The fact that we have legislation referred to as "The One Big Beautiful Bill" is just fucking sad. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit f---f---ing infants.
/I kid. I kid (about the second part). Don't Stassney my Surly.
I've, in essence, been playing whack-a-mole at work all day and am just now catching up. I've missed this level of satisfaction from watching this season of the "administration" for some time now.
They were delicious, but they took far longer than I thought. I cooked them to about 190. I think they'd be pretty tough otherwise since they are cut from the pork shoulder.
My WSM hasn't gotten much love since I got my offset, apart from being the Thanksgiving workhorse. That changes today. I'm having a first go at pork steaks. Running with no water pan for a direct fire cook with the DigiQ to hold it at 250F. Wish me luck.
Got to try J-Bud's in Tyler today. Not elite to the extent most Surly BBQ aficionados would bang. But pretty solid nonetheless. Lots of samples given out too. So I can attest to the fact that the turkey is tasty and the green beans in "brisket gravy" slam. Corn elote was good as well. They had beef ribs on offering today, but contrary to what you may have read about me above, I opted not to partake.
Look, it was hot and I was hungry.
But the fact of the matter was that despite driving through Taylor regularly for the last 20+ years, I'd never been to LM. So I definitely was ordering a beef rib and wanted to try the rest of tray so to speak. I didn't finish it and pick my teeth with the bone though. About two-thirds of it made its way to Wurstfest with me and ended up going home with my always-hungry, college-aged son, who probably consumed the remaining meat in one, duck-like gulp.
East TX Rust BBQ in Gilmer appears to be doing it right. It's a bit of a drive, but not too bad. I'll probably give it a try at some point.
Brisket Love in Lindale is decent.
There's also a new-ish food truck in Tyler called J-Budd's that I've been meaning to try. It's been a bit sporadic in its open hours to date, but I think it's recently opened Monday--Saturday. He does a brisket gumbo that looks pretty solid.
Skip it. Go to Stanley's and Sunbird. Sorry, @TXSooner518. Or go. I mean, it's a rib joint. It's a'ight.
So, Y'all's BBQ. It's a little shack near a house off of 31E near Tyler. A really friendly African-American family owns it. The sides are made from whatever is fresh in their backyard-garden. Homemade desserts. I think I paid $7 for a brisket-loaded baked potato and some sausage. I ate it over three days. So, yeah. This place fucks.
I suck and never have eaten at Pat Gee's. But Nick Pencis, who has owned Stanley's since 2004, used to be in a funk band called Greyhounds (an Austin band now). They released an album while they all were living in Tyler in the early 2000s, and one of the songs on the album was about Pat Gee's. Nick was one of the first few people I met when I moved to Tyler. I remember Stanley's when they first built the deck (no roof). I used to get calls to help supply mics and mic stands when they'd try to have live music in the early days.
This is my older son. He ended up working for Stanley's for two years when he was in high school. His first concert and past his bedtime.