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Are you interested in enjoying some of the best, authentic Texas-style barbecue in Placer County, and many the entire Gold Country? If Texas barbecue is your game, you owe it to yourself to head over to Smokey Pit BBQ, located in downtown Auburn, CA. As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's 11:20 in the morning, Monday, November 13, 2023, and I've arrived at Smokey Pit Barbecue, located in downtown Auburn, CA, to enjoy a lunch of delicious, authentic, Texas barbecue. The restaurant is located on Harrison Ave., at the east end of downtown Auburn.
Photo: Smokey Pit BBQ has two wood-fired pits, located in the parking lot, outside the restaurant. Pitmaster Gurmail naturally uses oak wood, as it natively grows in the Sierra foothills, and is 95% similar to hickory wood for taste.
Photo: Chef and Pitmaster Gurmail opened the pit for me so I could see chicken, ribs and tri tip cooking inside the pit. The restaurant uses oak wood for cooking, which grows abundantly in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and in all of Placer County. Oak wood is similar to hickory, and it totally interchangeable, and implants great taste into the barbecue. The Pitmaster has set up his pit in the parking lot, outside of the restaurant, and it's a permanent thing, as both the pit and the pile of cut oak wood is surrounded by a fence.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll notice the small, compact dining room is very plain, and the decor is very modest. The restaurant operates on what I refer to as the "taqueria format" in that you make your selection from the menu, posted above the order counter, pay for it, if the restaurant is busy, you'll receive a receipt with a number, and when your order is ready, it will be brought to your table with a smile. Since I'd basically "opened up" the restaurant on this late Monday morning, no receipt was necessary, as the chef knew who I was. It's 2023, so Smokey Pit Barbeque was doing a brisk business from online orders, thanks to the restaurant's website. During my dining adventures, I notice that to-go and online dining orders seem to be gaining traction over "old school" dining, in the dining room. I guess I'm simply "old school" when it comes to dining, as I prefer to dine at the restaurant.
Photo: The full menu is listed above the counter, and on the restaurant's website. All choices are made fresh, in-house, and the meat is smoked over oak wood, outside in the parking lot.
Photo: I took a peek over the order counter into the compact kitchen, where I saw the talented chef at work.
Photo: Is it Texas in Auburn? You bet! A Texas cowboy painting, along with branding irons decorate one of the walls in the dining room.
Photo: This is how the restaurant stores russet potatoes, which are used for the "Garlic Mash Potatoes." I LOVE it!
Photo: The neon sign, located on top of the drink cooler says it all... "Best BBQ." Smokey Pit BBQ serves some of the best barbecue that I've ever enjoyed in California. It's real barbecue, and isn't cooked in an oven, as it's cooked outside, in a pit, using oak wood. You can taste the difference!
Photo: Meet Chef Gurmail Singh, who brought my amazing lunch of barbecue to me with a smile. Gurmail is not only a talented chef, but he's a great guy, and it was a pleasure to enjoy his great barbecue, and his friendly company. Photo: I'm a happy lunch guy, as I'm ready enjoy an amazing barbecue lunch at Smokey Pit BBQ, located in Auburn, which offers maybe the best barbecue in Placer County.
