Duncan's Smokehouse Pit Bar-B-Que

VERNON: Duncan's Smokehouse Pit Bar-B-Que
829 Wilbarger St
Vernon, TX 76384
940-552-2764
Open Tues-Thur 11-2 & 5-8 F-Sat 11-2 & 5-9

It was Summer's Last Blast weekend in Vernon, and the classic cars were everywhere. The revving of engines was incessant, and the streets were packed. I pulled off the main drag into the Duncan's Smokehouse parking area to run in and grab a to go order.



Watching the staff open a residential oven to retrieve the foil wrapped meats was not a good sign. Then I watched as they sliced brisket from a rolled portion of the familiar muscle. Ribs and hot links were also part of the package.



Both brisket and ribs were awful, and should not have been labeled 'barbecue'. The meat were overtender, underseasoned and straight up oven-baked protein. There wasn't much to like until I bit into the bright red hot link.



Normally in a link of this bright red color, I would expect a hot dog like texture on the interior with a faint one dimensional heat. This one however had great seasoning and fine-to-medium grind with real identifiable heat. While the link was also not smoked on site, it had plenty of good flavor and a satisfying bite. It's too bad the rest of the meal was so poor and that so little attempt goes into making real barbecue here.

Rating *

Bar-B-Q Heaven

AUSTIN: Bar-B-Q Heaven
SW Corner of Seventh & Red River
Austin, TX 78701
512-299-7461
Open 4-4
www.bbqheavenaustin.com

It was eleven o'clock at night in downtown Austin. I was parked illegally in a spot that I could keep in sight while I walked up the window at the Bar-B-Q Heaven truck. A man wearing a shirt from this popular food truck looked on agreeably, so I thought I should be safe in the parking spot just vacated by a taxi hauling unsteady students just back to school. Smoke still surrounded the trailer as I made my way up to the ordering window. My glances were shared between the man cutting the meat behind the window and my car in its illegal spot. When money was exchanged and my bag of meat finally came through the window, I was off into the night avoiding a collision with the revelers of Sixth Street.



Back at a friend's house, I opened the container to find meats of widely varying quality. Brisket took the low end of both flavor and texture. The meat was both overcooked and mushy while still allowing the fat to be chewy. There was no crust, smokering or smoke flavor. This made the high quality of the ribs confounding. The pork was well smoked, perfectly tender with great flavor. The fat was nicely rendered out the split spare ribs, and they were quite enjoyable. Sausage fell right in the middle. The dry disks were well beyond their prime, but the underlying peppery flavors were good as well as the smokiness. To be fair, I had a sample of their brisket early one evening a few months ago and it was very promising, but if this poor brisket is a possibility on any given visit, then beware and stick with the ribs.

Rating **

Vic's Bar-B-Que

AUSTIN: Vic's Bar-B-Que
3502 Burleson Road
Austin, TX 78741
512-445-4250
Open M-Tues 6-7, W-Fri 6-8, Sat 6-7
vicsbbq.tripod.com/

I was running late to the judge's table at Gettin' Sauced, but I couldn't pass this joint just a block north of the contest site. I quickly grabbed a to-go order of brisket, ribs and sausage and took it to the judge's table. All of the meats here are available in an 'order' portion which is just meat and bread without the sides. An order ends up being about a half pound , so there was plenty to go around.



One of my fellow judges identified the sausage as V&V brand out of Flatonia, Texas. I wasn't able to confirm that, but it was a tasty link. It had plenty of smoke and was good an juicy with a nice snap and bold black pepper flavor. Salty slices of brisket were a bit dry, but had good smoke and a nice crust. A requested burnt end had the fatty and salty intensity I was seeking. Ribs could have used a bit more meat and smoke, but the flavor from the salt and pepper rub was enjoyable. These ribs were perfectly tender and moist and didn't need a bit of sauce. This was certainly a stop I didn't regret, and neither did my fellow judges.

Rating ***