Review of Big Cat BBQ (Cedar Park, TX)

Big Cat BBQ Facebook & Yelp & Twitter (@BigCatBBQ1)  

I’d heard this place had opened about a week ago, so thought I’d give it a try and stopped to pick up lunch today. They’re located just west of 183 in Cedar Park. It looks like brisket, sausage (German and jalapeno), pork ribs, and pulled pork are the normal items, with other items as specials depending on the day (Facebook indicates they had beef ribs this weekend).

I ordered a three-meat plate (ribs, German sausage, and brisket. The person preparing my food comments that they order their briskets from the same place Franklin BBQ gets theirs. 

Sausage: The sausage has a decent flavor in the meat itself and is juicy. The casing is a little chewy and doesn’t snap quite the way I want. There’s also not a lot of smoke flavor. It has a food flavor, but not a smoky flavor. Call it 5.0/10.

Brisket: The brisket looked fabulous. Nice and moist, a good looking bark, and not over-cooked. But the flavor again seemed to lack much in the way of smoke. I can taste the rub (and it’s a good rub), but not much smoke. I’m wondering if they need to check their venting (maybe venting a little too much)? Call it 5.5/10.

Ribs: With two down I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is where Big Cat really impressed me, Their ribs have a nice crust, are tender and juicy (without being overcooked), and have a good meat to bone ratio. There’s a lovely spicy undertone in the rub. And most importantly, the smoke flavor that was missing in the other two is present here. This is a damn good rib. 9.0/10.

Is it worth a visit? I’d certainly be willing to stop there for lunch and get some ribs. And I’ll have to stop back and try some of their other items. I can also see the potential in their other items if they can just get the smoke added to the meat.

Is it worth a trip? Not at this time. 60+ miles just for their ribs isn’t a good time investment at this point. Let’s reevaluate once they’ve had some time to get their feet more firmly grounded.
 

-Tom