Pierson & Co BBQ

[brucesw]

[Moderator's Note: At a member's smart request, we've split off a few posts from two different topics to create a topic devoted to Pierson & Co. -- CA]

Pierson and Co. BBQ, 5510 T.C. Jester at Mansfield, just north of Tidwell. I debated about putting this in the best TX BBQ thread but that would be a bit presumptuous since it's brand new. Mansfield happens to be the same street that Williams Smokehouse was located on at the intersection with Wheatley a few blocks away. It’s looks like it must’ve been some sort of drive-thru business before; I had spotted it in December when I went up to check out the fire at Williams and mistakenly went up Jester rather than Ella. It’s only been open 5 months.

It’s a family operation and the Pierson’s are very nice people. They are passing out free samples very generously - while I was waiting I got a free rib even though I had ordered ribs. I also got a free gimmie piece of the brisket and it was very tender. As I attacked my ribs, Ms. Pierson came out and asked if I like peach cobbler (duh) so I also got a small sample of the cobbler.

Not that you need any extras - portions are very generous. Since it’s East Texas style it’s messy. A rib dinner, $9.50, included five very meaty ribs (I calcluated by weighing the leftovers about 3 oz meat per rib). They were coated with the sauce and had a kind of pasty exterior that I couldn’t figure out and were very tender; I'd rate them as good. The potato salad was a little sweet but not too much. The beans were a big surprise - also a little sweet, a little like Boston baked beans but with ground meat, some chili powder and peppers (I think jalapeno). It was like a cross between baked beans and chili and though I normally don’t like sweet chili I liked it. You could make a meal out of just a large side order of the beans ($3.95) I've had much worse chili served to me in Houston.

Clarence Pierson came out to introduce himself while I was eating and ask if he had done me right which I assured him he had.

I only ate 3 of the ribs at the store and brought the leftovers home. I also got a half pound of the brisket to go. They apparently got their scale from the same place Thelma got hers - my ½ lb. weighed 12 oz. on my scale at home. The sauce was slathered across the top but had not penetrated all the layers. I expected it to be on the side automatically with an order to go and would ask for it that way in the future as with the ribs. The sauce is not bad, not as bad as what I had at Virgie’s last week, but I’d prefer it on the side. The brisket had a nice smoke ring and smoky flavor and was very moist and tender. The more I’ve nibbled on the brisket at home the more I’ve begun to think Pierson’s brisket is better than Williams. The order included about half and half lean and fatty parts of the brisket. I turned a couple of the pieces over to show the smoke ring but I should have just dumped it all out to show it's a typically messy pile of East Texas brisket, not the neat slices of Central Texas.

I’m not as fond of East Texas style bbq as Central Texas style but I thought this was very good and it could change my mind on that genre. It’s one of the best of that style I’ve had and while the ribs are not up to William’s standard nor quite as good as Thelma’s, it’s good (and you get it without an attitude). I plan to include this in my regular list of places in Houston to get Q. The Pierson's are a pleasure to deal with while getting some very good Q.

The meats include a home-made beef sausage, ham, pork butt and turkey. There are only the 2 sides for plates but they do have baked potatoes. Besides the peach cobbler bread pudding is offered for dessert. There are canned sodas and very thin inadequate napkins.

If you going to try it go very hungry if you’re planning to eat in the store. Accommodations are limited to a narrow counter along one wall with stools but there’s a nice park along T.C. Jester about a mile south that looks like a good place for an impromptu picnic.

Edited August 28, 2008 by chrisamirault (log)

[Morgan_Weber]

If you going to try it go very hungry if you’re planning to eat in the store.  Accommodations are limited to a narrow counter along one wall with stools but there’s a nice park along T.C. Jester about a mile south that looks like a good place for an impromptu picnic.

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Thanks for checking this place out Bruce. You're pictures have me feening for some brisket. I'll have to drop in over there some time soon.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Morgan_Weber (log)

[brucesw]

Revisit: Pierson & Co. BBQ, 5110 W. T.C. Jester @ Mansfield (go up West T.C. Jester from North Loop 610) - see post #143, p. 5, for an earlier report and more pics.

I got free samples of the brisket, links and peach cobbler which is made from a recipe of Clarence Pierson’s 90 year old mother in Crockett. It was my first taste of the beef link and I was impressed. It’s a combo of East Texas style (medium grind ground beef w/red pepper) but had a good natural casing like the CTx styles; it has a good crisp bite to it and some heat Perhaps the best of this genre I’ve had.

