Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Original Willie's Bar-B-Q


ALAMO: Original Willie's Bar-B-Q
320 South Alamo Rd.
Alamo, TX 78516
956-702-1370
Open M-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-5


They've got lots of meat options at Willie's, and the longer we stood in the cafeteria line, the easier it was to convince myself to order them all. Well, I didn't quite get them all, but I do admire that Willie's will sell you any amount of any meat without any needless sides.


First up were a few slices of fatty brisket that was a few hours shy of being done. The chewy slices were held firmly together with loads of unrendered fat, but the flavor was decent. A much better option was the excellent fajita meat. The smoky meat was cooked quickly enough to retain the juices and sliced properly to make for some good, tender slices.


Next was a giant beef short rib that was well smoked. The fat was rendered throughout, and the meat tore apart easily. If only they'd added a little seasoning it would have been great, but I couldn't detect even a trace of salt or pepper.

Given the seasoning restraint on the beef ribs, I was surprised to find the sticky sweet finish on the pork ribs. They had a great crust and good smoke, but just needed more time to finish cooking. With a little more seasoning, and a little more patience with the smoker, this could be a real smoked meat destination in South Texas.

Rating ***

1 comment:

kindofabigdeal said...

Gave them a shot. Moist brisket was well rendered. Meat was at the point that it was still well lubricated by fat, but the meat itself was dry and mushy. bark removed. good smoke. beffiness shined through, but sure missed that bark. it looked good. beef rib was just as you said. I thought it was a great example of a rib. very beefy. smoky with good bark, equally tender through. not at all dry. but like you said, underseasoned. Impressive stuff from such a diverse joint.

DISCLAIMER:

Each joint is judged on the essence of Texas 'cue...sliced brisket and pork ribs. Sausage is only considered if house made. Sauce is good, but good meat needs no adornment to satisfy. Each review can only be based on specific cuts of meat on that particular day. Finally, if the place fries up catfish or serves a caesar salad, then chances are they aren't paying enough attention to the pits, so we mostly steered clear.

-THE PROPHETS OF SMOKED MEAT