Ok, so I was subjected to Amish "BBQ" a year or so ago...not a pretty sight. Well, here in the heart of PA Amish country, we had a BBQ place open up in downtown Lancaster a couple months back. Finally got the time and inclination to head in today. Who: J.P.'s Southern Barbeque Where: Lancaster, PA Went in just before lunch time, took a quick look at the menu and went for the brisket platter. ~$9 for a half pound plus of brisket, roll and 2 sides. Went for baked beans and slaw. Chatted with the owner while prep guy was putting the food together. Running a rust-head smoker, aprox 6' long by 2' deep. Inquired about the make, it's fabbed by a local guy in New Holland, PA, name of Melvin Stoltzfus. Jeanine(and anyone else in the area), if you ever decide to go big and rusty on a smoker, this might a good source to look into. What I could see of construction looked pretty solid and well built. Pit is roughly hexagonal, with a 3 sided lid and same with the base. Shop runs all its slow cook vittles over hickory @ 225. Didn't get to find out about ribs and chix. Although no firebox visible, I'm assuming it was offset to the side I couldn't see. One vent on the near end, 3-4" circular on a pivot attachment. No seating, it's strictly a delivery/to go place. A nice 4 burner range/oven beyond the smoker leads me to believe they are cooking most of their sides in house. They start the beef and pork in the evening, do an overnight burn and finish in the morning before opening. Cooked product is foiled and kept in an upright heat cabinet. I'm guessing they do the ribs and chix in the AM after the big chunks o' flesh come off the fire. Platters of ribs, chix, brisket and pulled pork available as well as sandwiches of pork (pulled and chopped), chix and brisket. Sides include slaw, beans, mac 'n' cheese and either macaroni or potato salad (darn senility). Oh, and some rabbit food, too. The Main Event - Brisket was cut thick (~1/4") which is a plus in my book. Almost any brisket comes off as tender when it's sliced paper thin. Meat was moist and tender, but with a little tooth to it. Didn't try and become shredded beef when I picked it up. Sauce on the side (a *good thing*). I firmly believe that any sauce should come on the side and in this case, definitely. The sauce was just a little too "ketchupy" for my taste, although it did serve a purpose(later). Good smoke ring on the beef, about 1/8" or thicker. Nice smoky taste that stood up just fine on its own. Sides - I can't judge the slaw impartially, as it was heavily loaded with onions, which I'm not a big fan of. A mix of white onion, carrot, and green and red cabbage. Lightly sauced (a plus) with a mayo, vinegar, celery seed, and maybe a touch of mustard combination. Taste was good, still got a bit of the cabbage flavor, and not overly sweet. The beans were really nice, a bit smoky and hardly any sweet. Bits of yesterdays BBQ swimming in there to keep the frijoles company. Definitely not enough sugar to be any commercially available beans that I'm aware of. I like a slight sweetness with my beans, so I tossed in a good portion of the BBQ sauce. Added a touch more smokiness and that little hint of sweet that I was looking for. Roll was commercial bought, no biggie (Yes, a roll, no white bread). Likely not as good as the vast majority of AFB can do @ home, but in this neck of the woods where Arby's is the closest thing to 'Que, I'll be making some return visits. Now, if I can just get 'em to put some burnt ends on the menu.... Jason
Barbecue