Guys - I'm here to tell you: This is some of the best bbq I've *ever* had and I've had a lot of great bbq.
@VanillaGorilla is a great friend of mine, and we decided to go try out Luke's yesterday. We were pleasantlysurprised blown away. Highly recommended for any local Oklahoma people - or if you're passing through and want a tasty pit stop.
I do save my 5 stars for the best of the best, and this place definitely deserves it.
We did the Hog Trough because it comes with a little bit of everything:
Brisket, ribs, chicken, smoked hot links, andouille, pulled pork, and smoked bologna + two huge sides of fried okra, baked beans, and a generous portion of sweet onions and sliced dill pickles. I think drinks would normally be extra, but the guy at the counter threw in two drinks for free. Comes with 4 bread slices, too, but we turned that down.
By the way, this was enough food to generously feed four people. We did our best and mayyyyyybe ate half the meat and about a quarter of the sides. That's a 9x13 aluminum baking pan that our meat was served in for context on the portions.
I'll do a play by play on each item -
Brisket. Melt in your mouth, smoky, perfectly seasoned beef. Nice fat cap left on with a beautiful little crust. Didn't need sauce, but Luke's spicy sauce was pretty good so I kept piling up my perfect bite: a piece of sweet onion, a sliced pickle, a little chunk of brisket, and dip in the spicy sauce.
Just to clarify: the brisket did not *NEED* any sauce. It was good all by itself.
Pulled Pork.
Cooked perfectly. Smoky. Tender.
Sausages/Andouille
smoky, slightly spicy - there was 1 link each of andouille, hot link, and jalapeno-cheddar sausage
Ribs
@VanillaGorilla was of the opinion that these could've used more of a "bark" (a little more sugary rub piled on maybe?), but otherwise these were also delicious and tender and smoky and fall-off-the-bone. I know whether or not fall-off-the-bone happens is a point of contention with some; I was a fan.
Smoked Bologna
I can't be the judge here because even though this is an Oklahoma favorite, I prefer bologna fried. As it goes, though--another winner. No fault could be found, and a generous amount was included.
Chicken
As smoked chicken goes, it was perfectly cooked, nice seasoning, and you could taste the smoke. I was prepared to be judgy, since it was chicken breast, but it was tender and moist; not overcooked.
Sides:
The baked beans were sweet and smoky, bits of brisket in there, and cooked down enough to get that nice, flavorful 'sludge' (no watery liquid).
Pickles/onions - nice sweet onion + plenty of crisp, dill pickle slices
fried okra - crispy, perfectly cooked, and we could only eat about 25% of what was served. Huge helpings.
Overall I highly recommend this place. Oh, and there's a little butcher shop attached. When we go back, I'll be wanting to try the burnt ends (they were out of those; we didn't get there till around 4pm), and the brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and sausages are all do-overs for me.
@VanillaGorilla is a great friend of mine, and we decided to go try out Luke's yesterday. We were pleasantly
I do save my 5 stars for the best of the best, and this place definitely deserves it.
We did the Hog Trough because it comes with a little bit of everything:
Brisket, ribs, chicken, smoked hot links, andouille, pulled pork, and smoked bologna + two huge sides of fried okra, baked beans, and a generous portion of sweet onions and sliced dill pickles. I think drinks would normally be extra, but the guy at the counter threw in two drinks for free. Comes with 4 bread slices, too, but we turned that down.
By the way, this was enough food to generously feed four people. We did our best and mayyyyyybe ate half the meat and about a quarter of the sides. That's a 9x13 aluminum baking pan that our meat was served in for context on the portions.
I'll do a play by play on each item -
Brisket. Melt in your mouth, smoky, perfectly seasoned beef. Nice fat cap left on with a beautiful little crust. Didn't need sauce, but Luke's spicy sauce was pretty good so I kept piling up my perfect bite: a piece of sweet onion, a sliced pickle, a little chunk of brisket, and dip in the spicy sauce.
Just to clarify: the brisket did not *NEED* any sauce. It was good all by itself.
Pulled Pork.
Cooked perfectly. Smoky. Tender.
Sausages/Andouille
smoky, slightly spicy - there was 1 link each of andouille, hot link, and jalapeno-cheddar sausage
Ribs
@VanillaGorilla was of the opinion that these could've used more of a "bark" (a little more sugary rub piled on maybe?), but otherwise these were also delicious and tender and smoky and fall-off-the-bone. I know whether or not fall-off-the-bone happens is a point of contention with some; I was a fan.
Smoked Bologna
I can't be the judge here because even though this is an Oklahoma favorite, I prefer bologna fried. As it goes, though--another winner. No fault could be found, and a generous amount was included.
Chicken
As smoked chicken goes, it was perfectly cooked, nice seasoning, and you could taste the smoke. I was prepared to be judgy, since it was chicken breast, but it was tender and moist; not overcooked.
Sides:
The baked beans were sweet and smoky, bits of brisket in there, and cooked down enough to get that nice, flavorful 'sludge' (no watery liquid).
Pickles/onions - nice sweet onion + plenty of crisp, dill pickle slices
fried okra - crispy, perfectly cooked, and we could only eat about 25% of what was served. Huge helpings.
Overall I highly recommend this place. Oh, and there's a little butcher shop attached. When we go back, I'll be wanting to try the burnt ends (they were out of those; we didn't get there till around 4pm), and the brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and sausages are all do-overs for me.
