SMOKIN BARREL BBQ
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★⭑
District: Millard
Texas-Style BBQ
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Brisket; Sausage; Spare Ribs
As soon as you exit your car and step out into Smokin Barrel BBQ‘s parking lot, your nose is assaulted with the wondrous smell of smoked meats. Before you set foot in the restaurant, you know you’re in for a fantastic meal.
That intoxicating aroma emanates from the food truck out back through which owner/pitmaster Wayne Dinges used to run his entire operation. When he made the jump to a brick and mortar location (just off 132nd and Discovery Dr), he continued smoking his meats in the truck.
This decision makes the parking lot a permanent BBQ air freshener, and it has hungry customers flocking like flies to a streetlamp.
But while it’s the intoxicating scents that get customers in the door for the first time, it’s the incredibly deep, rich flavors of the smoked meats that have them coming back time and time again.
The menu couldn’t be simpler. Smokin Barrel offers four meats—brisket, pulled pork, turkey, and sausage—that can be ordered in 1/2-lb. or 1-lb. increments. There are also half and full racks of meaty spare ribs and several sandwich combinations.
To stay update to date on the daily specials, which range from brisket meatloaf to smoked tri-tip tacos, pastrami pork belly burnt ends, and club-like beef ribs, make sure you follow Smoking Barrel on Facebook.
Orders are placed at the counter, where you’ll watch Wayne cut and portion your meal right in front of you. He’s friendly and gregarious, welcoming old friends and bantering with new ones, and if you’re undecided on a menu item, he’ll likely give you a sample.
As friendly as Wayne is, his hospitality takes a backseat to his skills with the smoker. Each meat is infused with brilliant smoky flavor and featured that beautiful, picturesque bark that adorns top-notch ‘que.
The Brisket is the headliner at Smokin Barrel, as Wayne cuts thick slices of this juicy, unctuous meat. The brisket is on the fattier side, but this isn’t a bad thing; rather, it allows the juice to seep into the meat during the cooking process as a self-marinating tactic. If you can find better brisket in Omaha, let me know. I have yet to find some.
The Sausage is no slouch, either. It has a pleasant casing that produces a nice snap upon biting. The meat itself is combined with herbs and spices to pair nicely with the fatty, meaty flavor of the pork itself.
Then there are the ribs.
Spare ribs are inherently great, as they have more meat and more marbling (hence more fat, hence more flavor) than baby back ribs. Because they come from a tougher portion of the hog, they can get chewy and less flavorful in the wrong hands.
That is not the case at Smokin Barrel.
The meat on these ribs is brilliantly tender, pulling away from the bone with a slight tug. It’s succulent and fully infused with a welcome but not overpowering smoky flavor, and the beautiful pink smoke ring is proof that Smokin Barrel has put a lot of time and energy into the slow-and-low cooking process.
The crown on the ribs is the brilliant bark Smokin Barrel establishes. It not only creates a delicious, complex crust, but it ensures that the meat inside is moist and tender. Plus, these ribs are so large, a half rack is going to demolish most people’s appetites.
Though I’m of the belief that great barbecue needs no sauce and that the flavor of the meat should speak for itself—and Smokin Barrel’s certainly does—the restaurant will oblige you with three options if you desire sauce: sweet, spicy, and bourbon, the latter of which I could drink through a straw.
If Smokin Barrel falls short in one area, the sides are nothing to write home about. Beans, salad, and coleslaw are all pretty run-of-the-mill.
But that’s a small complaint, especially when it means that you just have more stomach space to fill up on meat. And, as your nose informs you as soon as your arrive, you’re going to want all the space you can find at Smokin Barrel.