Smokehouse

DENTON: Smokehouse
1123 Fort Worth Drive
Denton, TX 76205
940-566-3073
Open Sun-Thur 11-9, F-Sat 11-10

Smokehouse shares a dilapidated building with the grungy looking JR Pockets pool hall a few blocks off the highway in Denton. A smokey haze hung over the dining room as I got a whiff of the now unexpected smell of cigarette smoke in a restaurant as I made my way to the register to place my to-go order. As she rang up my order for a three meat plate of brisket, ribs and German sausage, I realized just how cheap this place was. I got all that food, and two sides, for just under $9 with tax.



Back in the car, I dug in. Sides were simply seasoned ranch beans and a very finely shredded cole slaw. The sausage, from an unknown supplier, was not your typical BBQ joint sausage. It had good spice, but the texture was almost silky smooth from the extremely fine grind and high fat content. The smokiness was subdued, but overall it had good if unexpected flavor. The brisket was well cooked with great texture and good moisture content. However, no smokering was evident below the crust and the slice had little smokiness and little flavor overall. It seemed like the meat had only been seasoned with smoke, and it needed more. The ribs also had a good texture and moisture, but the heavy amount of fat in these huge spare ribs could have been more well rendered. The flavor was deeper and smokier than the brisket, but it still was lacking a bold BBQ flavor. Nothing in the meal was done poorly, but the meat just needed more flavor for a higher rating.

Rating **