(09/22/07)(10/07/07)

The Joint

On Memorial Day 2007, BT’s Smokehouse opened on Route 20 in Brimfield, just a few miles west of where I-84 meets the Mass Pike. The BT of BT’s Smokehouse is Brian Treitman, a CIA-trained chef who’s worked some upscale kitchens in the Napa Valley and Boston, but chose to open his own joint in the area to escape the lengthy commute to the city.

In an era when comfy sit-down barbecue restaurants are calling themselves roadside shacks, and boil-and-grill-houses are calling themselves smokehouses, BT’s Smokehouse is actually a roadside barbecue shack in its purest form. The fact that it’s situated in a trailer park—surrounded by broken-down trailers, golf carts and assorted retired lawn furniture—only adds to the ‘cue cred. The set-up is a small trailer with a custom-built offset smoker on the back, a kitchen not much larger than a Fotomat booth, a window for ordering and a canopy-covered outdoor dining area consisting of a few picnic tables with plastic chairs. For the winter there’ll soon be a heated trailer that will serve as the new dining area. A full-fledged restaurant, possibly just a few hundred feet down the road, is also in the planning stage.

The Menu

As you might expect of a roadside shack, the menu at BT's is stark, with just four meats (pork ribs, pulled pork shoulder, beef brisket, chicken) and two sides (baked beans and cole slaw). The beef and pulled pork are available on platters ($7.00), sandwiches ($6.00) and by the pint; ribs are available by the slab ($20.00), half slab ($11.00) or on a platter with chicken ($13.00). Whole and half chickens are also available. You've gotta love that the sides are only a dollar each. In early October, chili and wings were introduced.

The Meat

My wife and I made our inaugural visit BT’s on a Saturday night in August, and ordered two 2-meat combos that spanned all four meats. I returned a month later with a friend for a Sunday lunch, and found both experiences to be fairly similar.

You can order the ribs sauced or unsauced, and I went with the latter. Saying that these were aggressively seasoned would be an understatement, as the naked variety twice packed more flavor into one bone than is often found in a whole rack. The crust was well formed and dark, both from the heavy use of rub and from the smoking process, which leaves a lot of char on the exterior. The spice level was matched by an equally strong smoke component. As for tenderness, I like my ribs a little firm, but I twice thought they were just a little too firm. The wet ribs were near the other end of the spectrum, closer to the style found in a chain, but with a smoke and spice flavor jolt and not as soggy.

Pulled pork, ordered once on a platter and another time on a sandwich, bore a similar flavor profile to the ribs, but with a much better tenderness component. The meat was pink, smoky and succulent, with plenty of dark, spicy bark.

Chicken was moist and juicy, with a crisp exterior that was free of char and amply spiced.

Brisket was twice the star of the show. On the first visit, it arrived in large chunks that had a similar appearance and consistency to pulled pork, with flavorful bark and pulling apart easily. My wife, who usually wants nothing to do with brisket of any kind, could not resist grabbing several pieces of it. On the second visit, the brisket was sliced in the traditional manner. The bark was a little on the dark side—as is the case with most of the meats here—but the tradeoff is more spice per bite than with most briskets I've tried. The meat had a nice flavor, much of it contributed by the fat that was caramelized on the outside and the pool of juices underneath it.

The Sauces

There’s a single sauce: a tomato-based variety that reminded me of a doctored marinara, and surprisingly mild compared to the full-flavored rubs. Hot sauces are also available at the counter.

The Sides

Minimalist baked beans, which could not be more different from the typical baked beans, were firm and free of sauce, but tasty. Unusual cole slaw was fresh, crisp and kicked up with enough dry rub and spices to make the dressing orange. I might make the trip just for this outstanding cole slaw.

The bottom line: It's well worth the 5-mile detour when heading from Boston to New York or vice versa, and I'd travel even further. A true roadside ‘cue experience, BT’s Smokehouse serves up meats and sides that are intensely flavored and very different from what you’d find at your everyday barbecue joint. If you seek bold spices, crave lots of smoke and don’t mind some extra dark bark, BT’s will be right up your alley.

other opinion:

Nikas Culinaria on BT's Smokehouse and interview with Brian Treitman