From the backyard to one of Indy's best barbecue joints -- Judge's

Judge Smith at one of his 10 Weber grills

Walking into many barbecue joints, you might ask yourself, “Could I ever do this?” Well, Judge Smith, namesake of Judge’s Tip ofthe Rib Bar-B-Que, is one of us.

Smith grew up in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, in Ofahoma, today an unincorporated area located along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Leake County. While raised on the food of his mother and the barbecue of many friends, it was not until he was in the U.S. Army, stationed at Purdue University, that he began to hone his craft.

“I didn’t barbecue at all while I was down South,” Smith acknowledged. “When I left Mississippi, I was only 21 and just out of school and cooking wasn’t the big thing.” 

That's not to say that he didn't like cooking, but he did not take it up seriously until years later after he reached Purdue, based in West Lafayette, Ind. (Smith also is a graduate of JacksonState University in Mississippi.)

City Barbeque makes it with a “Q,” which also stands for quality

Bill Pemberton and Greg Welch

Bill Pemberton is from West Texas, where -- as he puts it -- “they eat barbecue more than they eat hamburgers.”

When he and his family moved to Central Indiana from Dallas about 15 years ago, they would put a lot of miles on their car in search of good barbecue.

“We basically spent two years driving all over the state trying to find barbecue and finally just quit. We’d ask, ‘Where’s your smoker?’ and they’d say, ‘Smoker? We don’t have a smoker,” said Pemberton, who today manages the City Barbeque location in Avon, Ind. We first met when at City's Greenwood location.

City Barbeque (Greg says this is the correct spelling – “Ours is with a ‘Q’”) first opened in 1999, when Rick Malir and other members of an award-winning barbeque competition team founded the first location in Columbus, Ohio. The team has been a winner at the Kansas City Royal Barbeque competition.

Today, the Dublin, Ohio-based company operates about 25 locations across the Buckeye State and in Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina. 

An Orange Nehi goes well with this.

Opening a bottle full of memories from Indianapolis' Pa & Ma's

The sauce waits for the coals

Over two summers in the early 1980s, a man known to many in the Indiana Statehouse as “The Pope” frequently took a college intern to a small building in the near northside of Indianapolis to further my education.

The lessons I learned from the always interesting Bill Pope did not count toward my degree from Indiana University, but they definitely were lifelong learning.

Today, Pa & Ma’s, located at 974 W. 27th St., continues to serve delicious pork barbecue and its sauce is available for purchase in grocery stores throughout central Indiana.

Opening up a bottle while making some grilled pork chops in backyard awakens memories from 1982, when I first had the rib tips, smothered in Pa & Ma's spicy sauce.

After my freshman year, my father’s connections landed me a summer job in the office of the Indiana Secretary of State. Deep within the bowels of the Statehouse was a dusty, muggy place called the packet room, where records about thousands of corporations in the Hoosier state were kept.

Whenever one someone wanted a copy of a company’s incorporation papers, I was sent to retrieve them. Before long, I found myself working there all day, at what became one of the most sought-after assignments, following orders from "The Pope."

One of the few remaining Democrats left working for a Republican administration, "The Pope" always had good music on the radio, led fascinating discussions on the issues of the day and took me to Pa & Ma’s. He was a massive man – both in physical size and intellectual capacity.

The finished results

Usually, we’d go there to pick up rib tips for whoever wanted them back at the Corporations Division.

Pa & Ma’s is the oldest continuously black-owned restaurant in the city. Open since 1940, I had the privilege of going there when it was still run by its original owners, Anna and Rodney Wilson (Today it is owned by Monica and George Nelson).

The first thing I remembered upon was walking into the small building was the sight of ribs cooking over charcoal in an open brick rib pit. Coming up to a simple counter, we were asked, “Would you like it mild or hot.” Depending on your response, they would put a little or a lot of sauce over your meat.

In other words, they only had one sauce and it was hot.

Eating our rib tips back at the Statehouse always required a lot of napkins. I wouldn’t be surprised if we left our mark on a few documents. 

Computers and the Internet may have replaced the need for a packet room, but thankfully Pa & Ma’s is still with us.

Today, I understand that they also serve good Soul Food staples such as macaroni and cheese, baked beans, greens, sweet potato pie and cobbler. I don’t remember there being a dining room then, but there is one now. You can even select sauces to apply to your food at your table.

As I pour a bottle of Pa & Ma’s sauce over whatever I’m grilling, I’ll think about you Bill Pope, wherever you are.

