Sharon’s Barbecue

ABILENE: Sharon's Barbecue
849 E Hwy 80 
Abilene, TX 79601
325-672-3330
Open Daily 11-9
www.sharonsbarbeque.com

Sharon Riley opened this joint in 2005 with all of the recipes from Joe Allen's BBQ. She got them as part of her divorce settlement with Joe Allen, so Abilene gets to have two joints that are almost exactly alike to choose from. Unfortunately, neither are very good joints.

All of the meats are stored under a powerful heat lamp and cut to order by a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing with a knife. This made it all the more bewildering that I received a rib on my plate that literally had no meat on it. It was a seasoned and smoked bone. The rib that did have meat on it were well cooked, but lacked a good bark or much smoke. The brisket looked good with a black crust and a nice smokering, but the meat was so dried out that it crumbled before I could even pick it up. The sausage was so dried out under the heat lamp that the casing was unpleasantly crunchy. Bland beans and soggy slaw didn't do much to make up for the poor meat.

Rating **