I asked him about his pork and he offered a small sample though he said it really was not ready to serve. I thought it was very good and asked him to go ahead and slice some for me to take home. He uses Boston Butt; he said it was about an hour in the smoker and one final step from being ready so it was a little tough but had excellent bark and smokiness. As he described the steps to me I thought it sounded like there were 3 steps left. He has been selling it sliced but has had so many requests for pulled pork that he is going to be offering that. I have only had pulled pork at Lyndon’s, Brookstreet and a defunct place called Memphis BBQ, and I think this will be the best, certainly the smokiest.

I had too small a sample of the bread pudding to really render a judgment.

The boudin is not up to the other offerings. I thought it had good texture (the rice was still detectable as rice for instance) but was a little bland. They don’t produce either the beef link or boudin themselves; the links come from a local supplier while the boudin is from Louisiana.

Clarence Pierson learned bbq from a man in New Iberia as a teen and has been bbq-ing ever since. He uses mesquite exclusively. I was surprised to learn he had a short-lived place just a couple of miles from me on the SW side that I never knew about but he was only leasing that space and bought this one a couple of years ago and opened 6 months ago. The good news he has plans to have a couple of locations around town eventually.

Plans are to enclose the drive through areas and add some picnic tables in that space plus put a paved parking lot out back.

These pictures were taken at home about an hour and a half after the meat was sliced so it looks a little drier than it should. On the left, beef brisket - note some smoke ring approaching ½ “; in the middle, sliced pork; and on the right, beef links. If you’re not going to be eating it right away I’d ask for the links whole rather than sliced so they’ll retain their juices. Got the sauce on the side this time.

Each order was for a half pound but each weighed close to 12 oz at home.

Edited June 23, 2008 by brucesw (log)

[danhole]

Pierson's is so very good! I have had the links, brisket, ribs, beans, bread pudding, and peach cobbler, so far. Next I am going to try the chicken and pork. They are so nice and friendly, and pass out samples without asking for them. The sauce is just right, IMO. I am lucky because this place is not even 5 minutes from my house, so I get to have it as often as I can. It is our new favorite BBQ place in Houston. Tell them Dani sent you . . . they know me by name!

Edited July 1, 2008 by danhole (log)

[jscarbor]

I tried Piersons today and have to say that I love it! These people are super friendly and are very concerned about your experience here. After ordering the young lady(Claerence's(owner/pit master niece) asked if this was my first time. She then ordered up a little sample for me. After getting the sample, the plate of que arrived about 2 minutes later. Im thankful for the sample but its really not neccessary when you have a big order coming. Not a complaint just an observation. Maybe a sample of something I did not order? Now that might be a good idea. On to the food:

Probably the best briskett I have had in a long time. In addition to that it is, as mentioned previously, mesquite smoked which does impart a little different flavor than oak, a little spice and to some extent more smoke flavor which oddly at Beavers(too much smoke) was a complaint of mine. There is a nice bite to this spice wise but not over the top.

Sausage is good but its not really my preference in sausage. They use a fine grind, I'm more of a course grind guy but hey, thats me.

Pork was ok but IMO pork smokes up a little mushy to me. I know a lot of the east coast people swear by pork but for me, I like briskett.

I was not able to try the ribs because they were out but I am quite sure they are good.

Potatoe salad and beans were very good.

About halfway through my glutteny of meat Mrs Virginia(I think thats who it was) brought me a little sample of cobbler that was excellent. If it were a saturday I probably would have gotten some if they had a scoop of ice cream to go with it. But alas, I have to work today and didn't need that weighing me down anymore than I already was/am.

Claerence has plans for this place and I am excited. I checked out his vertical Klose pit and can see that in the very near future serving to a big crowd will be tough. The pit will hold 30 brisketts. So I don't know, 15 briskett, 20 ribs, sausage some chickens...Not a alot when you start throwing stuff in? Maybe there is another pit there or on the way. As a bbq owner though, selling out is what you want really. If they keep up the service, which is key here to me and continue with the quality product they are putting out then this will become Houstons best bbq and could potentially, although a little different in style, compete easily with the central Texas giants.

[jscarbor]

I hate to gush about a place but I had to get over to Piersons today for ribs and have to say that Luling must have been way on top of thier game last weekend to beat Piersons for ribs. On the strength of the briskett and ribs I now declare Piersons the winner of houstons best bbq. The debate is over, everone knows this is the case. Now, will the success of this place cause climate change due to the copiuos amounts of smoke this place is going to create?

Edited July 2, 2008 by jscarbor (log)

[Morgan_Weber]

Because I'm feeling ridiculously lazy on this day, hours before I leave for vacation, I'm just going to copy and paste my lunch experience of Pierson's & Co. BBQ, from an email I sent to jscarbor.

"Ok, Pierson’s was awesome. Ribs and brisket were delicious. The pit guy said they use mesquite, which surprised me cause it didn’t overwhelm the meat. I really like their sauce too. Beans were great, they kinda reminded me of Burn’s. They seemed to have phoned it in on the potato salad and cole slaw, but that’s ok.

