Review of Riders BBQ (Jarrell, TX)

 

Riders BBQ Website, Facebook, & Yelp 

Decided to swing up to Riders today while waiting for the opening of Rentsch brewery in Georgetown. Riders is located just south of Jarrell off of I-35. They’ve been there about 3 years, and are moving across the freeway in October.

 

Riders is typical counter service and has pits out front. They don’t really do plates as such (not on menu anyway), but offer several sandwiches and meat by the pound in as small a portion as you want. I get a few slices of brisket, a slice of turkey (they slice it big), a piece of sausage, and a St. Louis rib.

 

St. Louis Rib: The rib doesn’t have much crust. It has a good flavor, but there’s not much smoke flavor in it. It is tender. 7.0/10. 

 

 

Brisket: The brisket has a decent bark and is tender. There’s some smoke flavor, but not much other flavor (I’m not really tasting much in the way of salt/pepper or other rub). The smoke has worked in nicely, but it needs something to accent it. 7.0/10.

 

 

Sausage: Decent snap and tender. They apparently have someone else make it but it is their own recipe. There’s a sweet undertone that I can’t quite place. I don’t taste much smoke. 7.5/10.

 

Turkey: Nice subtle smoke flavor, and it is tender and has the right amount of saltiness. It’s the best of the items I tried. 8.0/10. 

 

Riders has turned out a solid offering in the BBQ market. 

 

Is it worth a visit? Yep. It would be a good choice for lunch if you are in the area. 

 

Is it worth a trip?  Not quite. They are on the high end of good with everything, but only the turkey made it into the excellent range, and I usually want 3 or more in that range for a “yes” here. A little work on the brisket rub and adding a little smoke to the sausage and I could reconsider. 

 

-Tom