Maples Barbecue

[Martin]

huh... while i'm generally a fan of andouille, it's a pretty interesting choice for a barbecue joint to use.

[Pete]

My understanding is that Hudson Park (the old Foodies) is planning to do BBQ as well and given the close proximity to Maples, this could develop into an interesting rivalry that would inspire both operators.

[Roger S]

I believe their brisket alone will make this place a wild success.

I'm already craving it.

That it very well could because there is no good brisket to be found in OKC in my opinion..... Unless Back Door got their texture problems corrected.... I liked their flavor profile but stopped ordering because the texture was all over the place.

I have not made it back to Texlahoma BBQ since last years rib tour, and I only ate ribs that day, but I know they are now cooking prime briskets Central Texas style.... Their drawback is their location on the far north side of Edmond but I know they recently were interviewed by a magazine but they haven't released the name of who it was yet.

[Roger S]

huh... while i'm generally a fan of andouille, it's a pretty interesting choice for a barbecue joint to use.

Very interesting considering I have never seen it on a BBQ menu before.... Have not been on a Louisiana BBQ run so might find it down there but I've definitely not seen it in Oklahoma.... Or Central Texas.

[Roger S]

My understanding is that Hudson Park (the old Foodies) is planning to do BBQ as well and given the close proximity to Maples, this could develop into an interesting rivalry that would inspire both operators.

Yeah.... I've seen the layout that shows a dedicated location for a smoker on the property.... I think I even commented about the neighbors possibly complaining about the smoke..... Considering that Maples doesn't appear to be sticking to that Central Texas theme.... It could indeed but there is also not any place making any Carolina style BBQ around here..... Would sure be awesome if someone started cooking some whole hog to fill that niche.

[sooner88]

Yeah.... I've seen the layout that shows a dedicated location for a smoker on the property.... I think I even commented about the neighbors possibly complaining about the smoke..... Considering that Maples doesn't appear to be sticking to that Central Texas theme.... It could indeed but there is also not any place making any Carolina style BBQ around here..... Would sure be awesome if someone started cooking some whole hog to fill that niche.

Jones Assembly people had a "Pig and Punch" party this summer where they roasted a whole hog. They have talked about doing it once a month once they open.

[loveOKC]

My understanding is that Hudson Park (the old Foodies) is planning to do BBQ as well and given the close proximity to Maples, this could develop into an interesting rivalry that would inspire both operators.

That would be great, we could have a Geno's/Pats rivalry. But for BBQ, they could play this up as a real tourist attraction!!

[ctchandler]

Very interesting considering I have never seen it on a BBQ menu before.... Have not been on a Louisiana BBQ run so might find it down there but I've definitely not seen it in Oklahoma.... Or Central Texas.

OKBBQEA,
Did you ever eat at Bubba's? One of their choices for sausage was andouille. I bought a New Orleans style sausage dog from Bubba's when I was attending an OU football game. With their sauce it was delicious. After I finished the hot dog, I went back to their trailer and asked what it was and where did they get it and they told me it was andouille from Cusack's. That was in the mid 90's. I have been buying it from Cusack's ever since. I have six pounds in the freezer right now. It's really good. Also, I ate it often at their location on Northwest Expressway and when they moved to Northwest 39th and Portland. In a nutshell, it was on their menu.
C. T.

[Chadanth]

Will they have more soft openings?

[Pete]

Will they have more soft openings?

Nope

[Roger S]

OKBBQEA,
Did you ever eat at Bubba's? One of their choices for sausage was andouille. I bought a New Orleans style sausage dog from Bubba's when I was attending an OU football game. With their sauce it was delicious. After I finished the hot dog, I went back to their trailer and asked what it was and where did they get it and they told me it was andouille from Cusack's. That was in the mid 90's. I have been buying it from Cusack's ever since. I have six pounds in the freezer right now. It's really good. Also, I ate it often at their location on Northwest Expressway and when they moved to Northwest 39th and Portland. In a nutshell, it was on their menu.
C. T.

No that was before my BBQ obsession began.... I get andouille from Bill Kamps whenever I'm having a crab boil these days.

[pop312]

[Roger S]

^^^ HAHA!!! Someone camping out for it already?

[SSEiYah]

Butcher BBQ in Wellston has some great brisket and ribs but its a heck of a drive from OKC. Last time I was up there, I waited in line for 20 minutes, so it has quite the following right now for being in the middle of nowhere. I like their ribs and brisket better than Burn Co in Tulsa and would put them as my favorite BBQ joint in the state.

