Travis Baugh
Back Home Barbecue Is An Homage To The Genre Of Eating.
Welcome to Cued Up! In this new feature, we’ll bust out the wet naps and get elbows deep in sauce in order to find what makes the region’s best barbecue spots tick. We don’t just want to know what makes their ‘cue so damn delicious, though; we’ve got to cut down to the bone of these pitmasters to learn what makes each one of them so special — and why they’ve dedicated their lives to one of the most fundamentally Texas cuisines.
This week, we chowed down on Back Home Barbecue.
Fast Facts on Back Home Barbecue. Overview. “We are trying to keep it real, not be fancy, but be fresh and be consistent,” says owner Jeff Wells.
Back Home Barbecue is opens every day at 11 a.m., making it a great place to stop for lunch or a quick place to pick up dinner. They also have a to-go window if you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to get out of the car.
Some History. “We went through 45 days of product testing where we ate meat every day,” Wells says. “I’m very much a food nerd and I found it quite interesting.”
Wells and his team also did some traveling to all the big barbecue names including Franklin in Austin.
“You go kiss the ring,” Wells says. “It was an incredibly rewarding experience.”
Back Home opened November 14 of last year, and remodeled and upgraded the kitchen again a few months later. They now have two smokers, a red one they named Darth Maul and a larger black one that has been dubbed Darth Vader.
The Pitmaster and His ‘Cue. “When we first started we realized why not everyone does it,” Wells says about the challenge of creating a good product is what drives him and his team. “We are 100 percent behind trying to create the most delicious experience that we possibly can.”
Back Home’s barbecue reflects that. The brisket is juicy and tender while the bark is thick, smoky and full of flavor. The St. Louis style ribs are moist, smothered in flavor and almost fall off the bone. The turkey doesn’t disappoint either. It is flavorful and smoky without being dry.
“I think we are different because we don’t come from a barbecue background,” Wells says. “This is our homage to this genre of eating.”
Back Home Barbecue pretty much sticks to the classics when it comes to the menu, and they have all the handmade sides you would expect to find at a barbecue joint. They have a few healthy options as well like the gluten free cornbread or the ucumber tomato salad.
“We do a distinctive flavor profile,” Wells says. “We don’t taste like anyone else in this town.”
Where: 5014 Ross Avenue, Dallas.
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
Seating: Easy to find a spot.
Line Speed: Fast.
Woods Used: Oak.
Back Home Barbecue stands on Ross Avenue, not far from St. Mathew’s cathedral. This little barbecue house hasn’t been open a year yet, but it’s already making a name for itself.
Jeff Wells didn’t start out in the barbecue scene. His first restaurant in Dallas was the popular Company Café. It wasn’t until after closing the Katy Trail location that an underutilized Smoker would give him the idea to open a barbecue joint of his own. The idea stage didn’t take long and Wells started putting together a team and looking for a location. It was during this time they started building the flavor profiles for the barbecue and experimenting with different recipes.
Jeff Wells has been in food industry for along a long time, working in restaurants since he was 17-years-old. He went to New York to pursue a career in acting. During his time there he managed a bar until he was offered a job here in Dallas helping run Kozy Kitchen. And after working there for a few years Wells went on to start Company Café. Wells didn’t really get in to barbecue until he started working on the Back Home concept.