Clark Crew BBQ

[Bill Robertson]

Billboard around the corner from them says they’re taking bookings for holiday parties.

[Pete]

They should open in early or mid November.

[barrettd]

Here's a Travis Clark competition brisket recipe. Which is far more complex than anything I would do in the backyard. I'm a wood/fire/smoke and salt and pepper, central Texas style brisket guy , real simple.

And Clark uses Kosmos Q rubs and injections, a local guy who has a store near H&H Gun Range. Not surprising, really. I've not tried Kosmos rubs but I do watch his YT vids. He's better known nationally than here.


https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...brisket-recipe

I like the Kosmos rubs a lot, for what it's worth. His SPG is my favorite premade SPG.

[RedDollar]

I like the Kosmos rubs a lot, for what it's worth. His SPG is my favorite premade SPG.

I gotta drop into Kosmos and pick up some of his rubs. My problem is I have so many others that I like, its hard to make a change. And I make a lot of my rubs from recipes.

I gotta say though, he's not too kind to his home state in his YT vids. He would drive some posters on this site into fits I've heard him say that almost all of his business is from out of staters, for some reason, he's not caught on here locally, he says Okies haven't caught on to barbecue.

[TheTravellers]

...he says Okies haven't caught on to barbecue.

If you go by the massive number of people here that think Earl's, Billy Sims, Swadley's, Leo's, Oklahoma Station, etc. is really good barbecue and that Earl's has ridiculously won "Best Barbecue Restaurant" for so many years in the Gazette, he's probably not wrong.

[Roger S]

Yep... What Travellers said...

[Mballard85]

If you go by the massive number of people here that think Earl's, Billy Sims, Swadley's, Leo's, Oklahoma Station, etc. is really good barbecue and that Earl's has ridiculously won "Best Barbecue Restaurant" for so many years in the Gazette, he's probably not wrong.

While I agree with this, I will say that I worked at Earl's for a while after high school and they would have the employee's fill out stacks of the Gazette to make sure they won the award. We would literally spend our slow times filling those things out, it was ridiculous to see how much that meant to the owner, he is a strange guy.

[RedDollar]

If you go by the massive number of people here that think Earl's, Billy Sims, Swadley's, Leo's, Oklahoma Station, etc. is really good barbecue and that Earl's has ridiculously won "Best Barbecue Restaurant" for so many years in the Gazette, he's probably not wrong.

I agree, but I ate at Leo's Just last summer and that place is an old time barbecue joint, with a brick pit, and they give you a wet towel to clean up. Reminded me of going to Bob's in Ada or Bens in Wewoka, where they had a wash bin set up outside the front door. I would not put Leo's in with those others. Don't know I'll be goin back soon, though. The ribs were good. Did not like how the brisket was served and it could be done better.

[Roger S]

Leo's can be hit and miss... When they get it right it's pretty darn good but occasionally they miss the mark.

Definitely more of a nostalgia joint for me.

[TheTravellers]

Leo's can be hit and miss... When they get it right it's pretty darn good but occasionally they miss the mark.

Definitely more of a nostalgia joint for me.

They missed big time when we went a few weeks ago. Brisket had *huge* chunks of gristle/fat in it, was chopped and not sliced (to hide the gristle?), the sides were bog-standard, if not below standard, they didn't have any cake ready, had to sit and wait for 15 minutes after we finished to get the cake (which was just OK), their floor has steel plates covering up god-knows-what and is so rickety it's unbelievable. Went there when I went to Northeast High back in the 80s and they suck compared to back then.

[TheTravellers]

While I agree with this, I will say that I worked at Earl's for a while after high school and they would have the employee's fill out stacks of the Gazette to make sure they won the award. We would literally spend our slow times filling those things out, it was ridiculous to see how much that meant to the owner, he is a strange guy.

Yeah, *any* "people's choice" poll is going to just be a popularity contest instead of an actual "best-of". I never pay serious attention to the Gazette's best-of, or any others (Zagat, Tripadvisor, etc.), also don't pay attention to the Grammys, Emmys, Oscars, etc...

[barrettd]

I gotta drop into Kosmos and pick up some of his rubs. My problem is I have so many others that I like, its hard to make a change. And I make a lot of my rubs from recipes.

I gotta say though, he's not too kind to his home state in his YT vids. He would drive some posters on this site into fits I've heard him say that almost all of his business is from out of staters, for some reason, he's not caught on here locally, he says Okies haven't caught on to barbecue.

I hear ya. I do like his rubs, but I buy a lot of different ones, too. If you haven't yet tried Bexten's, look them up online. His coffee rub is great.

I used to make rubs, but I don't have the energy to do it anymore. I'd rather buy a bunch of different ones and switch it up all the time.

[RedDollar]

I hear ya. I do like his rubs, but I buy a lot of different ones, too. If you haven't yet tried Bexten's, look them up online. His coffee rub is great.

