The Task of Finding Great BBQ in Seattle

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It is difficult to find a great BBQ place in Seattle – there are a lot of them, but they generally range from mediocre to bad (and yes, I have gone to see the man, and I was underwhelmed). I am usually cautiously optimistic when a new place opens, and then usually disappointed because the quality is not up to snuff. There are 3 food items that any BBQ competition judges on – pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Those are the BBQ staples (although I long for burnt ends) and, like a cheese pizza, any place that can’t do those well is probably not worth going to.

A couple of months ago, a new BBQ place opened in Ballard – The Boar’s Nest. I decided to give it a shot. The place is small, seating about 30, with a minimal décor, rolls of paper towels on the tables and a nice selection of sauces – 6 in all, ranging from vinegar based, to mustard, to “classic” BBQ to spicy, so there is a little of something for everyone. The menu is small – 4 sandwich options (pulled pork, brisket, sausage and chicken), 2 sizes of ribs and a smattering of your classic sides. They also have a veggie option on the sausage. It is a pretty basic BBQ menu, but one that is generally perfectly acceptable.

The sandwiches are excellent, easily at the top in Seattle, and on par with some of the best BBQ that I have had. The pulled pork is tender and smoky, with the right amount of fat mixed in with the meat. My biggest complaint about most of the pulled pork I have had in Seattle is that it tends to be very dry or overly fatty, and the only way to save it is to drown it in sauce, which then eliminates the flavor of the meat. I would highly recommend the sandwich with the coleslaw on it and a small squeeze of the vinegar based North Carolina Sauce, to add just a bit of tang and sloppiness to the sandwich and really allows the pork to shine.

The brisket is another well prepared sandwich, served on Texas toast. You could see the classic smoke ring, which is essential to good BBQ and the meat itself was tender with nice amounts of char and smoke without being fatty or stringy, the sandwich stands up well to a dash of the Texas sauce to bring a bit of heat to the party. My only complaint – save me the burnt ends and put them on a sandwich for me!!

The sides are pretty standard BBQ fare offerings, and I highly recommend the fried mac+cheese, 4 crunchy, gooey, cheesy balls of happiness, the slaw, a nice balance of vinegar and sweet with a pleasant crunch, and the cornbread, moist and tender, but if you get it to go, have them give you the butter on the side – if you put it in the bag, you will end up with melted butter. Both of these sandwiches would have held their own to anything I have tried in BBQ competitions.

Since I was 2 for 2 at The Boar’s Nest, I got adventurous and decided to try the ribs. Ribs are classically the downfall of just about every BBQ place in Seattle – they are either too dry or mushy or just not really well smoked. A perfectly done BBQ rib should be very tender and not stringy, have a slight resistance to coming off the bone (it should NOT just fall apart when you bite into it), a smoky flavor and a visible smoke ring. It should also hold its shape when the rack is cut into individual ribs. If you ask BBQ lovers if the ribs should be wet or dry (sauce or no sauce), you will get very different answers, but either way, the meat should hold up to what I just described.

The ribs are where the Boar’s Nest fell down. First, they used baby back ribs, instead of the full ribs, which is a no-no as far as I am concerned with BBQ. Baby back ribs tend to cook more quickly and don’t absorb the smoke as a result, which is one of the problems The Boar’s Nest ribs suffered from. The meat was too tender – the ribs fell apart as I was trying to cut the slab into individual ribs, leaving me essentially with a pile of pulled pork. The meat was bland, despite being bathed in the Kansas City sauce (opted for the ribs wet), it lacked any real hit of smokiness and I actually had to add salt to the meat as I was eating it, which is not a good sign. I probably could have just added more sauce, but I wanted to try the ribs naked, just to make sure I got the full effect. This was really the only disappointing thing I have had off their menu. On the plus side, a half rack could probably feed 2 people easily.

While The Boar’s Nest isn’t perfect, it is still better than just about any BBQ place in Seattle. I would recommend without hesitation the sandwiches and any of the sides, but stay away from the ribs unless you like fall-apart tender baby back ribs. I would highly recommend trying all of their wonderful house made sauces to find your favorite.

Overall The Boar’s Nest scores 4 smoke rings out of 5.

The Dirt: Sandwiches run $7-8 without sides or $12 with 2 sides and cornbread and the ribs are $15 for a half slab and $25 for a full with 2 sides and cornbread. The sides are $2-3 each. They do have a couple local beers on tap and small bottles of wine available. Located at 2008 NW 56th St in Ballard.