I was thrilled to find out that the Cowboy BBQ Festival would be coming back to Henderson’s historic Water Street for their annual smoked meat feast! Showing up to this fair last year, I was astonished at the high caliber of ribs, brisket, and pulled pork that were presented. Each year, this event assembles some of the finest BBQ in the country. I was not as blown away this year, as I was last. What was the primary cause for my bbq«let down»? It had to do with the arrival of Rollin’ Smoke BBQ to our fare neighborhood in the past year. I will go into detail. Johnson’s BBQ: Before all else, I needed to try the national 2013 Best Ribs champion. Additionally, I desired to partake in their diverse offerings, so I settled upon their $ 23 Ultimate Combo which would combine Johnson’s acclaimed 1⁄3 slab of ribs with baked beans, coleslaw, 3 oz. pulled pork, 3 oz. brisket, smoked sausage, and bread. — The good: The pork spareribs were remarkable. Wonderfully tender and not overwhelmingly smoked. Each rib was Enormous! The sauce was sweet, but well balanced. The only objection that I had was that you cannot purchase the ribs by themselves, only with a combo. — The average: I liked the smoked sausage, however… my concern was that the sausage was, in all likelihood, procured from a third party, and not formed at Johnson’s. — The not-so-good: The bread was a prepacked run-of-the-mill supermarket hamburger bun. Canned baked beans and Walmart quality coleslaw. The brisket was perhaps, the worst brisket I have ever sampled in my life!!! It was perfectly inedible. I felt like I was chewing on car leather. Likewise, the pulled pork was in the neighborhood of impenetrable. Cowboy’s BBQ and Rib Company. The next day, I checked out one more highly revered BBQ stand. I ordered the BBQ border platter which consisted of a 1⁄3 rack of ribs, brisket, pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, and Texas toast.(Additionally, I ordered jalapeño cornbread) — The good: The potato salad had the appearance of being homemade, and was tasty. The beans were canned, but they were treated with an additional method of preparation, which heightened their odor and taste. The pulled pork was tender and fatty, with the fat pronounced… virtually giving it a pork belly-like savoriness. The sauce had more of a smokiness than sweetness to it, which I preferred than to Johnson’s. I also admired the fact that you could order the meat by themselves, without having to buy a combo, unlike Johnson’s BBQ. — The average: The brisket was more tender than Johnson’s, but it still wasn’t tender enough. very much akin to Rollin’ Smokes. — The not-so-good: I wasn’t a zealot of the ribs. My conclusion was that they were small and somewhat tough. The«Texas toast» was essentially a store-bought packaged dinner roll. The jalapeño cornbread was VERY dry, with little kick from the jalapeño, and it was flavorless. Final Thoughts: Over the past year, we as a community have been fortunately bestowed with Rollin’ Smoke BBQ. Their pork spare ribs, IMO, are relatively equal with a national champions ribs. Their brisket and pulled pork are superior to some of their rivals in some big name BBQ cities. I won’t be holding my breath waiting for the next BBQ festival, when we have some of the best BBQ in the country. We love Rollin’ Smoke, put ‘nother rib on the plate!
