In his e-book The Nice Plains, from 1931, Texas creator Walter Prescott Webb wrote that, geographically, the Nice Plains start west of the 98th meridian. The city of Stoneburg sits at 97.9 levels west, and about twenty miles south of Purple River Station, the place cattle drives alongside the Chisholm Path crossed into Oklahoma. “It nonetheless kinda appears like the sting of the frontier out right here,” Wes Stalcup advised me. After a decades-long profession as a pc scientist at Texas Devices, he and his spouse, Becky, opened 5 BarBQ on this speck of a city, simply north of Bowie, in 2021. Stalcup bragged that simply final week he served a bunch that represented three generations of a neighborhood ranch.
Driving at 75 miles per hour alongside U.S. Freeway 81, which in keeping with the Texas Historic Fee is actually paved with gold, it’s arduous to identify the joint. “That’s been an enormous problem,” Stalcup mentioned. “Everyone’s going so quick,” so that they’re planning a billboard on the Oklahoma border to convey vacationers down. For those who’re passing by way of, search for a crumbling stone constructing that’s near the highway. After a 2009 wildfire destroyed a lot of Stoneburg, the outer partitions are all that continues to be of the previous gasoline station, which legend has it was visited by Bonnie and Clyde. “We’ve by no means been in a position to show that,” Stalcup mentioned, however he mentioned the colourful glass blocks got here from the long-gone Ball glass plant in Wichita Falls.
Two companies have failed within the restaurant constructing because it was erected in 2017, and three years in the past, the Stalcups turned the third to offer it a strive. That they had operated a barbecue truck in Celina, about an hour north of Dallas, in 2020, when folks had been determined for out of doors eating choices. Enterprise was good, however the meals truck life was exhausting, so that they looked for a everlasting house. Stoneburg was farther than they’d deliberate to go, however the constructing appeared to suit their wants, and there isn’t a lot competitors within the space.
Stalcup had been a staunch stick burner within the meals truck days, however when planning for the restaurant he sought a smoker that required much less consideration. He checked out Oylers and different rotisserie people who smoke, however mentioned, “I didn’t like how they smothered the fireplace to manage the temperature.” A Cookshack rep arrange a demo for the couple to strive a batch of barbecue smoked with pellets. “I used to be fairly antipellet on the time,” Stalcup admits, however he and Becky had been impressed by the barbecue. He now smokes every part on a Fast Eddy 240 from Cookshack, with oak, pecan, and mesquite pellets.
Peppered pork stomach is likely one of the home specialties. Becky does all of the trimming and seasoning, and she or he coats a complete, skinless pork stomach with their signature five-pepper rub. “There’s extra to life than salt and pepper,” Stalcup mentioned, so he blends twenty components, together with salt, black pepper, candy smoked paprika, floor ancho chiles, cayenne pepper, crushed crimson pepper, white pepper, and two kinds of chili powder in his rub. I counted greater than 5 peppers, and I’m unsure I might style all of them, however the mixture supplied extra heat than warmth. I beloved the tender layers of fats and meat within the pork stomach, and the way properly the rub gathered the smoke taste.
Pork stomach can get fairly wealthy after a couple of bites, and the slices of lean brisket, although flavorful and tender, might have been juicier. I requested for a mixture of the 2 on a sandwich with house-made sauce and Becky’s pickled onions. It was the right stability. Gluten-free buns can be found for a $1 upcharge. The plain, white buns are literally the one merchandise on the menu that isn’t gluten-free. Stalcup, who has an intolerance to wheat, needs anybody else with the identical problem to have the ability to get pleasure from every part from his kitchen. Becky makes a easy but scrumptious bitter cream cake for dessert with a particular gluten-free flour mix shipped in from North Carolina. The identical flour goes in her freshly baked mini corn muffins that come together with each barbecue plate.
The pork ribs get the identical five-pepper rub together with some sauce and butter as they’re wrapped in foil to complete. For the briskets, Stalcup makes use of the foil-boat method, however with a layer of butcher paper between the foil and brisket. Indicators within the restaurant tout licensed Hereford beef, however since its costs have been going up, he switched to Licensed Angus beef simply this previous Sunday.
Muenster, a city recognized for German sausage, is simply over thirty miles east. The Stalcups purchased a variety of sausages from Muenster’s 97-year-old Fischer’s Meat Market and several other from upstart Hess Meat Market, which opened in 2010. They most well-liked the all-pork Oktoberfest hyperlinks from Hess, which they get uncooked from the market, smoke, and function their smoked German sausage. It’s juicy and pairs properly with the pickled onions. After some cajoling, they satisfied Hess to make a beef sausage with jalapeño and cheese, and now provide two regionally made sausage choices.
Becky is from Pennsylvania, and by no means knew a potato salad with mustard in it. Stalcup likes a bit of yellow in his. They couldn’t agree on a recipe earlier than opening, however have since come to a compromise on what they name their “finally” potato salad. It makes use of a mix of mayo, yellow mustard, and dijon together with pickle relish and eggs. The finely chopped slaw additionally will get some zing from dijon mustard. Greater than a splash of cinnamon within the beans turned me off, however Stalcup mentioned loads of clients get pleasure from them.
When ordering on the counter, I noticed the mixture plates included a bottle of water or a can of soda. There’s a $1.50 upcharge for bottles of Dublin soda and for iced tea. I assumed iced tea could be one of many least costly objects to supply, however Stalcup takes his tea critically. He used to make a number of gallons at a time on the stovetop, however that bought to be too time-consuming. He not too long ago bought a Bunn tea brewer, which permits him to regulate the stream price of the water and the steep time. Whereas the Luzianne field requires a batch measurement of three tea baggage, he makes use of 4. “I’m a pc scientist,” he mentioned, so he likes to tinker. He additionally prefers sturdy tea, and that’s what you’ll get at 5 BarBQ, together with free refills.
The Stalcups have come a good distance from cooking on Massive Inexperienced Eggs of their yard, once they would watch cooking exhibits collectively and dream of getting their very own restaurant. It was Wes’s quadruple bypass surgical procedure in 2017 that kicked them into gear. “Life’s too brief to not go chase these desires,” he mentioned. The journey hasn’t been with out velocity bumps. “We’ve offered every part we personal to maintain this factor funded, particularly the primary two years,” Stalcup mentioned, however stays hopeful about the way forward for 5 BarBQ. “We’re hanging in, and placing every part now we have into it.”
5 BarBQ
106 Crabtree, Bowie
Cellphone: 833-522-7271
Hours: Thursday 11–3, Friday–Saturday 11–3 and 5–7:30, Sunday 11–3
Pitmasters: Wes and Becky Stalcup
Methodology: Wooden pellets in a cupboard smoker
12 months opened: 2021