Santander wrote:Holy. Sh!t. I am so there for lunch tomorrow (today, Thursday). 1 PM-ish, anyone? We can eat back at my office on the U of C campus if you like.

Brisket at Uncle John's!!

Holy Cow!

If I was not otherwise engaged I would join you in a heartbeat.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

glennpan wrote: In talking to Mack about it, he mentioned that he started serving it shortly after the GNR dinner from talking to Barry from Smoque.

gleam wrote:That, alone, is reason enough to do the GNR dinner again next year.

Ed,

Agreed, it would have also been cool to get Nick and Natalie of Pasticceria Natalina in the same room with Mr. Bullock of Old Fashioned Donuts.

Enjoy,
Gary

Yes, or even with Maria of Il Mulino, since both do the same thing with slightly different approaches to the ingredients.

Oh man!
I was planning on getting some Khan's for take out tonight for dinner in front of the tube. Now I might have to travel a lot further south to try that brisket.

Please, PLEASE, if anyone gets there before me, someone let Mack know that a tip/link/brisket combo NEEDS to be offered if it isn't already.

glennpan wrote:In talking to Mack about it, he mentioned that he started serving it shortly after the GNR dinner from talking to Barry from Smoque.

Time to be immodest and take credit for this one. My wife and I were talking to Mack at the table about how great his BBQ is. So as to not exclude Barry, we told him how much we loved the chopped brisket at Smoque. Mack turned to him and said, "You do brisket?" and you could see the wheels starting to turn in Mack's head. I wonder if Barry will start offering tips and links now.

tapler wrote:I wonder if Barry will start offering tips and links now.

FWIW, Barry and company have been working on a sausage roll-out for some time. It pre-dates the GNR dinner. I tasted some samples at Smoque back in late September. Good news, though, either way!

=R=

Cow bacon.

No, that's not quite right: it's not smoked.

Beef pancetta? Thick cut? But not salt cured?

Hmm.

Steer belly. Bull lardons?

I've never had anything quite like Uncle John's new brisket. It is totally bereft of gristle, richly fatty, and completely melts in your mouth. It is also moist, almost aspic-like, with an overwhelmingly pure beef flavor. You can practically taste the grass. There is no smoke (as mentioned, he has it in a rotisserie immediately to the right of the entrance), just beef, mild seasonings, and lots of warm oil, which it is either marinated in or briefly returned to before serving (would that be blasphemy?) Mine was piping, burning hot when served, yet still on the rare side of medium. I must have received 2/3+ of a pound, not including a handful of fries and two slices of white bread (the way Honky Tonk should be doing it).

The slices indicated a brisket (and cow) of prodigious size, unless it was cut at a severe diagonal. There were no crispy ends to speak of; it was mouthwatering beef fat sheltering a small eye of tender steak. Glistening with fat as it was, it did not immediately look appealing, and I was taken aback by the first bite, missing that Uncle John smoke, but then the wall of genuine beef flavor was right in front of me. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it defies comparison with the standard burnt-ends or crisp-crusted stringy places, and to the delis and buffet carving stations as well.

Also new (in general, or just to me): Mason jars of Mack's sauce for $6, jelly jars for $2.75, mostly unlabelled ("you got to refrigerate this, honey"), and two tiny tubs of coleslaw, one standard and one violently yellow and particularly delicious, with lots of what I think is Coleman's mustard powder, celery salt, and fresh black pepper. The brisket was $8 and there was plenty of it sitting in the rotisserie even after the lunch rush. The order-taker shouted "he wants the BEEF" back to Mack to indicate my choice. I did indeed.

Santander,

You may never realize how many people have made or altered plans based on this post.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:
You may never realize how many people have made or altered plans based on this post.

Yeah I spent over an hour today trying to rearrange my life to get over there but am resigned to an agonizing wait till Saturday lunch hour.

I went last night and picked up some brisket along with my usual tips/links combo. Santander's description was right on the money; I'm looking forward to a brisket sandwich today for lunch.

By the way, the chicken wings are good. I got them a couple weeks ago, and the coating was still crispy when I got home (about three miles) which hasn't always been the case with the larger chicken pieces I've ordered.

HI,

In the spirit of giving fate a little push, I planted the seed in a friend's mind about the brisket. Her husband just happens to work on the south side making a detour to Uncle John's a minor diversion. Lucky me! I got to try some Uncle John's brisket last night!

The few slices I had were from the flat. My friends are veterans of Smoque seemed to think Uncle John's was leaner. I just thought it was tender, flavorful and still a first effort on Mack's part. I like it as-is, I just suspect he will be evolving his brisket over time.

