New Barbecue Joint

[jbraynolds]

Exactly. Mesquite coals, not smoke. The Llano Cooper's (in Texas terms, a west Texas place) does indeed practice what's known as "Cowboy" bbq, which isn't smoking but actually low heat, direct grilling. You won't find much smoke, if any in their meats as they're basically slow-grilled over wood that's had the tar burned out of it. You'll also see this at a couple of other places I know of in and around Llano. For what it's worth, there are four "Cooper's" places but only two are actually owned by the Cooper family, the one in Mason and the one in Round Rock. The Mason one, in west Texas, is pretty much like the Llano one (but better, I think) and the Round Rock one uses smoke.

Edited January 3, 2004 by jbraynolds (log)

[jbraynolds]

...and you Tarheels thought that YOUR bbq debate was complicated! At least you guys can agree on the one meat and the one wood.

[Varmint]

...and you Tarheels thought that YOUR bbq debate was complicated! At least you guys can agree on the one meat and the one wood.

Actually, we don't agree on one wood. Hickory is pretty standard, but there's tons of oak and maple out there. If you really want good smoke, pecan's the way to go.

[jbraynolds]

Plenty of Texans and Okies and Arkies would agree with you about the Pecan smoke. I especially like it for pork ribs but can't bring myself to use it on shoulder...I must have some Tarheel blood in me somewhere. Maple doesn't do it for me either.

[woodburner]

Exactly. Mesquite coals, not smoke. The Llano Cooper's (in Texas terms, a west Texas place) does indeed practice what's known as "Cowboy" bbq, which isn't smoking but actually low heat, direct grilling. You won't find much smoke, if any in their meats as they're basically slow-grilled over wood that's had the tar burned out of it. You'll also see this at a couple of other places I know of in and around Llano. For what it's worth, there are four "Cooper's" places but only two are actually owned by the Cooper family, the one in Mason and the one in Round Rock. The Mason one, in west Texas, is pretty much like the Llano one (but better, I think) and the Round Rock one uses smoke.

Speaking from a personal preference, I find a more enjoyable flavor, with most woods that are burnt down as hot coals. While Cooper's does cook in a direct cooking method, the distance from the fire can usually be altered to obtain the desired "grate" temperature. Lending itself more to a "traditional" style bbq.

As we know, bbq style techniques varies from region to region of this country.

woodburner

[jbraynolds]

Unfortunately, the Llano Cooper's isn't able to alter their cooking temperature. It's an equipment problem as well as a volume one. The place is an absolute madhouse, and, sorry to say, the quality has suffered as a result. Maybe this ought to be moved over to the Texas boards...

Edited January 4, 2004 by jbraynolds (log)

[Varmint]

I took the family to the Q Shack for dinner last night and sampled their pulled pork, pulled chicken, St. Louis style beef ribs, smoked turkey, and smoked beef sausage. The ribs were excellent -- tender, but not to the "falling off the bone" extent -- just as they should be. The smoked turkey was lacking much of a smoke flavor and was very dry. They need to brine those breasts. The sausage was a hit with the family. Very flavorful links that will be a lunch staple of mine. The chicken was seasoned with a tomato-based, peppery sauce and would make a great sandwich. The pork was good, not great. It's still much more of a Tennessee style of pulled pork rather than NC style. A lot of that comes from co-owner Scott Howell's growing up in the mountains of NC, where Tennessee barbecue is much more prominent.

I also had a fried pie: apple-blueberry. The crust is made with vegetable shortening, not lard, which I expected. The apples in the filling need to be diced a little more finely, as you don't really want big chunks in a fried pie. The flavor was quite good, and sprinkled with lots of cinnamon sugar, it was a nice treat. That was the only flavor they had on hand. They also had one flavor of ice cream -- strawberry-praline -- but I was too full to give it a try.

The Q Shack is not anywhere near the best barbecue restaurant in the State or area, but it's not trying to be. It offers a broad selection of meats and sides at a reasonable price in a pretty fun environment. I'll visit it often.

Finally, one other feature: the President of the Q Shack indicated that they almost always have extra room in their smokers, and if I ever wanted to bring something by for an evening of smoking, they'd be happy to stick it in there. This is apparently a tradition started at the original Durham location, and a nice tradition at that. Cabrito, anyone????

[woodburner]

Any clue as to what the makeup of the sausage consisted of? Nice perk they offer, regarding pit space.

