I finally got around to trying JMueller BBQ a few weeks ago. I switched jobs and had some other things going and didn’t get around to writing up the post. So never the less here it is. I ended up taking all of the photo’s with my iPhone as well.
I have passed the location for JMueller BBQ almost daily since they’ve been open. The problem was that I never knew it was there because I was looking at some restaurants across the street. I knew it was in the area, but just didn’t realize it was where it was. It’s a trailer after all and it just didn’t really catch my attention. The sign is parallel with the street instead of perpendicular, which may have led me to miss it as well.
Photos by Ray Pierce
When we arrived it was about 11:15am. The line was fairly deep, as you can probably tell be the photo. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the line. They had already started to sell out of things by the time we got to the window to order, specifically the Prime Rib. Their prices weren’t as high as I had expected them to be. It was still really affordable for a good bit of food. Another big plus for me is that you get a small sample at the window before you order.
I wanted to get a bit of everything, but my body can only hold so much. So I started off with the basics. Brisket, Beef Sausage, Pork Ribs, and a gigantic beef short rib. Needless to say, it took be three meals to finish off everything because my eyes tell me that I can eat it all. The sausage was very good, it had a great smoke flavor and a really good consistency. I’m not sure if John makes it onsite, or just has it made for him, but it is good. The pork ribs were very tasty with a good peppery rub on them. The meatier end was fantastic, but the lean end was visibly dry and chewy.
Knowing that John grew up in the pits of Louie Mueller’s I couldn’t pass up ordering a beef rib. And I was rewarded for it. It’s a huge amount of meat on the bone, but it was so tender and flavorful. I was able to just take my fork and do some light pulling on it for a bite. The brisket was more of the same. Fantastically smoked and super moist. All I needed was fork to cut it/shred it in the bit sizes.
The BBQ sauce is something a bit different than you typical place. It’s chunky, it has bits of onions in it. It’s almost the consistency of chunky picante sauce. It’s got a different flavor than most “Texas” BBQ sauces, but it similar. Although you don’t need it for the meat, it’s still gives it a different experience.
JMueller BBQ also has a few sides if you are in the mood. The potato salad was good, but nothing spectacular. The side of note is the baked squash, it was really well done and you just don’t find it on many other BBQ menu’s.
So far this is in the top 2 for BBQ joints for me. Everything that I had across the board was really good.