Thanks again for the heads up. The LTHforum lemming effect, which is a compliment, is just revving up!

Regards,

I'm glad you made it down, C2, and that Mack is still running with it, moist and flavorful. Based on my one experience earlier this week, this amazes me:

My friends are veterans of Smoque seemed to think Uncle John's was leaner.

I've eaten at Smoque probably two dozen times, and while I usually get the brisket chopped (as an add-on side to the ribs or pulled pork), I've also had it sliced, and I can barely find any fat on it. It seems to disintegrate in the smoking process, leaving a crisp crust (good), and a completely cooked, sometimes tough meat (bad). Honky Tonk the two times I've had it lately has been much more burnt at one end and still fatty at the other, very nicely done.

I may have just had a fatty brisket from Mr. Fatty McFat Cow, but I've never had more beef fat on a plate (than at UJ's.) The marbling was the meat instead of vice versa. And it was somehow still delectable.

HI,

Actually, I didn't personally make it over to Uncle John's, it was my friend's husband. I learned today, he was not the only husband who was there at his wife's request. There was another guy in line who was there because his wife had read your post.

Thank you again for highlighting this!

Regards,

Santander wrote:I may have just had a fatty brisket from Mr. Fatty McFat Cow, but I've never had more beef fat on a plate (than at UJ's.) The marbling was the meat instead of vice versa. And it was somehow still delectable.

Santander,

There are two distinct sections to beef brisket, the point (deckle) which is heavily marbled and the flat which, in comparison to the point, is relatively lean. The complete brisket, both sections sold together, is referred to as a Packer Cut Brisket and it what is commonly used for low and slow BBQ.

Enjoy,
Gary

When you see what Mack is doing, Gary, let me know how you think he's getting or making his cuts (and also, how they are processed before and after rotisserie). I'm familiar with my brisket and he mixed in from both ends in my portion; all were richly fatty.

Uncle John's doesn't need any more praise, nor is it exciting to read post after post fawning over the joint, but I simply have to...

I visited Uncle John's for the first time last night, and, unfortunately, didn't check the latest posts here, nor see the brisket sign, or else I would have been all over it.

However, I ordered the tips and links combo, and let me just say that Mack is my new favorite pitmaster.

SO GOOD. HOLY COW.

I've only been to Honey 1 in the Chicago area, and it's good, but in my humble opinion, Uncle John's BBQ is the best I've had.

I hope to check out Smoque, Lem's and Barbara Ann's soon to have a more rounded opinion.

Stopped in Uncle John's last week and Mack asked me to spread the word that the holiday prime rib will be available starting on Saturday. Enjoy!

HI,

Can you explain what is the holiday prime rib? Is it a slice of a smoked rib roast?

Regards,

I have yet to partake in the prime rib. Ronnie Suburban references it in this post. I intend to give it a try this year. Will report back if I do...

tapler wrote:I have yet to partake in the prime rib. Ronnie Suburban references it in this post. I intend to give it a try this year. Will report back if I do...

Very cool, please do give us a review when it arrives!

Was at UJ's last week (the tips and links were terrific as usual; also
picked up a medium link on the side, and it was very good and much
larger than expected - 4 pieces, ie 2 *large* links cut in half, fries,
bread and slaw). Also, was told (on asking) that the Brisket is
still available, and will be offically put on the menu soon, thus
making it *really* permanent (at the moment its available regularly
enough, but isnt offically printed up on the menu).

c8w

I went to UJs yesterday evening looking to try the Prime Rib, and have some tips of course. When I stopped by, the place was dark which surprised me.

On the door there is a big green license suspended sign!!! Mack apparently put a small sign underneath offering information on this with the usual phone number. There was no answer at the number yesterday evening. I hope this is not as bad as it appears. Sorry to ruin peoples holiday with this.

Glenn

glennpan wrote:There was no answer at the number yesterday evening. I hope this is not as bad as it appears. Sorry to ruin peoples holiday with this.

Glenn,

I spoke to Mack, he hopes to be reopen early next week, possibly as soon as Monday.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:I spoke to Mack, he hopes to be reopen early next week, possibly as soon as Monday.

Spoke to Mack today, Uncle John's is back up and running at full speed. Mack mentioned he will, in addition to his regular BBQ items, have both brisket and rib-eye roast available on Saturday.

Enjoy,
Gary

Uncle John's BBQ
337 E 69th Street
Chicago, IL 60619
773-892-1233
Closed Sunday

Hi,

I was just interested in some of the talk about a year ago about BBQ and Chicago's disputed claims to it.

