Serious Barbecue in Sacramento

Greetings from the road, everyone! I hope you’ve been enjoying some of the new videos and having fun in the kitchen. I wanted to take a minute to tell you about a wonderful BBQ joint I found in Sacramento. It’s called Sekou’s BBQ, and you really should check it out next time you’re in town. Especially if you’re into beef BBQ. Sekou is a young black man with serious sauce in his veins. And I’m glad that I got to know him a bit.

I came up to Sacramento yesterday to check out some houses I’d found on the Internet. It looks as if I’ll be staying in Northern California for a while, and the Sacramento area is well situated for my needs. After touring several neighborhoods, I checked into my hotel. The clerk told me about the two decent restaurants nearby, and one of them had BBQ in the name, so it was a no-brainer decision for me.

It’s not often you see beef ribs on the menu, so I was pleasantly surprised upon perusing the options. They also had tri-tip, which seems to be the most popular beef in California BBQ places, as well as brisket – another hard to find cut in this area. But it’s been so long since I had any beef ribs, I had to go for them, ordering a full rack.

Now, it most places, you get bones about 5-6 inches long, with 3-4 inches of meat on them, in which case you’ll find anywhere from 6-12 bones on your plate. A few places serve larger bones, but fewer. Well, Sekou’s doesn’t do either of them. For this place, a full rack meant three large bones with more meat than I’ve ever seen grace a set of ribs. I mean, we’re talking well over five total pounds, headed towards ten. It was awesome, as you can see in the photo. Fred Flinstone would have felt right at home.

The ribs were very meaty, well smoked, very juicy and tender. They were everything I hoped for and more. I barely used any sauce at all; that’s how good they were. I had just started carving the carcass when Sekou himself came out to see who was crazy enough to order a full rack of beef ribs for himself… meaning no help. We got to talking about smoking temperatures and other mysteries of barbecue.

A few minutes into the conversation, I asked if I could sample just a bite of his brisket, at which point he hustled me back to the smokers – the altars in this church of slow-cooked meat. As you can see, he had pork butt roasts, tri-tips, ribs and briskets working. He found the brisket he wanted, and carved several good slices right there at the smoker. Folks, I was in Southern Smoked Heaven. Melt in your mouth only begins to describe the sensation.

I am not ashamed to tell you I was unable to finish the ribs. The bartender was kind enough to wrap them tightly so I could bring them home. I had two more helpings while in the hotel room, and I’ve gnawed on them on and off today. Even so, for dinner I returned for some brisket, which I brought back to the room to eat while watching a movie. (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Great movie. Sucky ending.)

Tomorrow night, I’m going back again. More brisket and a single beef bone. Yum!

So… if you’re ever in Sacramento, look up Sekou’s BBQ just a bit north of the city, right off Interstate 80 heading towards Reno. They don’t have a web site yet, but Sekou tells me his wife is working on one. I hope that it will be live by the time you make your trip.

I’ll see you again soon. Until then, remember to…

Play with your food!

Lane