Here is my wife's recipe for her Smashed Sweet Potatoes:

Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans

Complimenting the pork chops was my wife’s Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans. Here is her recipe, which also can be used as a filling for Sweet Potato Pie:

-- Take four or five sweet potatoes and steam them on the stove top until tender.
-- Remove the skins from the potatoes and place them in a casserole dish and crush them until they are all softened.
-- In a separate fry pan, melt a half stick of butter and add a quarter cup of pure maple syrup and a third of a cup of dried cranberries and a third of a cup of chopped pecans.
-- Saute until the mixture comes to a quick boil. Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes.
-- Gently stir into the potatoes a couple of times and the place into an oven at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve directly from the oven.

Squealers, a place in Indianapolis for ribs and ribbing

Our server Ken can handle a lot

Editor's note: Barbecued Adventures will be relaunched in early 2014 with new posts about barbecue, pitmasters and related travel. This post dates back to May 11, 2011. Thank you for reading and place come back often.   

Here in Indiana, there’s a tradition, “Hoosier Hospitality.” At Squealers Barbecue on the northwest side of Indianapolis, you’ll find it epitomized in our server Ken, who is pictured to your right.

From the moment my wife and I sat down, we realized that the wit and wisdom of Ken would only add to our dining experience. We’ve been big fans of Squealers since they opened their first location in Mooresville, Ind., in 2001.

We have frequented Squealers even more since they established a second location within minutes of my mother’s home in 2004, but usually our pleasure has been limited to what’s been on the plate.

Like many other places, Squealers is the result of people who have left their mark on the competitive BBQ circuit. The father and son team of Ron and Jeff Yater hit the circuit in the mid-1990s and quickly found a following. In 1999, they competed and sold their meats and sauces in about 25 cities, and I learned of them through their participation at Rib America’s festival in Indy.

They’ve continued to compete at events all over the country and their sauce in particular has frequently been honored at the National Barbeque Association Expo.

Clearly, their specialty is pork ribs and Squealers offers both Baby Back and St. Louis style ribs. A popular choice for our family has been their "Barbeque Nachos," which highlight their pulled pork and some gooey cheddar jack cheese.

This was the senior portion!

It’s also nice that they honor older folks like my mother with very ample portions on their senior menu. This is her pulled pork plate and she was happy to go home with leftovers.

On this visit we also were joined by my wife’s sister and a friend of Mom’s. Let’s just say that Ken is a charmer (although Mrs. Ken need not worry).

Because of our recent travels to Texas, I opted to try the beef brisket, and agreed to help my wife with her full rack of baby backs.

As their name would suggest, Squealers is best when the meat of choice is pork. Everyone raved about the ribs and pulled pork and I likely will steer back in that direction of the menu next time (When you’ve had brisket in Texas, the bar is set very high).

Sides such as the Amish-style potato salad and coleslaw are real pleasers and the Brunswick Stew is pretty good too.

At the outset of this article, I mentioned our server, Ken. While we’ve enjoyed the service and recommendations of many kind folks in the service industry, he set himself apart through his jokes, stories and kindness. He also can carry the weight of a lot of barbecue on his shoulders.

Until we come in again, stay well Ken. Tell the family I said they should play your sports video games with you more often.

Location we visited:
Squealers
5515 W. 86th St.
Indianapolis, Indiana
317-871-7427

Smokin’ selections for the Super Bowl in Indy

Thanks to the Super Bowl and many hospitable Hoosiers, our nation is discovering what a great destination that Indianapolis can be for sports, entertainment and food. This is a city that is vibrant year-round with many things to do outside the month of May, which is devoted to a 500-mile race.

It’s also becoming a place where barbecue lovers will find many choices as well. If you’ve been a previous visitor to this column, you’re already aware of places such as Squealer’s, Hank’s Smoked Brisket, Pa and Ma’s Barbecue and the first Indiana location of City Barbeque.

Unlike Memphis, Kansas City and other cities, Indianapolis does not have its own style of barbecue, but there are many here who take pride in showing their influences from all points south.

Here is a short primer to other places you might like to try, whether you’re in town for the Big Game or just looking for some great joints in Indy:

-- Black Diamond Barbecue, 6404 Rucker Road, was opened on the north side in June 2007 by two people who loved cooking ribs in their backyards in the dead of winter (people after my own heart). They serve up the usual selection of ribs, chicken and beef brisket by keeping things simple. Don’t leave without having some pie! They can provide catering for large groups.

-- Judges Tip of the Rib Bar-B-Que, 2104 W. Michigan St., also has the distinction of being a juice smoothie bar. Viewers of the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis voted Judge's the best barbecue place in the state. Obviously, that’s debatable but it’s nice to see a joint that also does BBQ Meatloaf and Smoked Salmon. Don’t wait until the weekend to go to Judge’s – it’s not open on the weekends.

-- King Ribs Bar-B-Q, has three locations, but my favorite one is located at a former car wash at 4130 N. Keystone Ave., which makes it easy to take the barbecue with you. Other locations can be found at 3145 W. 16th St. and at 56th Street and Georgetown Road. If you’re looking for something different, try their barbecued pigs’ feet.

