A 12 months in the past, Flor and Fletcher Sheridan regarded down at a historic constructing on the market in downtown Alliance, Nebraska, from atop the Ferris wheel arrange for the group’s annual Heritage Days. The small city within the picturesque Sand Hill area of western Nebraska is Flor’s hometown. The couple lived in Houston on the time, and hadn’t significantly thought-about leaving till they noticed how little it might price to purchase their very own barbecue joint in Alliance. The deal on the 110-year-old constructing was too good to go up, so that they bought their home in Houston, grew to become Nebraskans once more final September, and opened the doorways to Golden Hour Barbecue in March.
Coincidentally, I visited Alliance throughout this 12 months’s Heritage Days, however I used to be there for barbecue relatively than the carnival rides. I sat down with a full tray on the entrance of the restaurant’s occasion area, which the couple opened along with the common eating space for the festivities. This is similar room the place Flor attended her aunt’s marriage ceremony reception and her sister’s quinceañera lengthy earlier than she purchased the place. By means of the image window, I noticed youngsters with fresh-squeezed lemonade, the lights of the Ferris wheel, and a muscled teenager taking punches within the abdomen for money. This small city’s attraction wasn’t misplaced on me.
However I had traveled throughout the state to this inconvenient vacation spot with excessive expectations. Fletcher Sheridan started his barbecue coaching at Truth Barbeque in Houston. He developed the smoked turkey katsu sandwich at Roegels Barbecue, and helped it open a brand new Katy location. The final time I’d seen him was after I was reporting a sausage story at Dozier’s in Fulshear, and he had made a ham-and-Swiss hyperlink only for the event. I knew the man had strong Texas barbecue chops, however how would that translate to his personal menu in Nebraska? Astoundingly properly, it turned out.
The Sheridans benefited from the minimal barbecue publicity most of their prospects have. “I’m fascinated by what little barbecue exists on this state, particularly with how large of a beef state it’s,” Fletcher stated. They have been fortunate to not have to alter their imaginative and prescient to suit the realm’s barbecue expectations. Alliance was a clear slate, so there haven’t been complaints about costs, restricted hours, or the truth that Golden Hour Barbecue sells out practically on daily basis. Alternatively, having the smoked brisket right here as your first barbecue expertise will make going to most some other Nebraska barbecue joint a letdown.
The black bark of the brisket was shiny on the reducing block as Fletcher portioned off a fatty slice. It was completely cooked, with melting fats that made it pull-apart tender. We talked as he constructed the tray, and Fletcher stated he lastly felt like he had discovered his barbecue calling. All of it begins within the pit room, after all, however he enjoys speaking with each buyer. “I wished to be the man that is aware of the client’s identify,” he stated as he sliced via juicy house-made beef-and-jalapeño cheese sausages. They’d snappy casings that held onto the flavour of submit oak smoke. Flor’s father owns a trucking firm, so it’s not a problem to get the identical wooden Fletcher was utilizing at Dozier’s shipped to Alliance. He burns it clear within the Nebraska-built M Grills smoker out again.
Feeling festive throughout Heritage Days, Fletcher added pork stomach burnt ends and smoked corn on the cob as specials. Recent buttered candy corn on a summer time day in Nebraska is difficult to beat, however these tender, candy, and smoky nuggets of pork definitely tried. Corn casserole is a daily menu merchandise, and its sweetness is offset by a bit of spice from inexperienced chiles. The remainder of the perimeters have been well-done variations of classics equivalent to slaw, potato salad, beans, and mac and cheese.
Even Golden Hour’s pulled pork is spectacular. It’s held in massive chunks, and Fletcher doesn’t shred it till an order comes via. It was nice on a easy sandwich with house-made pickles, pickled onions, and golden, mustard-based barbecue sauce on a potato bun. Smoked turkey was additionally properly executed, and the tender pork ribs had been brushed with a sauce that was extra acidic than candy. The flavour was a shock, though not disagreeable, however the coloration on their bark suffered.
Flor and Fletcher first met as college students on the College of Nebraska at Kearney. He had left his residence in Texas to pursue a tennis scholarship and missed barbecue dearly. Whereas a pupil, Fletcher took a job at a neighborhood joint that’s now closed. “It was the worst barbecue I had had in my life,” he stated, however the odor of smoke made him much less homesick. He and Flor have now introduced the barbecue classes they discovered in Texas to assist make a reputation for Nebraska barbecue, they usually’re off to an ideal begin.