Cattleack BBQ — Dallas, Texas
If hadn’t gone to Pecan Lodge the day before, Cattleack BBQ in North Dallas might have been the best BBQ experience of my life.
Tucked amid warehouses and office buildings at the end of a nondescript block of storefronts, Cattleack BBQ is only open two days a week (Thursday & Friday) for lunch, and the first Saturday of every month. There’s always a line out the door and free beer on ice. The only seating is a couple picnic tables and a few seats outside. Eating at Cattleack is a pilgrimage, not an excursion.
Owner Todd David and his wife Misty have actually done what everyone says they will and turned their passion for barbecue into a second career after years of perfecting their recipes. One wall is covered with photos of them at BBQ competitions and with most of the luminaries of smoking meat. This is as real as Texas BBQ gets.
I arrived at 11:20 and the line was already lengthy, raising concerns about whether I’d make my afternoon meeting with Arlington’s city manager. Fortunately it moves quickly, especially once they start running out of meats. The pastrami was already gone by the time it was my turn to order, and that’s after they reduced the per-customer limits from 2 lbs. to half a pound, due to overwhelming demand.
I was disappointed, but figured I’d deal. Soon it had completely flown my mind. The brisket being carved in front of my face was one of the most perfectly gelatinous, crusty mounds of meat I’d ever beheld. It was all I could do not to jump over the glass and snatch it from the hands of meat cutter. I felt like a teenage boy seeing his first breast.
I ordered the Texas Trinity again, though this time I had misgivings after seeing the smoked turkey and even the pulled pork, which is typically something I only eat when I make it myself. The beef rib also tempted me; I’ve started ordering it at any BBQ spot of high repute.
The brisket was excellent, smokier and with a beefier taste than Pecan Lodge, though without the same aggressive salt flavor I like in my bark. Cattleack’s brisket lets the meat flavor shine through, and it isn’t that hard to understand why some Dallas locals prefer it to Pecan Lodge.
The ribs were tender and very smokey, without fault but not as transcendent as the brisket. The sausage also excellent, if slightly unremarkable. Both satisfied at the time, but aren’t seared into my memory in quite the same manner as that brisket. Having smoked a good deal of meat myself, I’d guess that amount of smoke would require at least 14 to 18 hours on the pit. My guess is that amount of work for more than a couple days a work is not an appealing idea to the semi-retired owners, hence the limited hours.
I squeezed in to a picnic table next to a local family and friends who had come specially for the meal. The Dads were devouring brisket with relish, while most of the kids ate smoked turkey, ribs and brisket. Only one boy picked impudently at turkey with a fork. I felt bad for the kid. He was almost on the verge of tears, while his younger brother gobbled a small slice of brisket with relish.
For some reason the morose youngster wasn’t ready to handle the beef yet, and having refused to eat delicious things in the past, I can’t say I haven’t been there. Some day he will taste his first brisket, and wonder why his parents didn’t help him see the light at the end of the smoker much sooner.
If you go:
Cattleack Barbecue
13628 Gamma Rd
Dallas, TX 75244
(972) 805–0999
Hours:
Lunch and Take-Out
Thursdays 10:30am — 2pm
Fridays 10:30am — 2pm
1st Saturdays 10:30 am — 3pm
Pro Tip: Get here early and order the pastrami, it’s supposed to be divine. Show up too much after 11am and it’s probably not even worth it.
