Big Daddy's BBQ - Gary IN.

You have to watch the you tube clip on there web site. Never been there and cant find the menu, see in the twits they were doing some lamb.
I am ready for some fat hickory smoked spares SOON!

Big Daddy's BBQ
4213 Cleveland St
Gary, IN 46408
219-888-9592
http://www.bigdaddysbarbque.com/index.html

I've never been (or heard of it) but I live near there. I'll see what I can dig up this weekend.

Llama wrote:I've never been (or heard of it) but I live near there. I'll see what I can dig up this weekend.

Big Daddy's BBQ looks to have real potential, Aquarium smoker and years of experience at flea markets and his church before opening the restaurant.

I'd sure be interested in on-site feedback.

I posted about them Here

Maybe when they're cooking indoors on an aquarium smoker things are different.

"Big Daddy's is the best BBQ for 20-miles in any direction"
ReneG

Big Daddy



Chock full Aquarium smoker plus two oil drum cookers chugging away in the back and multiple groups of waiting take-out customers keep Big Daddy and staff busy.

Big Daddy's BBQ Aquarium Smoker



Oil Drum Smokers, with three more in reserve



Standard Chicago South side/West side plating, layer of fries, meat, squishy white bread, we asked for sauce on the side.

Pulled pork sandwich, tip/link combo, half-slab spare ribs, brisket sandwich



When asked Big Daddy's said he uses a combination of mesquite lump charcoal, hickory and apple wood. I'm guessing a lot more mesquite lump charcoal then wood, though the smoke flavor of the meat, while light, was clean with no hint of smolder/creosote.

Spare ribs meaty with nice chew, slightly caramelized exterior from direct style cooking and moist. Flavor/texture suffered a bit from being held, but overall well within the BBQ framework.

Spare Ribs



Tips had nice char, meaty with juicy pockets of fat, great gnawability, though, like the spare ribs, suffered a bit from being held. Tip flavor was dominated by a salty artificial brightness, my guess is Accent, which wore out the palate quickly. Spare ribs had a similar, but less pronounced rub. I am guessing the majority of customers get their meat sauced which would serve to mask the, to my taste, overuse of salty msg based flavor enhancers.

Tips, foreground/Link, background



Fine grain neutral flavored links led me to ask if we had mistakenly received turkey instead of pork. Though the answer was pork, I am still not convinced the mild links were not turkey. Not a bad link overall, I just like more punch in my Hot Links. As an aside, turkey burgers looked good and Big Daddy said he does something called Turkey Burnt Ends, which sounded interesting.

(L) Links, (R) Tips



Light smoke and bits of tasty crisp in the chopped brisket sandwich, though the overall effect was somewhat neutral flavored. Pulled pork moist, though neutral flavored as well.

Liked the greens quite a bit, tender, but not broken down, with chunks of flavorful pork. Tarted up Open Pit as house sauce, I liked the sauce, but I am a fan of original Open Pit in most forms.

Greens



Best BBQ for 20-miles in any direction, sure, not destination BBQ, but worth a stop if in the area, especially if one has a high tolerance for Accent/salt/msg.

Interestingly, I was looking at the pictures of our outing to Big Daddy's and clicked on an absolutely delectable looking image of spare ribs, appearing so incredibly scrumptious I started to reevaluate my impressions. Took me a second, but I realized the spare ribs I was looking at were from Uncle John's, where we went after Big Daddy's. Mack was really on Saturday, tips, links and spare ribs, especially the spare ribs, top of his game.

Enjoy,
Gary

Nice photos and write up Gary, the Aquarium looks fat full oh meat!
Love those oil drum cookers out back.
I wonder what type of dry rub, spices or salts they use?

big daddys is a great stop , went sat. as well
worth the trip

Stopped in for lunch today. I would say it's a step up from the Kenny's next to my house. Tips were similar, not really meaty like UJ's or Honky Tonk's. The hot link was about the same as well. I will probably go back but it's only 10 minutes from my place. I wouldn't make a special trip for it. The place was packed though.

They do Lamb on Saturday's for anyone that's interested.

HI,

Is the lamb smoked?

Regards,

You know I'm not sure. The sign said Lamb on Saturdays and I just assumed it would be smoked.

Big Daddy's BBQ Grand Opening
6823 Grand Avenue, Hammond, IN
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
South Shore CVA to end 30 Stops in 30 Days Wednesday

HAMMOND | The 30 Stops in 30 Days Campaign ends Wednesday at the grand opening of Big Daddy's BBQ in Hammond.

The South Shore Tour Mobile has been making different stops throughout the South Shore during the campaign at restaurants, businesses, events and tourist destinations.

Wednesday's final stop is from noon to 2 p.m. at Big Daddy's BBQ, 6823 Grand Ave. in Hammond.