How a Texas BBQ Joint Fused Tex-Mex and Craft Barbecue — Smoke Point

Summary

This video takes viewers inside Panther City Barbecue, showcasing the art of Texas-style and Tex-Mex barbecue. From meticulous brisket trimming and seasoning to crafting homemade sausages, the team blends tradition with innovation. Highlights include competition-inspired techniques, like liquid margarine and re-seasoning, and a dedication to preserving both old-school and new-school barbecue flavors. The story also highlights the history of Fort Worth barbecue and the team's mission to bring people together through great food. The focus is on quality, passion, and community, with a nod to history and creativity in every dish.

Takeaways

• 🔥 Panther City Barbecue blends Texas-style barbecue with Tex-Mex flavors, reflecting chefs’ personal and cultural backgrounds.
• 🥩 Sammy trims 265–300 briskets per week, and the trimmings are repurposed for sausages, guisadas, and smash burgers.
• 🧂 Briskets are seasoned with a combination of coarse black pepper, kosher salt, and a six-ingredient in-house rub, often applied a day in advance for maximum flavor.
• 💡 Competition barbecue techniques are incorporated, such as using liquid margarine and re-seasoning during the brisket wrap to enhance flavor and moisture.
• 🍖 Pork butts are treated more simply than brisket, with apple cider vinegar sprays and foil wraps to tenderize without focusing on bark.
• 🏛️ Panther City expanded by purchasing a historic 1931 Fort Worth barbecue location, preserving old-school barbecue flavors and keeping prices accessible.
• 📜 The restaurant acknowledges its historical context, including a segregated entrance from the 1960s, and plans to donate it to a local museum to honor African American history.
• 🌽 The popular 'brisket elote' dish originated accidentally by combining creamed corn with chopped brisket, queso fresco, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, and jalapeño.
• 🌭 All sausages are made in-house with careful grinding, seasoning, and smoking processes, including jalapeño cheese and beef garlic blends.
• 🍔 The menu also includes everyday favorites like smash burgers and tacos, emphasizing simplicity and customer enjoyment.
• 🤝 The overarching mission is to bring people together through food, focusing on flavor, community, and shared dining experiences.

Q & A

How has the barbecue style in Fort Worth evolved?

The barbecue style in Fort Worth has evolved from Austin-style to incorporate various ethnic heritages, blending childhood flavors with Texas-style barbecue. Specifically, the restaurant focuses on a Tex-Mex flavor, adding a unique twist to traditional barbecue.

What role does Sammy play in the barbecue preparation?

Sammy is responsible for trimming briskets at the restaurant, coming in three to four days a week. He trims about 265 to 300 briskets weekly, using a strict trimming process to ensure even cooking and the best possible slices of brisket.

Why is the seasoning process for the briskets so important?

The seasoning process is vital to bring out the best flavors in the brisket. A mustard binder mixed with pickle juice is used, followed by coarse black pepper, kosher salt, and the in-house-made brisket rub. Seasoning the briskets the day before cooking allows the flavors to meld and intensify, ensuring every slice tastes great.

What unique method does the restaurant use for wrapping brisket?

The restaurant wraps brisket with liquid margarine and their in-house brisket rub. This adds moisture, enhances flavor, and re-seasons the brisket during the long cooking process, ensuring a rich and full flavor profile.

How does the restaurant differentiate its brisket from others?

The restaurant differentiates itself by focusing on even cooking and consistent slices, using a more aggressive trim process. Additionally, they apply competition-inspired tricks, like re-seasoning and using liquid margarine, which adds a unique layer of flavor to their brisket.

What makes the pork butt preparation different from brisket?

Pork butts are cooked differently than briskets, with less focus on the bark. Instead of wrapping with butcher paper, they are sprayed with apple cider vinegar and wrapped in foil to cook faster. The goal is to pull apart the pork, as opposed to slicing it like brisket.

Why did the restaurant decide to purchase a second location?

The restaurant purchased a second location to preserve the historic building and the old-school barbecue flavors of Fort Worth. They wanted to maintain the pricing of traditional barbecue while respecting the heritage of the location, which has been in operation since 1931.

What is the significance of the 'Negro Serving Door' at the second location?

The 'Negro Serving Door' was a door at the original building that African Americans were required to use to access the restaurant until the 1960s. The restaurant plans to donate it to a museum to educate people about this piece of history, while emphasizing that everyone is welcome through the front door now.

How did the brisket elote dish come about?

The brisket elote dish originated by accident when a customer asked if the restaurant had 'lotes,' which led to the creation of a creamed corn dish with brisket, queso fresco, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, and jalapenos. It became one of the restaurant's most popular dishes.

What makes the sausages at the restaurant unique?

The restaurant makes all of its sausages in-house, using brisket scraps that are ground down and mixed with fat content, seasoning, and cheese. They offer two primary sausage blends: jalapeno cheese and beef garlic, with the jalapeno cheese sausage being particularly spicy due to high-temp cheddar and dehydrated jalapenos.