WEATHERFORD: Hog's Heaven BBQ
809 S Main St
Weatherford, TX 76086
817-598-1488
Open M-Thur 11-8, F-Sat 11-9, Sun 12-5
Charles Huggins is a brave man. He ran a barbecue joint in Hunstville, Alabama then decided to bring his talents to Texas. He opened a joint in the small town of Weatherford with a menu full of smoked meats. The only thing he left off was brisket. He finally relented after about a year of getting grief, and it is now on the menu. Well, not on the actual menu hung by the register, but just ask for it.
Try the rest of the menu while you're at it. There wasn't anything we disliked. The chicken was nicely moist with a crisp and salty skin. Both meat and skin are deeply smoky in true Texas fashion, but the sauce served with it has a decidedly Alabama twist. It's a thin white sauce of mostly buttermilk and what tasted like Italian dressing. It actually worked. Pulled pork was just wet enough to hold it together without being soggy. The well seasoned and smoky pork needed no adornment. Of all the meats, the ribs just oozed Texas style. A restrained rub, a great bark, plenty of smoke and meat firm enough to stay on the bone. These were a perfect example of well smoked St. Louis ribs.
Just as we were finishing off the homemade potato salad and the exceptional smoked corn on the cob, Charles noted that brisket was available. He doesn't like it much because it's too fatty, so I made him more uneasy by asking for some fatty slices. What we got had decent smoke and a well formed crust. It could have had smoke and seasoning deeper into the meat, but it was well cooked with nicely rendered fat. It was certainly above average brisket.
We went back with Mr. Huggins to see the homemade pit transplanted from Alabama where he's smoking with hickory. The fire barely smolders directly under the meat, but the meat is held about four feet above the fire. The method results in smoked meat, but it's and odd hybrid of direct and indirect heat that I haven't seen before. No matter his methods, this pitmaster knows how to smoke some meat. It might be Alabama style or Texas style BBQ, but it's all good here at Hog's Heaven.
Rating ****
3 comments:
enjoyable review, love the last sentence
This is out in my neck of the woods. I'll have to give it a try!
I hit this place a few weeks ago. I tried the pork ribs, pulled pork, and hot link or sausage (can't remember). I do remember that it all was good. Definitely worth a visit. But it's definitely a hole-in-the-wall.
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