Photo: From the "Lunch" menu, I went with the "Three Way Combo," with chicken, ribs and tri tip as my protein. For sides, I hit "Barbecue Beans" and "Garlic Mashed Potatoes." The lunch normally includes a hot link rather than tri tip, but my gracious host Gurmail allowed me to substitute. All lunches include a hot, buttered roll. How do I even begin to describe such amazing barbecue. You read that right... AMAZING! Each piece of meat was moist, tender, mouth-watering delicious, kissed with smoke from the oak wood, but the smoke taste did not overpower the delicious meat. And the barbecue sauce... AMAZING! It was tangy, sweet, but too sweet, mild on the "heat" side of the fence, and simply delicious. Like the smoke, it enhanced the meat, added to the amazing taste, but didn't overpower any of the goodness I enjoyed on this late Monday morning at Smokey Pit BBQ. Alright... I'll start with the chicken. The slice of chicken breast was tender, juicy, flavorful and barbecued to absolute perfection. Like the tri tip and the ribs, it was basted, and coated with Gurmail's delicious, tangy barbecue sauce, which enhanced the tender chicken. The oak smoke added to the taste but didn't overpower the chicken. This piece of barbecue chicken is the best barbecue chicken that I can remember. The chef "enhanced" my plate for giving me an extra pork rib, which was a very welcome gift. These barbecue ribs were simply delicious, beyond belief, that I simply can't describe! Each rib was large, tender and expertly cooked in the pit. No dry ribs at Smokey Pit BBQ, as each rib was juicy, and simply was mouth-watering flavorful! The ribs had a lot of meat on all four sides, with very little bone, and simply rib goodness. Like the chicken, the ribs were liberally basted with delicious barbecue sauce, which made for some of the best ribs in the greater Sacramento area. The tri tip arrived on a separate plate, as the main plate was full with chicken, ribs and sides. The generous portion of tri tip was thinly sliced, and coated with barbecue sauce to-die-for. The tri tip had a beautiful smoke cap on the outside, but was tender, moist, flavorful and pink on the inside. It was cooked medium, which is my favorite, but I didn't ask, as the meat arrived cooked medium. Like with the chicken and the ribs, the tri tip was kissed by oak smoke and coated with barbecue sauce, which enhanced the taste of this amazing tri tip. Lunch included two sides, and I went for "Barbecue Beans," - a Texas favorite - along with "Garlic Mash Potatoes." Beans were standard pinto beans, cooked in a rich, chili-infused sauce, in the style of Texas. The generous helping of mashed potatoes were creamy, with just a hint of garlic and simply delicious. The beans and mashed potatoes made for great sides to this amazing lunch. The "Hot Buttered Bread" listed on the lunch menu was half of a hot dog bun, toasted and buttered, with just a hint of garlic. It made for great dipping and scooping up all of the meat juice and barbecue sauce. So... which meat was my favorite? Honestly... I can't it was simply all amazing, and each piece of meat added a distinct and different flavor to this delicious barbecue. Smokey Pit BBQ makes REAL, Texas barbecue, in a wood-fired pit, the "old school" barbecue is made in the Texas hill country. Most California barbecue restaurants cook what I label "industrial barbecue," which is cooked indoors, in a large barbecue oven, with smoke, but the smoke is vented outside. Not so at Smokey Pit BBQ, as the barbecue is cooked outside, in the parking lot, using native oak wood, and the pit is tended, by hand, by the talented chef. If you love authentic Texas barbecue, you know the difference.
Photo: My main plate of chicken, ribs, barbecue beans along with garlic mash potatoes. The photo makes the food look delicious, but the photo doesn't do justice to this amazing barbecue. Who says there isn't a lot of "Texas" in Auburn?
Photo: My side of tri tip steak, barbecued to perfection, with Smokey Pit's tangy barbecue sauce for added enhancement. The steak was thinly sliced, had a great smoke cap, and was pink, tender and juicy inside. Maybe this is some of the best trip tip that I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy? As an aside, the "Three Way Combo," offers a link rather than tri tip, but the chef substituted tri tip for the link, upon my very casual request. I'll save a link for my next visit! Austin meets Auburn at Smokey Pit BBQ, as the barbecue is simply delicious, and is exactly the barbecue you'll enjoy when you visit the Texas hill country, which is known for amazing barbecue. When it comes to delicious Texas-style barbecue, no other restaurant in Placer County can touch the amazing barbecue that chef Gurmail smokes. The barbecue is juicy, tender and tastes with a touch of smoke, but the smoke doesn't overpower the barbecue, as it simply enhances the flavor of the meat. For some of the best barbecue in the greater Sacramento area, head over to Smokey Pit BBQ, located in downtown Auburn, CA. Smokey Pit BBQ Copyright(c) 2023 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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