Smoke and Ribs - Behind the Scenes at Smoke Daddy
By Anthony Todd in Food on Apr 7, 2011 4:00PM
"Barbeque for us means smoke," says Smoke Daddy owner Derek Rettell. "A lot of barbeque places don't smoke, but our smoker is going 24/7." With the trendy BBQ craze in Chicago going full blast, we decided to learn how it was done from a classic spot. Smoke Daddy has been open in Wicker Park for 16 years, and Rettell and his crew know a few things about making great barbeque. We spent a morning surrounded by wood and meat, and came out happy, full and smelling like a campsite.
Smoke Daddy uses oak and cherry wood for smoking, and their signature ribs spend 6 hours in the smoker. Their chef comes in at 6 AM, and pulls out the beef brisket and pork butts that have spent the entire night (up to 14 hours) in the smoker, before putting in the ribs, chicken wings (yup, they're smoked too) and tips that the restaurant will serve throughout the day. Smoke Daddy goes through 1500 pounds of pork, 300 pounds of brisket and 600 pounds of chicken every week, so they must be doing something right.
In the basement is the real heart of the restaurant, the tables where those hundreds of pounds of meat are actually processed. Every rack of ribs is cross-hatched by hand, so that the dry rub the restaurant uses will sink in. "Rub means RUB," Rettell emphasizes - you have to put some muscle into the process. The ribs sit overnight after getting rubbed down with their special mix, before going into the smoker. Rettell says that he's aiming for a Kansas City style - with his style of sauce and his focus on beef brisket, as well as ribs - but there is no attempt to make Smoke Daddy a "faux" Kansas City bar.
We asked Rettell how the recent explosion has affected his business. "We noticed the change, but there's still no place like Smoke Daddy," he told us. "Competition is good for all of us." Unlike some of the other BBQ joints in town, Smoke Daddy has few pretentions. Rettell takes pride in their 'dive bar' vibe, the unapologetically eclectic decor and their live music selections. Oh, and their reasonable prices - about $22 for 2 full pounds of ribs. "Most places cut their racks to a pound and a half, but ours are custom cut to two pounds," Rettell bragged.
Once the ribs come out of the smoker, they rest for a few minutes and then it's off to the grill. The giant smoker dominates half of the kitchen, with a stove, grill and plating station taking up all but about 3 square feet of floor space. We've been in a lot of restaurant kitchens over the years, and Smoke Daddy's kitchen is genuinely tiny. Somehow, we got over to the grill and watched as the ribs get another touch of flavor - the caramelization from the fire and heat. Rettell brushes them with sauce right before they go on the grill, and the combination of the smell of the smoke, the flames and the sauce is intoxicating.
Don't miss the beans - which, frankly, were the best thing we tasted. The beans go in the smoker right under the meat, and the bits and pieces of meat and fat that fall give them a wonderful flavor.
So, get out there and try some barbeque! If we're lucky, in the not-too-distant-future, we may see a food truck coming out of Smoke Daddy - but for now, stick to their storefront.
Smoke Daddy is located at 1804 W. Division Street.