This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
What makes I


By Bo Black


n Kansas City, it’s sticky sweet sauce. In Texas, it’s wood-smoked beef. North Carolina has vinegar mop sauce; and in Mem- phis, the pig is king. Barbecue cultures are defi ned by their fl avors, be it the meats they use, the seasonings rubbed on or the method of preparation. And sitting smack dab in the middle of all them is Oklahoma, which is all about…uh…well… Hmm…


There are certainly enough barbecue restaurants in Oklahoma— plenty of places with lines out the door. Most places offer the savory staples like beef brisket, pulled pork, hot links and big slabs of ribs. But what is it that makes Oklahoma barbecue uniquely Oklahoman?


Family Joint


Standing behind the SUV, Bob Garner and Dick Lyne are packing up leftovers. And it’s taking a while. Gallon-sized plastic bags are get- ting stuffed full of smoked chicken and pulled pork and a mountain of brisket.


It’s not that they weren’t hungry, or that their wives who were wait- ing patiently for them to fi nish didn’t want barbecue. It’s just that when you order lunch at Smokin’ Joe’s Rib Ranch and RV Park in Davis, Okla., you’re going home with extra. More importantly, you’re going home with food you don’t want to waste.


Started in 2007 by the Wells family, Smokin’ Joe’s was supposed to be a fun sideline business. The family owned a gas station and, rather than load it up with the usual deli selection found inside such businesses, they opted for the family specialty: barbecue. The reaction was overwhelming.


So when Joe Wells purchased fi ve acres for an RV park, he decided to build a little restaurant on the grounds to expand the business. With seating for just 35 inside, they thought it would run on the weekends and during the summer.


Four years later, a packed-full dining room with a steady stream of takeout orders that tower over the tiny ladies behind the counter is considered a slow day by Wells’s son and daughter-in-law Coby and Bobbie Wells.


Full platter


at Head Country Bar-B-Q Restaurant in Ponca City.


“We are blessed, there’s no doubt about it,” Bobbie said. “The res- taurant keeps us busy, but now we’re doing as much catering out as we do in-house. You hate to complain, but it can be taxing just fi nd- ing the personnel to keep up.” That’s because the catering often takes the family out of town. Sometimes across state lines. The family is proud of the food the kitchen turns out, but they can’t think of anything that makes them especially special—nothing indelibly Oklahoman. “Honestly, we do a bit of everything here,” Coby said, and the menu proves him true. There’s the brisket and the ribs, the pulled pork and the hot link; but they also serve a mean chicken, a hefty Polish sausage, a smoked bologna and a pork tenderloin. The biggest departure from the norm is likely the enormous rib- eye roast, from which Coby cuts 20-ounce-plus pieces of fall-apart- tender meat.


But if there’s any secret to their success, it might be fl exibility. When they fi rst started, they couldn’t get a supply of mesquite wood, so they used hickory. When mesquite became available, they blended the two to fi nd a taste they liked. “We do whatever works,” Coby said.


18 OKLAHOMA LIVING


Photos by Bo Black


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88