Best BBQ in Okc metro.

[okatty]

I'll have some chef-driven at Iron Star tonight.

[Urbanized]

Had lunch there yesterday. The sliced brisket was very good and the sides, as always, were fantastic.

[okatty]

Had lunch there yesterday. The sliced brisket was very good and the sides, as always, were fantastic.

Agree that the sides are the best part of the meal there! Haven't been in a while but i need to fill up so I can sleep through Camelot at CC which i hear is not very good

[CuatrodeMayo]

Oddly enough I recently had someone ask me if I knew of any good Q in the Seattle area.... Unfortunately, despite being a Seahawk fan most of my life, I have never made it to visit that city. I usually begin my research of an area on Urbanspoon. You have to filter out a lot of the reviews but usually you can find one or two reviewers in an area with at least double digit numers of reviews that can be counted on to be fairly accurate.

Also good BBQ is rather subjective.... I know a lot of people that rave about some OKC Q-raunts and I'm sitting there shaking my head and wondering if we were served the same Q...... I'm personally partial to Central Texas style BBQ but as a blogger and a KCBS Certified Judge. I try to base my opinion of each Q-raunt I eat at based on it's own merits and not comparing it to other places I have been.

For example.... I'm not a big fan of sauced meat but when I am served sauced meat I still judge it based on it's appearance, taste, and texture.... Not how it compares to the incredible BBQ I've had in a few places in Texas.

A couple of weeks ago, I was introduced to this place: History ? Jack's BBQ

I had a delcious meal, an interesting conversation with the proprietor, Jack, and a tour of the smoking area. If you are looking for central Texas BBQ in the Seattle area, look no further than Jack's.

Uh-mazing.

[Jeepnokc]

If any of you are interested in a little light reading about ribs. We recently wrapped up the 2015 Oklahoma City Broken Rib Tour.

Great read. Very interesting the different viewpoints between judges and their individual preferences. Also interesting to see the consistency of some of the q-joints year to year compared to some of the others whose quality may vary day to day. Great job.

[aintaokie]

We still go to Bad Brads in Yukon, also Swadleys in Bethany.....best I've found so far. We plan on trying some of the other places around the metro.

[Roger S]

.... Also interesting to see the consistency of some of the q-joints year to year compared to some of the others whose quality may vary day to day. Great job.

What I find the most interesting is that two of the Top 5 have also served me some really, and I mean really, bad ribs.

Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: SNAPSHOT: BACK DOOR BARBECUE 08-25-14
Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: A SILENT NIGHT AT BEDLAM BAR-B-Q

In fact Bedlam BBQ wasn't even on the list in 2014, because of the ribs they had served me in June of 2013, and only made it as a replacement for Mr. Sprigg's. Now they've made the Top 5 both years and only missed being 1st in 2014 by 0.4444 points.

Inconsistency is a huge problem with Oklahoma City BBQ in my opinion. So I was kind of surprised to see 3 of the Top 5 from last year still in the Top 5..... I think the 2016 Tour will really start to show if there is a trend because I should have the same 3 volunteers and the same scoring system in place.

[Roger S]

We still go to Bad Brads in Yukon, also Swadleys in Bethany.....best I've found so far. We plan on trying some of the other places around the metro.

I have been to Bad Brad's twice and left disappointed both times... May have just been due to bad timing.

I've always found Swadley's to be hit and miss... Had some really good meals there and some that left me never wanting to go back.

But I've found Oklahoma City BBQ to be inconsistent in general. I blame it on the quantity over quality business model that the Oklahoma City Q-raunts use.

[Urbanized]

"Volunteers" to go eat ribs... ...man, some people have all of the luck.

[Roger S]

"Volunteers" to go eat ribs... ...man, some people have all of the luck.

HAHA... Yep and they get a t-shirt!

I really did end up with a good group and they helped me offset some of the cost by volunteering to pay for 1 slab of ribs each weekend of the tour. So I only had to cover the cost of 4 slabs of ribs, the shirts, and gas. We had a lot of fun over the 4 days.

[Urbanized]

Well played by all.

[Jersey Boss]

Thanks so much for sharing this entertaining read. I for one particularly like the pork rib being used as the standard. Have you ever given any thought to rating the best by meat specialty?

[Roger S]

Thanks so much for sharing this entertaining read. I for one particularly like the pork rib being used as the standard. Have you ever given any thought to rating the best by meat specialty?

Thanks..... I chose the pork rib because I think it's one meat where Oklahoma equals, or excels at, compared to other parts of the country.

We fail miserably at brisket and pulled pork isn't on the menu at enough places to work. That and pulled pork in Oklahoma is too often chopped, folded, spindled, & mutilated here to even qualify as pulled pork.

The volunteers for this years tour inquired about doing the same for brisket but I don't think I could bring myself to eat 16 samples of Okie Brisket...... Compared to brisket I have eaten in Texas. Our version is just awful. Too often it's dry and flavorless or stringy and tastes like roast beef.

