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Rich Womack, the owner of Big Dawg Barbecue, is about to open a restaurant — The Station on 29th in Bryan. You can’t miss his smokin’ flame-wrapped food truck parked out front of his new neighborhood watering hole’s location when he’s not catering an event. With backyard summer celebrations taking a front seat, we thought this would be a good time to pick Rich’s brain for his best tips for cooking meat, something he knows a lot about. Here is what he told us. —Ellen Ritscher Sackett
IN: What’s the difference between grilling, barbecuing, and smoking
RW: To me, grilling is open flame cooking for meat and vegetables, typically powered by charcoal, propane gas or hardwood. In different parts of the country, when someone says they’re barbecuing, they mean they are actually grilling in the backyard, but it is easier to say we are barbecuing rather than grilling out. If you are barbecuing you are a little more serious.
Grilling
- Usually open flame
- Seasoned or marinated meats or vegetables
- Sauces may be applied during the grilling process to create a bark effect that adheres to the meat (usually chicken, pork or fish)
- Shorter cook time: 10 to 30 minutes
- Different degrees of doneness - Rare, Medium, Well etc.
IN: Talk more about barbecue.
RW: Barbecuing captures different styles for different parts of the county. The most distinctive are Texas barbecue, Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas City. If you order a barbecue sandwich in Georgia, you are probably going to get chicken, in the Carolinas — pork, in Texas — beef brisket. It's really what meats were most predominant years ago in each particular region. This carries on into barbecue sauces also. The Carolinas will have a mustard base sauce that is sweet and tangy. Kansas City likes their sauce more of a tomato base that is thick, sweet and smoky. In Texas, a lot of barbecue places use a vinegar-based sauce that is not as sweet and thinner. Different strokes for different folks. And this is where inter-regional spats begin on who has the best barbecue!
Barbecue by the region
- Texas is known for brisket.
- The Carolinas are known for pork.
- Memphis is known for ribs (pork).
- Kansas City is known for heavy sauces on pork ribs, burnt ends.
IN: Are there different styles of cooking meat too?
RW: Everybody has their own way of cooking, barbecuing, smoking. Especially here in Texas, you hear “low ‘n’ slow — now that is the only way to barbecue”. Some say direct open pit smoking. Others will only use a back-draft smoker, which circulates smoke continuously until it exits. You have closed smokers that contain the smoke until the cooking is complete. Lately, the introduction of pellet smokers has arrived, which has simplified the whole smoking process. Personally, I have found that with pellet smokers, you don't produce the smoke needed to give your meat selection the depth of taste desired.
And just remember: Our brisket will never be as good as someone’s grandpappy that smoked it for three days with wood saved for 10 years from the old oak tree that his grandfather planted at the turn of the century.
Five basic factors to consider when smoking meats or barbecuing.
Before anything else the most important ingredient to great BBQ is “patience.” If you don’t have it you better go to the store and buy some
- Smoke: The type of wood you use
- Temperature: Do you smoke at a high temperature, or low and slow? Either is OK, matched up with the other elements
- Time: Correlates to temperature.
- Finishing process: Do you finish in the smoker unwrapped, in the smoker wrapped, in an oven or in a sealed Alto-Shaam?
- Target Temperature: This is the final temperature you want to reach for the perfect barbecue.
Thin-sliced brisket: 182 to 185 degrees.
Chunked brisket: 190 degrees in the cap.
Chicken: 165 degrees.
Pork: 203 degrees.
Pork ribs: ready when the meat will pull off the bone
IN: How do you monitor your temps?
RW: Lately, there have been many breakthroughs for monitoring the cooking stages of your meats. It was like “the next coming” when I bought my first meat thermometer that was adaptable to WiFi use. I could be across town and get an alert that my meat had reached temp! In years past, I would have to be at my smoker checking temps continuously. Today, I can just call my wife to please turn off my smoker and crack the door. Life saver!
IN: Tell us about your new restaurant, The Station on 29th!
RW: My partner, Mateo Cantu, and I designed it ourselves! We want to create a gathering place for young families to meet. I saw this prop 2 years ago, and it just became available recently. Our intention was to create a comfortable, family friendly atmosphere, outside seating, outdoor games, such as washers, cornhole, et cetera, and a small dog park to have a beer with your best friend. People will be able to come in and hang out or put in a to-go order at the counter and have a beer while they wait!
IN: When will you open?
RW: We’re aiming for a mid-July opening.
IN: Tell me about your menu.
RW: Our base menu is from our food truck, especially our barbecue bowls that we’re most famous for. We’re adding some other items as well, such as brisket Philly cheesesteak, burgers, Tex-Mex cuisine, brisket queso, quesadillas.
I’m embracing brisket! Seventy-five percent of what people order are brisket, and that’s just the way it is! We’ll have our Georgia Peach Cobbler and Caramel Brownie Delight. We’ll also have a full array of draft, caneed, and bottled beers; wine; and of course, margaritas and mixed drinks!
IN: Tell us about the vibe.
RW: You’ll notice the paintings and murals by Mateo, who is only my partner but an accomplished artist that will be all over in and around our site. The atmosphere is going to be laid back. We don’t take ourselves too seriously here. We want people to come in, relax, smile, and make some friends.
Georgia Baked Beans
“One of our sides that we are known for that is just a little different is our Georgia Baked Beans. Here in Texas, there is not a lot of attention paid to beans, but where I come from in Covington, Georgia, beans are a big deal. They have to be sweet, savory and for an additional flavor we add peaches. This recipe can be done in any amount, so when putting together, just use like-sized cans.” —Rich Womack
3 cans Bush's Baked Beans
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can diced peaches (drained)
1 minced onion, sweated
10 oz. of your favorite barbecue sauce
1 cup brown sugar
Combine all ingredients and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or place in large pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
Basic Peach Cobbler
Ingredients:
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup of unsalted butter
32 oz. sliced peaches, drained
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Directions:
- Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a medium-sized bowl
- Add milk and whisk until creamy, no lumps
- Add vanilla extract
- Melt butter and place in 9” X 9”casserole dish; pour batter mixture over melted butter
- Add peaches and mix with batter
Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown crust. (Time differs depending on whether it is baked in a standard or convection oven.)
Enjoy with your favorite vanilla ice cream.
