Get Your Grill On

By the Pound

I like joints that sell barbecued meats by the pound. In the Northeast, you’ll see this at RUB (NYC), Fette Sau (Brooklyn), Wilson’s (Fairfield CT) and Bendle-Bean’s (Pembroke MA). This method gives you the ultimate flexibility to create any combo you want and eat as much or as little as you want, in the ratios you want. An added bonus, of course, is getting it when you want, ensuring that everything’s as fresh as possible: “We’ll start with a pound of the burnt ends and a half pound each of the pulled pork and pastrami. Then, in a half-hour or so, could you please bring us a pound of sausage and a half pound of brisket? Oh yeah, and Diet Cokes all around!”

Usually, barbecue sold by the pound gets served in a pan, basket or cardboard boat lined with butcher paper. It’s great for sharing, because you can just pass the boats around the way you would Chinese entrées at a family style restaurant. And nobody’s cole slaw is worse for wear.

I’d like to see different prices for different quantities, though. A half pound of pulled pork? That’ll be $7. A full pound? Make it $12. A pound of meat that’s a quarter pound each of four different meats? That would have to be $14.

By the Piece

For meats with bones, it makes more sense to go by the piece. I like BBQ joints that sell ribs not only by the rack and half rack, but also as individual bones. This seems to be more prevalent at Massachusetts BBQ joints, like Blue Ribbon (W. Newton and Arlington), East Coast Grill (Cambridge), Jake’s Dixie Roadhouse (Waltham), Redbones (Somerville) and Firefly’s (Marlboro, Framingham, Quincy). Some places, like Uncle Willie’s (Waterbury CT and New Haven CT) and Hen House (Southington CT), have separate prices for nearly a dozen different permutations of ribs and/or chicken. It makes things a lot easier for groups to order and be able to share, without anyone getting left out.

The single bone is also great as an add-on when you feel like ordering something else (sometimes not even barbecue, as I often do at East Coast Grill in Cambridge), but still want a little taste of rib. Single bones nowadays run as much as $3 per bone, which makes sense for an add-on, but I’d like to see something like whole racks for $22, half racks for $12, additional bones $2 and single bones $3. That way if you’ve got a group of 3 and you want 3 bones apiece, you order a half rack plus 3 bones.

In that vein, I’d also like to see sausages sold by the link. Five guys? Five links. No guesswork.

You could even apply the “by the piece” concept to sides, as is often done for cornbread. If you want cornbread, add it on for 75 cents or so. If not, why waste it?

Go Large

I’m a big believer in the theory that it’s best to order the largest size of any one meat that makes sense. If you order a 4-meat combo with ribs, pulled pork, brisket and chicken, you’ll probably wind up with a piece of chicken that’s nowhere near as good as the whole chicken over at the next table. And your two or three ribs probably won’t be as good as the ribs on that full rack at another table. Racks always taste better than half racks, which always taste better than individual bones. Whole chickens are better than half chickens (which aren’t noticeably better, other than for peace of mind, than quarter chickens). If you and I both feel like ribs and pulled pork, we’re probably better off splitting a rack or half rack along with a pulled pork sandwich. The “Go Large” concept isn’t about getting more food—it’s about getting better food. If you go to the same joint every week and always get that same 4-meat combo, try getting a 2-meat combo instead, alternating the meats from visit to visit. You’ll get better quality.

The obvious drawback of the “Go Large” method is the sharing aspect, which has two components. First, you can only share food with people who share your philosophy on manners. You don’t want Saliva Sam sticking his fork into the tub of potato salad if he just licked the barbecue sauce off it. Or double-dipping his rib into the shared container of barbecue sauce. Always ask for communal serving utensils and make sure you only use them to handle the shared food. Or eat with people who don’t mind swapping spit. The second sharing drawback is making sure there’s not one guy at the center of the table hogging all the ribs. I’m lucky to have a good group of people that I go with, so neither of these pitfalls has ever been a problem.

The Sandwich Route

Sandwiches aren’t just for lunch anymore. They’re a great way to get maximal meats with minimal commitment. If the accompanying sides can be changed up with each sandwich, even better. When alone, I’ll often get a sandwich and two ribs. The sacrifice here is the cornbread (if the two-meat platter includes it), but it’s a small price to pay. With groups (especially even-numbered groups), it’s a lot easier to split a sandwich into two halves or four quarters than it is to divvy up a plate of pork. This strategy lets you sample all the barbecue meats while still leaving room for ribs or other specialties not available as sandwiches. It’s also a great way to enjoy sandwiches that are creations unto themselves, such as the BLFGT (bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato) and the Reuben Crusher at RUB (NYC).