As far as a meat specialty goes. I'm not sure how we would judge that because it would have to be comparative. When we judge the ribs we judge each slab on it's own merits. We don't ask ourself "Is the flavor/aroma/texture of this rib better than the flavor/aroma/texture of the rib I ate the prior weekend?" we ask ourselves "Does the flavor/aroma/texture of this rib make me want to eat it again?". Then we score up or down from the 6 average based on our answer.

And I also don't like to claim my list to be a "Best of" list. Yes, I think it's a fairly comprehensive study of the rib landscape in Oklahoma City but at the same time it's 4 subjective tastes on what we all like in a rib..... I don't want to define what a good rib is supposed to taste/smell/feel like. I just want to find the Q-raunt that serves the style of ribs that I enjoy the most and in turn that the reader that likes their ribs to be similar to my tastes can find as well.

I don't consider the Q-raunts that came in at the bottom of the list to be horrible ribs. One of those at the bottom has been in business for quite some time. So obviously someone enjoys the way they make their ribs. I'm just not one of those people.

[Bullbear]

Brisket is my favorite BBQ.. and it makes me sad that there is no place in OKC that I RAVE about their Brisket. it is as you stated.. always DRY and more like chunks of roast beef with little flavor and not very tender. I sure wish I could find great Brisket!

[BlackmoreRulz]

Kind of sad that Steve's didn't make the rotation this year, I really do like their ribs and was happy to see that I wasn't alone judging by last years results. I haven't found any brisket here in OKC that even comes close to being as flavorful or moist as what comes off of my Primo...still working on the ribs though.

[Roger S]

Kind of sad that Steve's didn't make the rotation this year, I really do like their ribs and was happy to see that I wasn't alone judging by last years results. I haven't found any brisket here in OKC that even comes close to being as flavorful or moist as what comes off of my Primo...still working on the ribs though.

Leaving Steve's off was a tough decision... The location that was our #1 rib last year has been closed and is now Cal's Chicago Style Eatery.... I consider the Steve's in Edmond to be more of a sports bar so I left it off this year.... Next year I would like to include an Edmond/Arcadia loop. So I might add them back to the list of 16 or we might expand to 20..... Getting the 5th weekend in might be tough though due to my KCBS judging starting up in March.

[Roger S]

Brisket is my favorite BBQ.. and it makes me sad that there is no place in OKC that I RAVE about their Brisket. it is as you stated.. always DRY and more like chunks of roast beef with little flavor and not very tender. I sure wish I could find great Brisket!

Yeah.... Unfortunately it seems for those of us that like moist, flavorful, brisket. We have two options... Learn to make it ourselves or make the drive to Central Texas where they have turned brisket into an art form...... Fortunately I have learned how to emulate the brisket I've had in Texas. So I just have to allot myself the time it takes me to make it.

I had hopes that Back Door BBQ would be our brisket salvation but so far theirs has been more like roast beef.

[Bullbear]

yah even the moist brisket from Backdoor isn't exactly what I am looking for.. and the portions are kinda small IMHO.
I am a pretty good cook but have never Tackled Brisket and I always fill up on it in Texas for sure.
but dang cant someone here get it right!

[Roger S]

yah even the moist brisket from Backdoor isn't exactly what I am looking for.. and the portions are kinda small IMHO.
I am a pretty good cook but have never Tackled Brisket and I always fill up on it in Texas for sure.
but dang cant someone here get it right!

I'm not going to name names but I was talking with a pitmaster about cooking Central Texas Style one day and his response was "I'm afraid to advertise Texas Style brisket in Oklahoma.".

[Bullbear]

Thats probably a legit concern. surely there is a way to word it to get the idea across. but I mean we do have lone star steakhouses.

[Roger S]

Thats probably a legit concern. surely there is a way to word it to get the idea across. but I mean we do have lone star steakhouses.

We have quite a few Texas based restaurants here...... If I ever get to try my Saturday only pop-up type thing. I will be serving Texas Style brisket and I think once people get a taste of it they will be hooked.... But that's a pretty big IF with the hours I work at my current profession.

[Bullbear]

Rather than a Tamale lady on saturdays outside 7-11 I need a texas style Brisket Lady.. who am i kidding. I need both!

[zachj7]

My favorite BBQ joint is Joe's up in KC. Is there anything up to that quality or similar in OKC area?

[Roger S]

My favorite BBQ joint is Joe's up in KC. Is there anything up to that quality or similar in OKC area?

I have not made it to KC yet but I would have to say probably not. If there was some place comparable in OKC it would be making all of the popular "Best of" lists that sites like Eater like to put out.

[OKCRT]

I have had some pretty good Brisket at Ok. Station. Catch them at the right time and it's hard to beat in the city.