-- Papa Roux, which has locations in the City Market downtown, 222 E. Market St.; and on the east side at 8950 E. 10th St. While Po-Boy sandwiches and stews make up most of its New Orleans-style restaurants, they produce a smoked pulled-pork sandwich that weighs more than a pound. Happily, they’ll serve it to you on bread that is gluten-free.

-- Bar-B-Q Heaven, one of Indianapolis’ oldest and most established joints, 2515 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., does a strong carry-out business and will let you place your order online. A second location can be found at 877 E. 30th St. They have an expansive menu that includes rib tips, turkey ribs and pigs’ feet and the best in soul food sides. Take home a bottle of their sauce! Bar-B-Q Heaven also has a direct tie to the game. It is an official contract recipient in the NFL's Emerging Business Program and is participating in the NFL's Emerging Business Challenge. For more information, visit the Emerging Business website.

I could mention several places, such as Garrett’s Smokehouse Barbeque, the Pit Stop Barbecue in nearby Brownsburg and Big Hoffa’s Barbeque), but I want to keep this article brief and whet your appetite for future columns.

And visitors, please don’t judge us adversely because Famous Dave’s is here too.

Carry out from Hank's Smoked Brisket in Indianapolis

When he was a manager at General Motors’ Allison Transmission factory, Hank Fields used to ship parts all over the country. Today, he makes barbecue lovers from coast-to-coast happy when he ships beef brisket made in his smokehouse on Indianapolis’ near north side.

Just a couple weeks back, Fields (pictured here), owner of Hank’s Smoked Brisket, shipped some of his meat to someone in Arizona, following other orders to people in Washington, D.C. and California.

But most people simply stop by the carry-out restaurant located at 3736 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., and take it with them. If you want to eat it there, you’ll have to take it out to the car.

That’s probably as far as it goes for some people, who can’t wait to eat it before getting home. He estimates that 98 percent of his customers walk out with brisket.

"They get other items, you know ribs, baby backs, spare ribs, chicken, sausage links. They get all the other meat, but you can always betcha they’re going to walk out of here with some brisket," Fields said proudly. "We don’t try to attest ourselves as being the best in the state of Indiana, but we do pretty decent."

We first learned about Hank’s Smoked Brisket from a fellow customer at Squealer’s north side location, who told me, "If you want good brisket, you’ve got to go down to Hank’s."

Originally from Henderson, Texas, a city of about 12,000 people about 120 miles east of Dallas, Fields moved to Indianapolis in February of 1973. He has been cooking barbecue only for about 10 years.

Surprisingly, he did not grow up in a family that barbecued. Instead, he developed a taste for the stuff in friends’ smokehouses while he was growing up.

"There were people around in the surrounding community who used to do smoking," Fields explained. "They had their own smokehouse and everything. They would just leave it hanging out in the smoke house, go out and cut what they wanted off it and eat what they wanted to eat and leave the rest of it hanging.

"See, here we don’t worry about brisket going bad or anything when we smoke it," he added. "Matter of fact, occasionally I might leave a couple of them out for a day or two before I put them in the cooler, and they just get better with age. But for the most part, the brisket only lasts around here for about three to four days -- they gone."

He started out selling barbecue at football games in Indianapolis, using a smoker he had built in Texas. It also was a period of testing out and refining his recipes and technique.

"I started out in a trailer, smoking meat and going out to football games," he recalled. "After that, it was all basically trial and error, finding out what works. It took a few years to find out how it works, what makes it work and what makes it come out good."

In 2004, he opened Hank’s Smoked Brisket in a building he had constructed that also houses a barber shop and beauty salon. "I more than likely perfected it now, but it still gets better," he said of his brisket, which is smoked eight to 12 hours over mesquite wood.

During the year-end holidays, Fields also smokes and sells turkeys and rib eye steaks, which he said "probably are better than the brisket."

During our visit, we ordered brisket, baby back ribs and the chopped pork. Helping to seal the deal was the delicious brisket samples that his right-hand employee, Brenda (pictured right), sliced for us. She makes all the deserts and the potato salad.

In its July cover story about the Circle City’s BBQ, Indianapolis Monthly noted, "Other barbecue joints feature brisket, but few give it the front-and-center attention that it gets at Hank Fields’ Texas barbecue takeout … Fields' signature cut is obviously treated with respect, dressed only with a mild, slightly tangy sauce he says is 'suitable for old men.'"

While I might disagree with the magazine’s assessment of other places featured in the article, not so with Hank’s Smoked Brisket.

Fields has never done competitions and says he never will. "My competition is for you to go somewhere else and come visit Hank," he said plainly.

For many other places in Indy, the competition may be for honorable mention, particularly when it comes to brisket.