Fainmous BBQ
In a recent article about chilorio, or Mexican-style pulled pork, I lamented the lack of a good American version of this classic dish in Houston. American-style pulled pork is a quintessential dish of the south, made famous in the barbecue joints of places like Lexington, N.C. and Memphis, Tenn. Houston, of course, has its share of barbecue joints, and a furious debate about the best style of Texas barbecue still rages on a daily basis.
So you could argue that in a city where Texas barbecue is so obviously enshrined and entrenched, that it would be a folly to open a barbecue joint in the style of Tennessee or the Carolinas. “You may as well open a Taco Bell in Mexico City,” a particularly dismissive Texas barbecue fanatic mentioned to me.
Recently, while putting together a list of Houston barbecue joints, I came across a place I’d never heard of called Fainmous BBQ. I thought I’d heard of, driven by, or eaten in just about every barbecue joint in Houston, so this was a surprise. Turns out this place has only been open a few months, so there isn’t a lot of information about it. One piece of information I found was the owner is from Tennessee. Could true southern-style barbecue have finally reached Houston?
On a recent Saturday I joined a group of barbecue friends, including one self-proclaimed expert in North Carolina-style barbecue, and headed down to a small shopping center on South Post Oak. Turns out this place does profess to make Tennessee-style barbecue. So we ordered a plate of southern-style pulled pork, as well as the usual Texas barbecue staples of brisket and ribs.
The sliced brisket was good – moist and tender but with a lighter smoke flavor that is a hallmark of American southern-style barbecue. Ribs also were good, with a hint of a sweet dry rub (barbecue ribs are also a tradition in Memphis). All-in-all good brisket and ribs but probably not worth going out of your way for, considering all the other barbecue joints in Houston.
Southern-style pulled pork
On the other hand, the pulled pork justifies a visit to Fainmous BBQ. Southern-style pulled pork is basically a seasoned pork shoulder that is slow-smoked until it is falling apart, then it’s shredded, chopped and covered in a tangy barbecue sauce.
Unlike a lot of pulled pork you get in Houston that’s stringy, dry and soaking in a sickly-sweet sauce, the pulled pork here has a nice seasoning (dry rub) and a smoky bark (crust) that combines with the richness of the pork itself. A well-balanced (not too sweet) sauce based on tomatoes and vinegar further adds an acidic tanginess to the fattiness of the pork.
Good pulled pork is a welcome addition to the Houston barbecue scene. Owner Jamie Fain is from east Tennessee and slow-smokes his pork for twelve hours with hickory wood. It may seem like a longshot to open a Tennessee-style barbecue joint in Houston, but Fain’s making a right go of it and Houston barbecue fans are the better for it.
Posted 10 October 2011 on the www.29-95.com website.
Printed 13 October 2011 in the Houston Chronicle newspaper. (574KB PDF)
