Food Truck Bar-B-Que

Our search for quality BBQ here in East Tennessee continues, especially as pertains to baby back pork ribs.  We’ve been to several restaurants in the area that are allegedly renowned for their BBQ and we’ve been disappointed.  As per recommendations sent to us by folks who live in this area, we are working our way through the remaining 7 restaurants or sources that were sent to us…

This is the Blair’s Backwoods BBQ food truck/trailer.  When I took this photo, they were parked next to the Sloan’s Gas Station and car wash in Madisonville Tennessee.  Unfortunately, he had only made a couple racks of ribs because he hadn’t sold very many the previous week so he’d already run out by the time we got there.

Note: The Blair’s Backwoods BBQ food truck is at this location right off of US Hwy. 411 in Madisonville Tennessee on Thursdays…  

I knew that Blair’s next stop would be in nearby Vonore Tennessee on Friday so while he was in Madisonville, I ordered 2 racks of ribs for me to pick up the following day. ($20.00 per rack of ribs)  

Given the fact that in Vonore, Blair’s Backwoods BBQ was parked quite a way off of US Hwy 411, I almost missed it.  His spot in Vonore sits way back in one corner of a parking lot.  The locals know where he parks and they were there picking up food to go when I arrived.

In addition to ribs (full rack or half rack) Blair’s Backwoods BBQ offers customers $4.00 BBQ/pulled pork sandwiches, pulled pork by the pound, smoked chicken, smoked bologna, meat with 2 sides plate lunches. 

This is the Pit Master at work with his mobile BBQ smoker… He’s personable and he’s proud of his BBQ!  I picked up our racks of ribs and headed home…

FYI…All purchases are cash only.  

This is one of the racks of BBQ baby back pork ribs that I bought from Blair’s Backwoods BBQ.  This was before we’d warmed them up in the oven for dinner. 

Before we warmed up the rack of ribs, we applied Famous Dave’s Sweet and Sassy BBQ sauce.  Some folks don’t like to use sauce with ribs but we do… This photo shows the ribs just after we pulled them from the oven and just before I cut them apart before dinner…

Our Blair’s Backwoods BBQ ribs were good…but they really weren’t our style.  First of all, some people like their ribs falling off the bone but we like a little ‘chew’ and from our viewpoint, these ribs were overcooked.  FYI…they were falling off the bone before we heated them at a low temperature.  The other problem is that they really didn’t have any distinctive flavor… They were a bit bland and lacked any real smoky effect… 

By way of comparison, this was a platter of BBQ baby back pork ribs that we recently enjoyed at Big Dude’s home in Greenback Tennessee. (http://bigduesramblings.blogspot.com) Note the color…the impact of the smoke…a bit of bark and ‘chew’.  BBQ is a matter of choice.  Everyone’s different and there are as many opinions about ‘ideal’ BBQ ribs as there are folks who love them.

So…our search for quality BBQ that meets our taste continues here in East Tennessee.  We have 6 more leads to follow up on!

In fact, Blair’s Backwoods BBQ seems to be very popular and he certainly has a legion of supporters.  I don’t know if he sets up his truck anywhere other than Madisonville and Vonore Tennessee but I suspect that he does.  You can call him at 423-519-6640.  He’s on Facebook too at https://www.facebook.com/Blairs-Backwoods-BBQ-239195996124366/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave