Hank's Smoked Brisket - Indianapolis, IN

There once was a man from Texas.........who moved for a job in Indianapolis.........He stayed for decades and when he retired........He shared his love of BBQ brisket.

Smoked Spareribs All Sauced Up

Okay, so no one ever said I was a poet, but a limerick seems fitting when you talk about Hank's Smoked Brisket.  After growing up in Texas, Hank moved to Indianapolis over three decades ago to work as a supervisor in manufacturing.  After spending his entire career with the same company, he retired and began to think of his next adventure.  Hank had a passion for slow-smoked barbecue.  His friends and coworkers always looked forward to being invited to dine whenever he made it.  After some encouragement from said family and friends, Hank decided to share his barbecue with others.

Just across from the Crown Hill Cemetary on the northwest side of Indianapolis, you will find Hank's Smoked Brisket.  Sitting on the end of a commercial strip building on Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Hank serves up Texas-style brisket and other barbecue on a daily basis.  It was designed to be more than a part-time job originally, but Hank said he couldn't keep up with the demand on a part-time basis so he expanded to full-time.  You can sample Hank's barbecue for yourself Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 9pm and on Sunday from noon to 5pm. 

When I said Hank cooks Texas-style barbecue, I wasn't kidding.  Several times a year, Hank drives down to Texas and loads up on mesquite wood, which he hauls back to Indy to fuel his smoker.  As a barbecue competitor myself, I am always interested in trying new places.  And so on one Tuesday recently, I found myself up in the area around lunchtime and decided to drop in.

Just stepping out of the car, I could smell the intoxicating aroma of sweet smoke in the air.  I was drawn to the building to explore what flavors would compliment the smells.  Hank was positioned behind the window, working alone as he helped each customer.  A row of four or five chairs sit in front of the glass windows across from the order window, however there are no tables.  Hank's is designed to be a carryout location.

The menu is simple, yet offers a full range of slow-smoked meats.  Chicken, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, pork loin, smoked sausage and corned beef are all offered after been smoked in mesquite on Hank's seasoned pit.  Meals can be ordered as sandwiches, as meals including sides, and by the pound as well.  For my first time at Hank's I wanted to sample several meats, and my only disappointment was that the menu is structured in an easy way to do that.  The menu would be truly complete with a sampler dinner that would combine more than one meat option to allow people to try multiple options.

While I was mulling over the many options, Hank made some small talk and offered up a sample slice of smoked corned beef.  It was reminiscent of a pastrami without the juniper and other specific spices that combine to transform corned beef into pastrami.  The meat was hot, smoky, tender and juicy.  The smoke note wasn't overpowering and the corned beef flavor was able to shine through.

Without an option to sample more than one meat in one meal, I skipped any sides and just ordered a sliced brisket sandwich and a half slab of spare ribs.  I opted to allow Hank to apply the sauce on the ribs for me and sauce on the side for the brisket before heading off to the car to dine.  The ribs set me back $10.75 for a half slab and the brisket sandwich was $9.  With a soda, it was just over $20 total.  The prices are fair individually and I think if Hank would add a combo meal to the menu so people can affordably sample several meats, it would be a welcome addition.

I first nestled in to sample the brisket sandwich, knowing it should be Hank's speciality since it's the namesake and what Texas barbecue is known for.  The brisket did not disappoint.  I was able to try a bit without sauce on it and found it to be simply spiced and thoroughly tender.  The brisket still had a slight tug to it when you went to pull it apart, showing that it was tender, but not overcooked.  The sauce complimented it well, with just enough savory complexity to make it work with the meat.

Smoked Brisket

The ribs were next on the agenda and they are three napkins to the bone kind of ribs when sauced.  They are full spares as well so there is plenty of meat to be had.  The flavor of the ribs and the sauce were very good and I enjoyed them.  The particular set of ribs I had on that were perhaps just a tad undercooked as they didn't pull cleanly from the bone, but I had no complaints with the flavor profile.

Hank's is a must try if you appreciate barbecue in Indianapolis.  It's not a big flashy place in a high rent area.  It's one man, taking his passion for barbecue and plying his trade in retirement to do something he truly loves.  His passion for serving others great food is evident from the moment you set foot in the door all the way through the last sauce, soaked napkin you wad up.  If you head there for lunch, you may want to plan a little nap time after your meal because you will be fully satisfied when you are through.  Here's to hoping Hank will continue to serve quality Texas barbecue in Indianapolis for many years to come.  I have plenty more to try on the menu on my future visits.

Hank's Smoked Brisket Menu

Bon Appetit BBQ Ribs - July 2012 Grilling Issue

The other day I saw something horrific.  Something so disgusting and so vulgar that it should be removed from society.  Neither children nor adults should be subjected to such brutality.  It was so horrible in fact that it has taken me several days to come to grips with it and even begin to put it into words.  I will attempt to do so now.

