DALLAS — Smokey John’s Barbecue, in Dallas, is no stranger to the State Fair of Texas’ Big Tex Choice Awards. For years, owners Brent Reaves and his brother Juan Reaves, have cooked up some crazy concoctions.
But this year, their latest idea may be their boldest yet.
“It’s been a challenge,” Juan said.
“My wife thinks we’re crazy,” said Brent. “She says, ‘y’all keep pushing the envelope and keep doing crazy stuff.’”
So what fanatical fair food are they serving this year? Brisket.
“Here’s another way to get my brisket fix in the form of pastrami,” Juan said.
They say a lot of people don’t realize pastrami is brisket. This year, Smokey John’s is believed to be the first vendor in the history of the state fair to make its own pastrami. After proposing the idea, they quickly realized why no one had ever done it before.
“We didn’t quite understand, as Juan calls it, the labor of love that was connected to pastrami,” said Brent.
Their labor of love started a year ago when they flew to New York City to research great pastrami. Back in Texas, they spent months seasoning, brining, smoking, and eating pastrami. They sacrificed more than 300 pounds of brisket trying to get it right.
“That’s an expensive endeavor to practice it,” said Juan. “A lot of our friends have had some pastrami.”
“They can’t wait till we try something new because they get to take something home,” Brent said.
It wasn’t until a few months ago they finally nailed it. Their house-made pastrami sandwich will be served at Johnz Deli, the only New York-style deli at the State Fair of Texas.
It requires nearly two weeks and tons of off-site refrigeration to make pastrami. It’s taken even longer to solve logistical challenges of feeding a fair-full of customers.
Brent and Juan say they’ve never dedicated so much time and passion to a single dish and they hope fairgoers taste the investment.
“I’m really looking for the person that’s from New York that knows pastrami,” Brent said.
“If they say what we’re doing reminds them of that, takes them to that place, we’ve succeeded,” said Juan.