Sunday, August 15, 2010

An inside look at Dreamland BBQ (Tuscaloosa, AL)

ESPN goes behind the scenes at Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, AL. I grew up just an hour from the UA campus and had had my fair share of their famous ribs, so I had to post this. Head cook Bobby Brant reveals that he smokes with hickory wood and that the ribs only take 45-60 minutes to cook. Thoughts, Texas pitmasters?

Co-owner Jeannette Bishop-Hall opines on Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide's victory over the Longhorns, and their prospects for this season. Again, thoughts? She also says that she's often amazed at people's love for their ribs. I'm not. Salty meat on a bone with great sauce. It's not rocket science.

Dreamland gets all the attention, but I'd like to see a feature on Archibald's. They have the edge.

4 comments:

BBQ Snob said...

Although it was before I moved to Texas, one of my fondest BBQ memories is a trip to Dreamland in the nineties. On our way to Tulane from Ohio to drop me at college, we decided to stop for the night in Tuscaloosa. I convinced my mom and dad that another trip to the O'Charly's (a regional chain) wasn't in the playbook. Instead we drove up the hill to Dreamland and feasted on sauce covered mammoth sized ribs. Between the three of us, we polished off a whole loaf of cheap white bread. The flavor from the grill and the sauce worked together well, and I'm anxious to get back.

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure I went to Archibald's one day and it was literally burning to the ground...fire truck there, everything. And when I asked what was going on the cook says, "man, this has happened before...we'll probably be back open in a few hours..."


So, secret smokey flavor could be the building itself on fire, but you're right, they have the edge.

Blue Moon said...

If Dreamland's ribs only spend 60 mins on the smoker, doesn't that mean that they spend at least 30 minutes boiling somewhere? Oh dear?!

Anonymous said...

I agree,those ribs are boiled before hitting the pit.