50 in 50. Top 50 Texas BBQ joints in 50 weeks. 2nd stop: Pecan Lodge in Dallas

We were lucky enough to be 3rd in line…

Okay, so here we are at stop #2 on our 50 in 50 tour of Texas Monthly’s 2013 Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas…stop #2 was Pecan Lodge Catering in downtown Dallas, in the Dallas Farmers Market in Shed #2. This was our first of 5 stops on Saturday, June the 1st…yes, the first of 5 stops for the day.

Two summers ago this month we were fortunate enough to be included in a backyard smokeout that the Texas BBQ Posse invited me to, and Pecan Lodge owners Justin & Diane Fourton and Lockhart Smokehouse owners Jeff and Jill Bergus were there as well. I could not believe the company I was in! As soon as we turned on to the street the house was on in north Dallas, I knew where this shin-gig was taking place as there was a DP Fat 50 sitting out in a driveway. Without hesitation I told my wife Nikki, “That is where the smoekout is” and I was right. That DP Fat 50 is now famously known as “Lurlene“, which Justin uses each work to crank out some of the best BBQ in the country.

Here is the famous Lurlene chugging along…

I wanted to get to Pecan Lodge no later than 9:30 a.m., as if you get there any later than that on a Saturday, you might as well bring your camping gear with you. We got there at 9:35 a.m. and I was presently surprised as we were number three in line. Ever since Guy Fieri invaded Pecan Lodge in April of last year (episode aired May 28th, 2012), the line has been CRAZY long!!! In case you missed the episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives where Pecan Lodge was featured, have no fear, it appears that the episode will be re-aired on the Food Network on June 8th, 2013 at 7:00 PM ET/PT. So, here we are in line, patiently waiting for Pecan Lodge to open…at 11 a.m.!!! By 10 a.m. the line was pretty long and by the time we left at 11:15 a.m. the line was out the front door of Shed #2…I told you the line was CRAZY!!!

Yeah….long line. It went all the way to the beginning of Shed #2.

Thanks Guy…lol. I am sure Justin & Diane (lovingly know as Boss Lady) don’t mind the lines, but I think some locals do. They have a neat bit as well at Pecan Lodge – the 1st person in line each day gets to ring the triangle, signifying that the joint has opened – sort of like someone ringing the famous bell to close the stock market, but the ringing of the triangle is a better payoff, at least for me.

Chad can ring that bell, bell, bell, ring that bell! Pecan Lodge is now OPEN!!!

Since this was the first of 5 stops, we decide to get brisket, ribs and sausage only (we did order the Mac & Cheese as my wife was craving it for breakfast – that is why I love her so much), as this is what Texas Monthly primarily ranked each joint on. Yes, atmosphere and sides did go into the final Texas Monthly rankings, but the three meats we ordered carried the highest percentage of scores for each joints ranking. We only took a few bites of each meat, as we knew if we ate everything at all 5 joints we would be in a meat coma – not a bad place to be, but when attempting to visit 5 joints in one day, it was not the feeling we disired to have at the end of the day. We came prepared as we brought gallon size zip lock bags and a small cooler. We put the names of each joint on their respective bag with a Sharpie marker and put the leftovers in the bag and then into the cooler. Okay, so enough of the boring stuff….on we go to the review of the meats.

1. KING – Brisket. Hands down for me, this was the best of the three meats. The smell of the slice I took a bite of was beef heaven, and the first bite was just as good as the smell. It has a very nice bark to it and the fat had been perfectly rendered. It was beef candy, no doubt. The fat just about melted in my mouth and the smoke flavor was outstanding. For people who love a peppery crust, this is the perfect peace of beef for you. I am not a huge fan of pepper, so for me, it had a bit too much pepper, but I know I am in the minority when it comes to peppered BBQ, especially here in Texas. I also favor mayo over mustard, so sue me. I also really enjoyed the thickness of the slice of the brisket as it was probably twice the size of two pencils put together side by side (I hate math, so don’t ask me how many inches wide it was). I can’t stand a paper thin (don’t know how many inches that is either) piece of brisket, especially if it is a good piece of brisket, so thanks to whoever did the slicing. There is a reason that Pecan Lodge is one of the top 4 joints this time around, and it was very clear after my first bite of brisket. Justin has Lurlene dialed in, and what is impressive is that they weren’t even in existence 5 years ago when the last rankings came out. Get the brisket, and get more than a few slices.

2. QUEEN – Ribs. These spare ribs were perfectly smoked as well and left teeth marks after each bite. They had a nice crust or bark on them as well, and there was a slight sweetness as well. There was no heat that I could detect, but there was plenty of salt and pepper, which created a very nice bark. For me, the it I took had a little too much salt on it, but the smokiness and the tendersness of the ribs was flawless. The taste was great as well, and I love the fact that they keep the rib tips attached, which I think is the best part of a spare rib, especially if the joints are tender enough to eat, which these tips or joints were. Next time we go back, I am going to order at least one beef rib as they looked absolutely amazing. Do yourself a favor and order a few spares and at least one beef rib, and let me know how the beef rib was….please!!!!!

Great looking ribs and sausage…can you smell the goodness?

3. PRINCE – Sausage. Justin makes his own sausage and it is very good. It could have been a little more juicy, but I am glad it did not ooze grease out of the end when I took the first bite. That has happened to me numerous times and if you were sitting across from me when it happened, consider yourself lucky to still have an operating set of eyes. More on sausage squirting on my next entry. This sausage had a nice snap to it and the flavor was good as well. It is a very mild sausage, so if you are not a fan of hot links or spicy sausage, this is the sausage for you. I aqm fairly certain he carries more than just this regular sausage, so if you like your sausage “hotter” be sure to ask Mark when you place you order. By the way…Mark was very cool and looks like a skinny version of Lance Berkman.

Here is Justin signing my copy of Texas Monthly…2 down, 48 to go!!!

All in all, it was a great way to begin our day…to me, there is noting quite better than BBQ for breakfast(and especially if you have a really good flour tortilla on hand, or a few dozen), especially if it is from a joint like Pecan Lodge. Kudos to Justin and Diane as they both quit very high paying (but very demanding and time consuming corporate jobs) to follow their dream, and boy, have they made their dream come true…big time!!! I know that they will be turning out great Q for a long time, and I wish them nothing but success in the future.

But, remember that with success like this comes long lines, so if you want to be the “ringer of the triangle” and open the day here, you better get there by 9 a.m., especially on a Saturday. If not, plan to hang out and visit with the people in line as we did. I met a guy named Chad (first in line and ringing the triangle in the photo above…lucky dude) and we talked for over an hour about our love of BBQ and talked about life as well…it was the perfect beginning to a perfect day. I hope you will enjoy standing in line as much as we did for this great Q…

Here I am on the left, Justin is next to me and my son Dustin in the Spurs shirt. 2 down, 48 to go!!!