I used to make rubs, but I don't have the energy to do it anymore. I'd rather buy a bunch of different ones and switch it up all the time.

The rubs I make are usually specific to a certain recipe and are in small quantities, like these Tuffy Stone baby backs I smoked recently

or this Chris Lilly Championship Injection pork butt I smoked last weekend

I like doing these recipes because I want to know the flavors the creator is after. Problem with doing this, is I generally am buying an ingredient or two that I will never use again, or if I do, it won't be fresh.

Which is also the problem with store bought rubs. I think they've got a shelf life of about 2 years. I try to buy from the rub maker to get them as fresh as i can, but still I never know how long its set on the shelf.

[warreng88]

I agree, but I ate at Leo's Just last summer and that place is an old time barbecue joint, with a brick pit, and they give you a wet towel to clean up. Reminded me of going to Bob's in Ada or Bens in Wewoka, where they had a wash bin set up outside the front door. I would not put Leo's in with those others. Don't know I'll be goin back soon, though. The ribs were good. Did not like how the brisket was served and it could be done better.

Mmmmm, Bob's in Ada... you got me drooling now. My parents used to live in Ada and we would go there every chance we got.

[barrettd]

The rubs I make are usually specific to a certain recipe and are in small quantities, like these Tuffy Stone baby backs I smoked recently

or this Chris Lilly Championship Injection pork butt I smoked last weekend

I like doing these recipes because I want to know the flavors the creator is after. Problem with doing this, is I generally am buying an ingredient or two that I will never use again, or if I do, it won't be fresh.

Which is also the problem with store bought rubs. I think they've got a shelf life of about 2 years. I try to buy from the rub maker to get them as fresh as i can, but still I never know how long its set on the shelf.

I tend to use up my store bought rubs fairly quickly, so it hasn't been a problem. With so many good rubs out there, I just can't be bothered to sit and mix my own. I do wish there were more with no salt, so I can feel free to salt the meat as I wish. A few of Malcom Reed's rub recipes were on his site for a while. I'm sure he wasn't giving all the secrets, but the Killer Hogs BBQ rub recipe was pretty darn close. He also sent me a pretty good set of ratios for making his AP rub.

[barrettd]

dupe

[OKCRT]

If you go by the massive number of people here that think Earl's, Billy Sims, Swadley's, Leo's, Oklahoma Station, etc. is really good barbecue and that Earl's has ridiculously won "Best Barbecue Restaurant" for so many years in the Gazette, he's probably not wrong.

Leos prob has the best ribs in the State IMO. It's real Q cooked on brick pit with real wood.

[Roger S]

Leos prob has the best ribs in the State IMO. It's real Q cooked on brick pit with real wood.

How many places have you eaten ribs in the state?

[OKCRT]

How many places have you eaten ribs in the state?

Prob 50 or so over the years.

[RedDollar]

If Leo's and George's Happy Hog would up their brisket game, they could both be top notch barbecue joints, cuz the ribs are good, very good.

[TheTravellers]

If Leo's and George's Happy Hog would up their brisket game, they could both be top notch barbecue joints, cuz the ribs are good, very good.

Was planning on hitting up George's for the first time soon, so the ribs are the way to go there?

[pkirk]

Was planning on hitting up George's for the first time soon, so the ribs are the way to go there?

Yes, the ribs are top shelf at George's.

[RedDollar]

But the one time I had George's brisket, it was way below average. I got lean sliced way too thin and it was stiff. Brisket from the flat should pass the " drape " and " tug " test for doneness.

This is a slice of lean from Cornish Smokehouse. Its cut to the right thickness and drapes properly. And if one end is held between the fingers, it will hang without falling apart. But when given a slight tug, it breaks apart easily. And it has great bark and flavor.






I've had brisket from Texlahoma and Maples that was equal to Cornish, although Maples is the only joint I've been to in OKC that gives a choice of fatty or lean.

Leo's brisket had good flavor, but I want a choice between lean and fatty ( or really its between point and flat ) . Leo's is not far off.

[CloudDeckMedia]

While I agree with this, I will say that I worked at Earl's for a while after high school and they would have the employee's fill out stacks of the Gazette to make sure they won the award. We would literally spend our slow times filling those things out, it was ridiculous to see how much that meant to the owner, he is a strange guy.

I thought the owners were Steve Mason & Kym Mason, now owning different locations.

[Dob Hooligan]

I thought the owners were Steve Mason & Kym Mason, now owning different locations.

It's been over ten years, so my early Earl's knowledge is a little hazy. Ex-wife got the visitation rights to Earl's in the divorce, so I had to move on to other restaurants.

Steve Mason was the money man and majority owner when they started about 20 years ago on Western. There were two junior partners who split day to day operations. Matt, the red head who is still there, and a light color haired gent whose name was Andrew, IIRC. Business was so good that they opened the Reno & Meridian location within a couple years and "Andrew" moved there as store manager and Matt stayed on Western as store manager. I think those two have a higher ownership percentage in their individual locations.