to say but "perfection". If you are in the Austin area, it is worth the 30 minute drive to Taylor, Tx to try Louie Mueller BBQ. Despite this praise and this awesome score I'm about lay down, I do have criticism. The ribs are tough and they don't serve sweet tea.

Louis Mueller BBQ will be receiving a (record) score of 6 out of 5 stars.






p.s. Here is a short video of Louie Mueller BBQ from Food-Network's "Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives"

Kreuz Market BBQ (Lockhart, Tx)

Part 4 of 5

This is the 4th installment of my 5 part "Texas BBQ Road Trip 2010". Texas Monthly Magazine listed the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and I had the honor/dishonor of attending 5 of the 50 establishments during Memorial Weekend.

I have been making bi-annual trips to Texas every year for the last ten years of my life. Very rarely do I have a negative experience (except when I'm in East Texas of course). Sure, you might have the occasional Asshole-Cop, Drunk-Cowboy, or the random Yankees fan to ruin your day in Texas. However, nothing has ever ruined my day more than the day I ate at Kreuz BBQ.

I have since nicknamed Kreuz (Pronounced "Krites") BBQ to "Crisis" BBQ. Ladies and gentlemen, when Texas Monthly issues their June 2008 magazine to name the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and throws Kreuz as top 5...we have a problem. I don't believe they deserves top 50! I will yet again go out on a limb and say I have eaten better BBQ in Louisiana and I will almost believe any New Yorker that says they have had better BBQ in NY than what they have had at Kreuz.

I don't know where to begin with this blog entry. Holding back the tears I will attempt to relive such a horrific account. First, I stood in line for over an hour which doesn't bother me if the food is good. When we finally get to the smokers in the back, I see that they have a similar style to City Market in Luling except double the size. You walk to a butcher like chopping block surrounded by smokers and they pull out the meat in front of you and cut what you want...(in my case brisket, sausage, and ribs). You then wait in line to pay for your food and order your drinks (I suggest you buy a 6 pack of water bottles for yourself).

Before you sit down you see signs everywhere that say "NO BBQ SAUCE, NO FORKS, etc..". Now I am one that will support that slogan anytime, but don't serve your customers dry meat and pride yourself on not using sauce. Their brisket was worse than my first attempt at a brisket. It tasted like they had the fat side down, temperature at 350 degrees, and brined it for 2 weeks in salt water. Everything else was over salted. It all makes sense now when you see the long line at the Blue Bell Ice Creme Stand in the middle of the tables. The Blue Bell and Texas factor can't save this sinking ship for a good score.

You can read my step-dads review for his similar experience here.

Kreuz Market BBQ will be receiving an 1 out of 5 stars.

City Market BBQ (Luling, Tx)

Part 3 of 5

This is the 3rd installment of my 5 part "Texas BBQ Road Trip 2010". Texas Monthly Magazine listed the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and I had the honor/dishonor of attending 5 of the 50 establishments during Memorial Weekend.

City Market BBQ was honored as Texas Monthly's Top 5 BBQ establishments. In my opinion, this is the 2nd best BBQ I've ever tasted.

Below is a video I found on Youtube of what you can expect at City Market BBQ. Disclaimer: This video does NOT do justice to how the bbq really tastes in person. I can't say one bad thing about this place. Good old Texas BBQ smoked with post oak.

This is barbecue’s holy of holies: City Market’s dark pit room, located in a back corner of the main dining hall. Clouds of post oak incense have been rising from its five pits for fifty years, and the smoke envelops manager Joe Capello Sr. and his crew as they slice your order—a choice of brisket, ribs, sausage, nothing else—onto butcher paper. You pay at the blackened cash register (bread comes free, onions, pickles, and peppers for pocket change), then reemerge into the dining area, where staff at a central counter sell sides and liquid offerings: vessels of potato salad and beans; hunks of yellow cheese; an array of beers, Big Red, IBC Root Beer. You take your place at one of the pine booths or tables among the multitude of other devotees, a startlingly ecumenical mix of faces white, black, and brown. A handwritten notice proclaims the righteous requirements of the meat before you: “No forks—use your hands.”

- Texas Monthly June 2008

Ok, that quote is a little over the top. However, the food is so intrinsic that one can't help but to write about City Market BBQ from the perspective of having an out of body experience.

City Market BBQ will be receiving a 5 out of 5 stars

Southside Market & BBQ (Elgin, Tx)

Part 2 of 5

This is the 2nd installment of my 5 part "Texas BBQ Road Trip 2010". Texas Monthly Magazine listed the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and I had the honor/dishonor of attending 5 of the 50 establishments during Memorial Weekend.

This weekend I attended what Elgin, Tx (the sausage capitol) claims as the oldest BBQ Joint in Texas. Any BBQ Joint that claims an establishment of 1882 is worth a try...or so I thought. For this place to get voted in Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ places is a disappointment and an embarrassment.

I will now discuss the taste of the food in great detail.

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Needless to say it tasted very blah. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't gross or disgusting, there was just not enough happening in the flavor department nor was there a consistent texture with any of the meats. I'm going to step out of a limb and say that I can find better BBQ in Louisiana than what I found at Southside Market & BBQ.

Now, there was a nice little highlight. They had a Bluebell Ice Creme server bar near the entrance. So if you were like me and decided that the calories of mediocre BBQ weren't worth it, you can give your food to the dogs and fill up on Bluebell Homemade Ice Creme.

Due to a 5 out of 5 star rating for their ice creme...

Southside Market & BBQ will be receiving a 3 out of 5 stars.

Willy Ray's BBQ (Beaumont, Tx)

Part 1 of 5

This is the 1st installment of my 5 part "Texas BBQ Road Trip 2010". Texas Monthly Magazine listed the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas and I had the honor/dishonor of attending 5 of the 50 establishments during Memorial Weekend.

Willy Ray's - Let me start by giving you a visual. ALL YOU CAN EAT w/ 7 different meats to choose from! Despite the whole "East Texas Factor" and the baggage it carries (excluding Janis Joplin of coarse), this was a more than pleasurable experience. A+ sweet tea, A+ fried okra, and A+ on the most of the meats. The only thing these guys lacked was a Blue Bell Ice Cream Bar in the corner.

Let me keep this blog short and give Willy Ray's BBQ a 4.5 out of 5 stars.



Check out their website.

Read their testimonials.







After my meal was over, I was honored to be given a survey to fill out. I will now quote myself from my personal letter to the manager...

Pros: Tender brisket, nice ribs...not too soggy.
Criticism: BBQ Sauce...too sweet. This made it taste like candy. A True Texan doesn't use BBQ Sauce Period! So, let the foreigners drown their meat in their ignorance.

Willy Ray's BBQ will be receiving a 4.5 out of 5 stars.