I was thinking about the history of Chicago, and the history of Barbecue. I was wondering if anyone could trace Chicago BBQ, and more specifically, the owners of BBQ joints in Chicago. Does anyone know if Mack has lived in Chicago all of his life? Or is he originally from / have family ties to the big BBQ regions?

Thanks!

dippy-do-da-egg wrote:I was wondering if anyone could trace Chicago BBQ, and more specifically, the owners of BBQ joints in Chicago. Does anyone know if Mack has lived in Chicago all of his life?

Mack Sevier grew up in Arkansas as did Robert Adams Sr of Honey 1. My impression is that many of Chicago's celebrated pitmasters (many now gone) were from the southern states.

On the topic of Chicago BBQ history, we lost a significant building last week. Elliott's Kitchen was at 534 W Garfield Blvd (55th St) until the 1970s when it was converted into a Baptist church. You could still see the pit area in the back of the long white brick structure. I suspect it was originally a true open pit in the days before safer stainless steel and tempered glass smokers were mandated.

534 W Garfield, 14 Jan 2008


How about another random piece of Chicago BBQ history? I've been looking into Mumbo Sauce recently and it's an interesting story. Although often associated with Washington DC, it's really a Chicago product, served at Collins Barbecue (now closed) since the 1940s. One of the Collins brothers, Argia B (from Mississippi by the way), began bottling it and became something of a pioneer in African-American food marketing. Argia B passed away several years ago but Mumbo Sauce lives on. You can find it in many Chicago markets.

Mumbo Sauce in the 1950s

dippy-do-da-egg wrote:Does anyone know if Mack has lived in Chicago all of his life? Or is he originally from / have family ties to the big BBQ regions?

Dippy,

I put together a short biography for Mack Sevier, along with Robert Adams Sr, Delars Bracy and Myles and Bruce Lemons, for a Slow Food BBQ tour I did, which may be found here

Enjoy,
Gary

Thanks to this group--and the local restaurants awards--I've discovered Uncle John's, which is conveniently close to me in Hyde Park. I've started making it a regular Saturday run, an end-of-the-week treat. Having tried several South Side BBQ places, including Barbara Ann's, this is clearly the best, for both its superb hot links and meaty rib tips, which have a great mixture of chewy and succulent bits.

My only beef (or should I say pork) with the restaurant is the fries. They are clearly an afterthought--scrawny, industrial zig-zag fries, with little texture or flavor. There are better at other places. But Uncle John's stands out for the meat. (Why do all these places give you only two slices of bread? I could go through half a loaf with an order of tips and ribs!)

Jerry wrote:(Why do all these places give you only two slices of bread? I could go through half a loaf with an order of tips and ribs!)

I believe you answered your own question

Hi,

At Southern Foodways last year, an explanation was offered for the two slices of bread. When people travelled by railroad, they brought their meals from home encased in a shoebox. The bread would be put on the bottom to soak up the grease, then fried chicken on top. There might be some hardboiled eggs, a piece of cake or some pralines packed in there too. Ostensibly the bread was there to keep the box from absorbing the grease and making a mess.

The bread on the bottom at rib joints appears to be a carry over of this tradition. Probably if you asked them why, they may not have any explanation because that was what they always experienced.

Regards,

Actually, at Uncle John's the bread is on the TOP. As an evolutionist, I think the explanation tendered above makes the existence of bread in the BBQ plate a VESTIGIAL FOODSTUFF.

Cathy2 wrote:At Southern Foodways last year, an explanation was offered for the two slices of bread. When people travelled by railroad, they brought their meals from home encased in a shoebox. The bread would be put on the bottom to soak up the grease, then fried chicken on top. There might be some hardboiled eggs, a piece of cake or some pralines packed in there too. Ostensibly the bread was there to keep the box from absorbing the grease and making a mess.

The bread on the bottom at rib joints appears to be a carry over of this tradition. Probably if you asked them why, they may not have any explanation because that was what they always experienced.

Jerry wrote:Actually, at Uncle John's the bread is on the TOP. As an evolutionist, I think the explanation tendered above makes the existence of bread in the BBQ plate a VESTIGIAL FOODSTUFF.

In my experience, nearly all Chicago barbecue houses serve the bread on top. Even at Harold's, the bread comes on top of the chicken.

I like the hypothesis that the bread is a vestigial foodstuff but would like to advance another possibility. When barbecue migrated northward to Chicago in the early twentieth century it began to be served on a bed of French fries, forcing the bread to the top. Freed of its original role a grease soaker, it took on a new function—keeping the meat warm during transport in Chicago's frigid winters. In other words, when the bread migrated from bottom to top, it went from sopper to insulator, yet another case of transfer exaptation.