On July 4th, American Independence Day, the saloon doors will swing open to Texas Joe’s Slow Smoked Meats. Bringing the spirit of his home state to Bermondsey, Texas Joe’s will feature traditional BBQ meats, done the Texan way, plus a separate honky-tonk bar complete with jukebox, whisky, and tequila.
The menu will be a strictly Texas affair, with traditional meats and cuts prepared simply with a heavy dose of smoke, salt and pepper. Meats will be slow smoked over English oak from London Log Company in a custom 500-pound capacity rotisserie which has been painted in the colours of the University of Texas at Austin and nicknamed BEVO.
Signature dishes include USDA beef brisket, beef prime rib and pork shoulder, as well as mutton shoulder and ribs. Mutton has a rich history in Texas BBQ and Texas Joe’s will work with Bermondsey butcher Nathan Mills of The Butchery to source the best English lamb and return it to its rightful place of glory on BBQ menus. All slow smoked meats are served with house-made pickles and bread, and at lunchtime there’s also the option of having brisket, pork shoulder or mutton shoulder stuffed into fresh tacos and thick-cut sandwiches. Side dishes include bone marrow with chilli salt; oxtail chilli; and brisket nachos.
As an homage to the city, menus will be printed in the style of a 1936 Texas Newspaper named The Big Smoke Signal. It features articles written by the top BBQ journalists in Texas (yes, Texas has BBQ journalists) such as Daniel Vaughn, BBQ editor at Texas Monthly, who discusses the history of lamb and mutton in TX BBQ, and James Beard journalism award winner Robb Walsh who offers up ‘A Concise History of Texas BBQ’.
“At Texas Joe’s we’re bringing Londoners a true taste of authentic Texan BBQ – the kind of rich, flavoursome, slow smoked meats that I grew up eating. I’m also really excited about the bar area. It’s going to have the feel of an underground beer bunker where you can let a few tears fall into your drink before taking a short trip into BBQ redemption”, says Joe Walters, founder of Texas Joe’s.
Working with local Bermondsey designers Red Jacket, the restaurant’s design will be inspired by the backroad BBQ joints that have defined Texan BBQ. With a focus on functionality, Texas Joe’s will consciously avoid the ‘American’ clichés that have traditionally defined BBQ restaurants in the UK. Rough and ready, furniture will be largely vintage or handmade, capturing the rustic casual dining spirit which BBQ originates from. The space will be split, with restaurant space and a separate bar serving award-winning bourbons from Balcones and Garrison Brothers as well as Texan Lone Star lager and beers from Camden Town and Bermondsey’s Kernel Brewery.