She also let us try some peach cobbler which I liked a lot, as well as some rum-raisin bread pudding. Both were really good, but needed ice cream. She said that will be coming soon. They are ridiculously friendly and seem to genuinely care about their food. Thanks for the recommendation."

I'm looking forward to more visits. Apparently they're pretty consistent.

Sorry Kent, this is kind of an East Texas joint...

[jscarbor]

So far I have not heard one person that said they didn't like the que.

Why is Potato salad so hard for these places?

Ice cream will be great to have but how will I be able to eat all that meat then a big cobbler with Ice Cream?

If these people don't make it in the que world then....well I don't know what ,but it would be shameful I guess.

[Kent Wang]

an East Texas joint...

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What's the East Texas style? I believe I recall you mentioning you that before...

[Morgan_Weber]

an East Texas joint...

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What's the East Texas style? I believe I recall you mentioning you that before...

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Not all, but lot of places in Houston and East Texas, typically run by African-Americans (see Thelma's, Burn's, and now Pierson's. Oh and Mount Zion in Huntsville), start their ribs on the pit and finish them in foil, either on the pit or in a cooler. You don't get that nice crisp skin that you do at a Luling or Kreuz-type place, but they're usually really tender. When a person orders, lets say a sampler with sausage, brisket, and pork ribs, it is more than likely going to be served together with sauce covering everything. Usually the sauce is going to be tomato-based, but definitely on the sweeter side of things. Many times, they'll use brown sugar and/or molasses. Sometimes, but not all the time, places like Thelma's or Pierson's will also add what i call Christmas-type spices to their sauce like allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and even coriander. For my taste, Thelma's goes a little overboard on these types of spices.

Usually the beans have brisket trimmings or sausage in them and tend to air on the side of sweetness as well. The potato salad is usually bright yellow from mustard and is also a little on the sweet side. Sometimes sweet pickle relish is used in it.

A side note on potato salad. We were in Austin a couple of weeks ago and went to Kreuz for lunch. I'll get into that in a later post, but I must say, their German Potatoes were awesome. They weren't mustard-based, but vinegar, salt, and pepper...maybe some herbs. I wish I had some right now.

[viva]

I had Pierson's today for lunch - those ribs were some of the best I've had in Houston - fall-off-the-bone tender. Also sampled the chopped brisket sandwich which while tasty, I still prefer Burns' brisket, and the link sausage which was excellent. Peach cobbler rocked as well.

[jscarbor]

My last couple visits to Piersons have not been as positive but still good. I am dropping the ribs down a bit but the briskett remains a true standout.

[danhole]

I dropped by Pierson's last Tuesday to get a smoked chicken, but Clarence didn't have any. He said he usually makes those on Thurs., Fri, & Sat.. and he has a "Chicken List" where you put your name down and they will give you a call to let you know when they have them! That's pretty cool. So he says that he has some smoked turkey, have I tried that? Well no I haven't, so I got a sample, and I bought the rest of it. It was so good. He is offering to smoke turkeys for your Thanksgiving dinners. You bring the turkey and he will smoke it for $1.99 per pound. I may do that, it was so very good. I also got an order of brisket for my DH and a peach cobbler for me. I got the sauce on the side and had too much vinegar, so I had to doctor it up at home, although I hardly ever use sauce because the meat should speak for itself. I may mention that to Clarence next time and see what has changed. It used to be better . . . the sauce I mean. Just thought you all would like to have an option for smoked turkey.

[brucesw]

I dropped by Pierson's last Tuesday to get a smoked chicken, but Clarence didn't have any. He said he usually makes those on Thurs., Fri, & Sat.. and he has a "Chicken List" where you put your name down and they will give you a call to let you know when they have them! That's pretty cool. So he says that he has some smoked turkey, have I tried that? Well no I haven't, so I got a sample, and I bought the rest of it. It was so good. He is offering to smoke turkeys for your Thanksgiving dinners. You bring the turkey and he will smoke it for $1.99 per pound. I may do that, it was so very good. I also got an order of brisket for my DH and a peach cobbler for me. I got the sauce on the side and had too much vinegar, so I had to doctor it up at home, although I hardly ever use sauce because the meat should speak for itself. I may mention that to Clarence next time and see what has changed. It used to be better . . . the sauce I mean. Just thought you all would like to have an option for smoked turkey.

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I haven't ever had any of his chicken and will look forward to trying the turkey. I bet they're both good. I haven't been to Pierson's in a couple of months.

[danhole]

I haven't ever had any of his chicken and will look forward to trying the turkey. I bet they're both good. I haven't been to Pierson's in a couple of months.

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