Don't you just hate dry turkey.

woodburner

[Guilty Gourmand]

I had the pleasure of grabbing a pulled pork sandwich from the Q Shack for lunch on Sunday. As Varmint notes, it is much more of a Tennessee than NC style but I found it to be very good. Even though I grew up down east, I'll gladly take good Tenn. style q over much of the bad eastern style that's around downtown Raleigh. Chose mac-and-cheese as my side which was excellent as were the hushpuppies. What a great addition to the Hillsborough St. dining scene--I look forward to sampling more of their wares soon.

Edited January 5, 2004 by Guilty Gourmand (log)

[Random Alias]

My wife and I ate there last night...and it didn't live up to my expectations.

We had the Chile Rubbed Beef Brisket with Mac & Cheese, and Onion Rings.

And the Mesquite Smoked Beef Sausage with Mac & Cheese, and BBQ Beans

The brisket was dry...and gray...and then a bit drier yet. Decent flavor was there, but you better have some barbecue sauce and a Coke on standby, because after the third bite or so you're going to need a drink....stat. Unfortunately, this is what I was looking forward too, so having it disappoint didn't put me in the best of moods for the rest of the meal.

The sausage itself was not a problem. Good smoky flavor, moist, and a lot of it.

The Mac & Cheese was pretty good. It was very rich, with plenty of cheese and a creamy (almost too creamy) consistency, while avoiding the all too common problem of the macaroni turning into an over cooked mess. The BBQ Baked Beans were probably the best of the sides. Good BBQ flavor, and they hadn't been cooked into submission; still had a little bite to them.

The onion rings were taken frozen from a plastic bag and fried before our eyes, so they were pretty good. A little on the sweet side and (apparently not home made), but still good nonetheless. Specifically chosen as I noticed a lack of Onion rings being held in the warmer tray. Speaking of which, the hushpuppies were decent, but taken from that warmer alongside which sat some lonely looking fried okra which appeared a little past its prime. Enough so, that we were scared away from trying it. The Texas Toast was simply a waste of time. Barely toasted, barely warm, not much flavor.

So why the difference from the mostly glowing reviews written by Varmint? Well, it was 7:00 Wednesday night and there wasn't a single other customer in the place besides us. I guess some of our food (esp. the brisket) was just held too long before serving. I want to like this place, and I suspect it can be better. I'll probably give it another chance, but only if there's a decent sized crowd eating there at the time and then only because of the other reviews above. If I hadn't read those, I'd simply write this place off as nothing special and wouldn't bother fighting NCSU parking to eat there again.

[Varmint]

Is this place something special? Nah -- it's good, and once the NC State students return, it'll have a high turnover. As far as the brisket, that's a shame, as the stuff I had was totally different from what you described. I hadn't tried the onion rings, and it truly saddens me that they use frozen product. I'll keep an eye on this place and report back from time to time.

[Random Alias]

Is this place something special?  Nah -- it's good, and once the NC State students return, it'll have a high turnover.  As far as the brisket, that's a shame, as the stuff I had was totally different from what you described.  I hadn't tried the onion rings, and it truly saddens me that they use frozen product.  I'll keep an eye on this place and report back from time to time.

On the onion rings - really, they weren't bad. Lightly battered, crispy, just a little bit too sweet, but yeah I was surpised to see they were frozen as they're simple enough to make fresh.

Mostly it was that brisket that got to me. The sides were all okay, better than most barbecue places, but obviously the meat is suppsoed to be the star of that show, so when its not up to par, the sides aren't going to save the day. I actually didn't remember your review, and hadn't had barbecue brisket in over a decade, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I wasn't impressed while eating it, but it wasn't until I read your review describing it as, "incredibly tender and juicy", that I new I got a bum steer. Like I originally said, there was good flavor there, it was just too dry.

Probably try lunch there in a couple of weeks once NCSU is back in full swing and If it happens again...I'll take it back and ask them to try again or get me some pulled pork. But really, I think it's just a problem they're going to have when turnover is low...literally there for 30-40 minutes and was the only customer the entire time. 7:00 wed when NCSU is on break is not the time to go.

btw...Is it possible to write about barbecue without using phrases like "Get me some pulled pork"? Think I've got a Southern Accent? Nope, not even close. :)

Edited January 8, 2004 by Random Alias (log)

[Varmint]

Give me a buzz and I'll join you for lunch.

[jbraynolds]

Good question: why do so many people feel obliged to start tossing around the "get me some...", "get a mess o'....", "fine eatin'" type phrases when they discuss bbq and Southern food in general? Or have to use "Hon" when discussing Maryland crabcakes, or "y'all" when Texas is the subject? Or "Oy!" when it's NY delis? These are usually the same ones who can't just say "New Orleans" when they can say "N'Awlins" (rarely, if ever, people who are actually from there, by the way).