Monday, May 24, 2010

Smoked Out Bar-B-Que

The building where Smoked Out Bar-B-Que (official name, Smoked Out Championship Bar-B-Que and Deli) lives has been at least three different barbecue places over the years. Tango & Murfs, and Wild Wes's both occupied the space before Smoked Out moved in, which might make it bad luck for a barbecue place (Tango & Murf's wasn't great, but Wild Wes's was actually pretty good).

The owner had previously set up shop using a trailer-type barbecue rig outside the convenience store down the road, and while I never stopped to visit (bad barbecue exploring, I know), I did notice that they did a pretty brisk business from their outdoor location--moving into a restaurant space allows them to have a pretty varied menu, with tamales, po boy sandwiches, catfish, and assorted bar appetizers, including Barbecue Bologna Sliders.

The standard of comparison isn't a barbecue bologna slider, however (I might give it a try, though, just to say I did before I leave), it's the sandwich, which is a little on the small side compared to some of the "regular" sandwiches in town. Compare it to the onion ring in the photo for an idea: I suggest ordering the large sandwich if you're looking for more than a snack. It is powerfully smoky, however--there's no noticable trace of pink in the meat to give away a slow smoking process, so there's the possibility that there's a heavy dose of liquid smoke in the sauce. The bun shows signs of being toasted, but is still room-temperature, and the slaw appears to be made in-house--all in all, it's a pretty good sandwich, but the smoked flavor can be a little overwhelming compared to some others.

After I was done with my sandwich, the owner walked out of the kitchen with a sample of ribs for me to try--three bones, half dry, half wet. He explained that since he had just opened (there's not an urbanspoon listing for this place yet, but there should be, soon) he liked to give folks a sample of things they didn't try as a reason to come back. Bear in mind that these were free samples, and that the owner may have cherry-picked them to show off his best material, but the ribs were excellent. Meaty, moist, they came off the bone easily, but were still firm to chew on--the dry rub had a little cayenne pepper kick to it (I'm not a huge fan of dry ribs), and the wet ribs were very tasty.

The stretch of Austin Peay (don't let the Covington Pike address fool you--it's on Austin Peay) where Smoked Out lies is a bit of a culinary wasteland, and residents of the area really should give it their patronage, as it's a wonderful, friendly neighborhood place, and deserves success.

Smoked Out Championship Bar-B-Que and Deli
4731 Covington Pike
Memphis, TN  38135
Phone: 901-791-2277
Fax: 901-791-2274

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I've eaten there before! I don't know about you saying that the smoked flavor is overwhelming, but for me, it was heavenly. I absolutely loved it! Together with the slaw, it was just one crazy experience. When I got home, I tried to imitate it on my grill using the best barbecue tools I have. I didn't come close, but I still liked the outcome of my experiment. My husband also liked it that he even requested me to make it for him once a month. Well, it's only right for me to do that, knowing that my barbeque tools were a gift from him.