On a recent trip to the grocery store for a few items, I made a stroll down the magazine aisle.  I am a magazine reader from time to time and thought I'd see if anything looked to be worthy of a read.  While I am not a regular subscriber or a monthly reader, I do grab an issue of Bon Appetit every now and again if something in it catches my eye.  While I can mind my manners and enjoy gustationally snobby meals at uber fancy restaurants with overpriced food, I am more at home with simple yet tasty creations.  I have four kids in my house for crying out loud.  So I am not in Bon Appetit's target market, but I do add new recipes to the repertoire from time to time and I like seeing how the other side thinks food should be at every meal I suppose.

However, on this particular day, I saw that the July 2012 issue of Bon Appetit was paying homage to the lower class.  To the street urchins who generally satiate themselves with fast food or ingredients in their home cooked meals that are not organic or farm-to-table.  Instead, it was the annual grilling issue and the cover shot was a plate full of sticky, sweet ribs.  As the pitmaster of a professional BBQ team, I scooped it up and headed to the checkout.  No need to pre-read anything as this issue was certainly for me.

When I got home and got things put away, I flipped straight to the ribs article.  After all it was the cover story and was billed as "Amazing Ribs!"  The subtitle below read, "Simpler and Tastier Than You've Ever Made."  So how could I go wrong?  I certainly didn't think it would change my competition recipe or somehow be a life altering experience, but as I flipped to page 50 there was a bit of anticipation.  A bit of excitement that perhaps a new tip or technique would be found.

Right then, my heart sank.  I began to read in earnest and my stomach started to turn.  I will not subject you to the article as I feel strongly that every copy of this issue should be burned to save all of humanity.  When schools talk of banning books like The Catcher In The Rye, this issue of Bon Appetit should be with it.  An ole fashioned book burning is in order.  Why?  What has me so alarmed and upset about a rib recipe?

Tell me how, Bon Appetit magazine, a trusted source for recipes, culinary news, and cutting edge cuisine that caters to the rich and famous (or at least those who view themselves as rich and famous), could possibly publish a rib recipe that calls for you to BAKE the ribs in the oven for 2-3 hours, let them cool completely and then just throw them on the grill at the last minute to char them up.  Just like any good sleazy infomercial though, the article says, "but wait, there's more."  As if they haven't done enough damage by telling people to take the lazy way out of cooking and not actually smoke the ribs, they go on to double your offer on laziness and tell you to brush on some store bought sauce as you put them on the grill to char them.  And what sauce do they believe is the perfect combination of flavor for the ribs?  Not a homemade sauce.  Not a locally sourced sauce crafted by a barbecuer.  Nope.  Their sauce choice is Kraft!  Kraft?!  Are you kidding me?

I put down the magazine then and was done.  What more is there to read?  Instead of teaching people the value of spending some time to slow smoke ribs or at least cook them completely on charcoal outside to impart some smoky flavor, they tell you to bake the ribs and to put Kraft BBQ sauce on them.  This is epicurean cuisine?  This exemplifies a truly American dish?  Sadly, I think it does exemplify American cuisine a bit since we are all getting a little older and more than a little lazy.

Do me one favor please.  At some point in your lifetime get access to a smoker or a Weber grill.  Fill a chimney with hardwood lump charcoal and light it.  Let the coals get hot and spread them evenly on the grill.  Make an actual dry rub with spices like paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper and others.  Slather a little yellow mustard on the trimmed rack of ribs, spread the rub on generously and smoke those ribs.  Cook them for 4-5 hours at 225-235.  Wrap the ribs up for an hour in the middle of the cook with some honey drizzled over them and a nice handful of brown sugar spread around.  Put them back on the grill and finish them off by glazing them with a homemade sauce or a BBQ sauce made by someone other than a multi-national conglomerate.  Have a couple of libations during the process.  Tell me which ribs are better.  Ones you spent hours slow cooking to have a smoky flavor beneath the savory heat of the rub and the sticky, sweet finish of the sauce.  Or the ribs, Bon Appetit would have you bake in the damn oven and then slap some crappy sauce on.

While they don't say it in the article, I am sure Bon Appetit would be more than happy to advocate that you go ahead and lie to your dinner guests too and let them think you smoked them on the grill.  After all you did char them out on the grill at the end.  That magazine and all of their pate eating, wine tasting editors should feel shame, but they won't.  I am beneath them.  My clothes smell like smoke and I stand over a hot fire to cook something that takes patience.  I guess I am just not meant to read their articles anymore.  I'll let you decide what the magazine does for you.