Now if Maples can actually cook their meats right, they will be wildly successful I think. There are so many mediocre BBQ restaurants in OKC, its ridiculous. I've had BBQ at a lot of "good" places in Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, Austin, etc. Most OKC BBQ when it comes to brisket is cooked too fast so it leaves it tough. When it comes to ribs, there are two types at most OKC places, either overcooked (fall off the bone) or under-cooked (too snug), nothing in the middle where it should be in my opinion. Granted Everyone likes what they like but I'm a bit of a BBQ snob, I know what I can make on my smoker and I like a good rib with a little tug and thats it. I like my brisket like a tender steak, cooked slow and low, about 11-12 hours on pretty low heat yields a great brisket. If I try to rush it, it just does not work out. My best briskets where ones where I got up at 6 AM and fired up the smoker and cooked it all the way to 6PM.

[Roger S]

Butcher BBQ in Wellston has some great brisket and ribs but its a heck of a drive from OKC. Last time I was up there, I waited in line for 20 minutes, so it has quite the following right now for being in the middle of nowhere. I like their ribs and brisket better than Burn Co in Tulsa and would put them as my favorite BBQ joint in the state.

Butcher had a built in crowd from day one since they are a very successful competition team and have competed on BBQ Pitmasters twice... It also helps that they are consistent. I've only made it out there a hand full of times but every time the food has been consistent.... It is also one of the few places in Oklahoma I will order the brisket.

If Maple's can be consistent they can kill it because consistency is the biggest issue I have with OKC BBQ.... One day you get something that's really good and the next you get something that probably never should have left the kitchen.

[sooner88]

I had pit BBQ while driving through Stephenville, TX this weekend, and it reminded what we're missing out on, especially brisket. Looking forward to this opening and hoping it fills that void.

[BLJR]

What do you all think of Rudy's? I went to the original one in Austin back in the day, and it was incredible. Its seems with the growth, its become a bit commercialized, but overall for me, its a consistent and pretty good.

[HangryHippo]

What do you all think of Rudy's? I went to the original one in Austin back in the day, and it was incredible. Its seems with the growth, its become a bit commercialized, but overall for me, its a consistent and pretty good.

I'm not a pitmaster, but I've always found Rudy's to be quite good.

[Roger S]

I'm not a fan of the Rudy's in Norman... Have not been to the original.

[pickles]

Butcher had a built in crowd from day one since they are a very successful competition team and have competed on BBQ Pitmasters twice... It also helps that they are consistent. I've only made it out there a hand full of times but every time the food has been consistent.... It is also one of the few places in Oklahoma I will order the brisket.

If Maple's can be consistent they can kill it because consistency is the biggest issue I have with OKC BBQ.... One day you get something that's really good and the next you get something that probably never should have left the kitchen.

Butcher is good. It's not Burnco good.

Butcher's ribs are consistently way over, but that is apparently what Oklahomans want. I have never understood why people want ribs that have the texture of baby food, but that is what we do here for some reason.

The brisket is worth the occasional drive out of town because it is far and away better than anything in Oklahoma City right now.

[Roger S]

Butcher's ribs are consistently way over, but that is apparently what Oklahomans want. I have never understood why people want ribs that have the texture of baby food, but that is what we do here for some reason.

Agreed and pretty certain they do it to suit the tastes of the majority of their customers.

Also, to a degree (pun intended), part of the problem with restaurant ribs boils (no pun intended) down to them having to hold them at a safe temperature. Holding meat at 140 degrees continues to alter the texture. I know this from doing sous vide cooking.

Even using that technique you can alter the texture of a piece of meat if you hold it in the water bath too long. The temp will never go above what you set it to but if you let it set there much beyond 4 hours you start getting mushy.

I use my sous vide setup to reheat BBQ for caterings but I'm careful to only start the reheat a few hours before I'm ready to serve so I don't alter the texture too much.

[Roger S]

Well the pitmaster for Maple's is dang sure getting tested for opening day.... Keeping the temps stable in that big offset smoker in this weather is going to be a task!

If you go try them today and it's not as good as you expected give them some slack... These are brutal conditions to be cooking Q in.

I can verify that with the 4 comment cards I had to turn in for brisket at the Enid contest over the weekend. Those competition guys were cooking in similar conditions and it showed in the entries that were turned in.. I handed out some of the lowest scores overall I've ever given.

[Pete]

Yes, reminder that they open at 11AM today.

[Roger S]

Opening during Art's Festival week may work out to their advantage too... Will probably result in smaller crowds for opening week so they can get any kinks worked out before the crowds hit.

[OkiePoke]

I have been waiting to try this place. I work nearby so I will head over there early to prevent me standing in line. Do they open at 11?