Brick's Smoked Meats: Authentic Texas Barbecue

Before Brick’s was a restaurant, it was a wildly popular stand at the Sarasota Farmers Market, where customers lined up for veteran Pit Master Mark Gabrick’s smoked meats every Saturday morning. “Real Texas barbecue is cooked over oak with a very simple seasoning,” says Gabrick. “It’s not what we put on it, it’s what we don’t put on it that makes it great. It’s about allowing that true beef flavour to shine through with simple smoking methods cooked the old-school way. Really, it’s so simple. It’s just authentic barbecue.” Texas Barbecue Culture is all about craftsmanship, devotion to time-honoured methods, family, being neighbourly and the fun of gathering round the table. Brick’s pays homage to the food of central Texas, and the smoked meat traditions of Central European immigrants, as well as the influence of Mexican cooking. But the restaurant offers more than great barbecue, with sensational side dishes such as Lone Star Caviar made with black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, sweet peppadew peppers , jalapeño and lime vinaigrette, Pit-Smoked Beans with house-smoked bacon, roasted jalapeño, crispy onions and cotija, which is a crumbly Mexican cheese, and delicious Red Bliss Potato Salad with horseradish, crema, red onion, bell pepper, celery, parsley and chives — quite possible the best potato salad I've ever tasted. “Wood. Smoke. Time.” That’s the restaurant’s motto. Simple ingredients and method, flawlessly executed by Mark Gabrick "low and slow." Few things are as American as southern barbecue, and Brick's has hit a 'finger licking good' home run. 

Brick’s has a true Texas vibe, with a pair of longhorns on the wall, exposed brick and fluted corrugated metal, ceiling fans from recycled windmill parts 

Brick's cutlery arrives in a small brown paper bag

Brick's menu highlights Texas-style barbecue and side dishes

Cold Stella Artois 

Brick's famous 14-hour braised Brisket

Pit-Smoked Beans with house-smoked bacon, roasted jalapeño, crispy onions and cotija, 

which is a crumbly Mexican cheese 

Smoked Poblano Slaw

Corn Muffin

Brick's Smoked St Louis Ribs

Red Bliss Potato Salad with horseradish, crema, red onion, bell pepper, celery, parsley and chives

State Street Corn with crema, chipotle, lime, jalapeño and scallions

Bacon Burnt Ends Tacos with Lone Star Caviar of black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, peppadew, jalapeño and lime vinaigrette 

Veteran Pit Master Mark Gabrick

brickssmokedmeats.com

Smoked Poblano Slaw

Serves 6

Recipe courtesy of chef Keith Doherty

2 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup amber honey

1/2 cup smoked poblano peppers, julienned

2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

2 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp black pepper, medium ground

3 cups green savoy cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 cup carrots, julienned

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, honey, peppers, parsley, celery seeds, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Using a whisk, incorporate the ingredients until they are equally distributed. Add the cabbage and carrots. Toss to coat and enjoy.