Meatings right on the mark with juicy, flavourful barbecue
When the tiny but potent barbecue joint Meatings opened four years ago on the main drag in Orléans, I and other discerning Ottawa carnivores were very pleasantly surprised.
We were used to big disappointments when we ordered barbecued meats in restaurants. Their ribs and pulled pork, cooked in bulk and kept ready for reheating, couldn't compare to what we made in our backyards, in small batches and infused with as much care and love as smoke.
But Meatings, then an offshoot of a five-year-old catering company, seemed to have cracked the barbecue code. Too bad it was so far away for more centrally located barbecue buffs, who, it must be said, nonetheless made occasional trips from Barrhaven to Orléans to get their meat fix.
It took a pandemic to make me discover that Meatings had relocated last August, to an industrial park almost two stops further west on the Queensway. Furthermore, in addition to hot meals, Meatings now sells refrigerated and frozen meats in vacuum-sealed bags, which, while arguably a step down from juicy, fresh-from-the-smoker fare, offer a time-shifting, convenient way to enjoy barbecue delicacies during a winter lockdown.
Finally, I learned I don't have to go to Meatings because Meatings products can come to me. Three big food delivery services bring hot items to customers, while with certain arrangements, Meatings itself can deliver orders of its retail goods to as far west as Bronson Avenue.
All of these developments made me think it was time for a reunion with Meatings fare, pandemic-style. Last weekend, I placed a hefty order online and since then have been sampling smoked items (pork side ribs, chicken thighs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, chili, and salsa) as frequently as my colon would allow.
For starters, the meatless appetizer of smoked tomato salsa was pretty irresistible. We dunked so many corn chips into a bowl of the stuff that we barely had room for our pulled pork sandwiches topped with Meatings coleslaw.
The pork, which we reheated by simmering the bag it came in, had good, crowd-pleasing flavour but was just a bit over-manipulated and mushy. I prefer my pulled pork a little chunkier. Better were the pulled chicken thighs, which had a peppery edge to them and more defined texture.
Pork side ribs were impressively sized and coated in a fine and not overly fancy dry rub. The ribs reheated nicely in the oven, and they pleased us both without sauce and with slatherings of Meatings' maple barbecue sauce, which balanced its sweetness and acidity nicely.
Beef brisket, the pride of Texas barbecues, is something that often frustrates judges at barbecue competitions because while it's possible to make that massive cut of cow juicy and sublime, even seasoned competitive cooks can turn in leathery, over-salted samples that verge on unpalatable. Some restaurant versions I've tried in the Ottawa area over the years prefer to feature brisket overcooked to the point where it falls apart and turns into a shredded meat. That, in a word, is cheating.
But a big chunk of Meatings' brisket yielded very enjoyable, smoky cold slices as well as the star ingredient in a hash I made of chopped brisket, onions, mushrooms, red peppers and potatoes.
With an over-easy egg on top, we had ourselves a royal brunch.
My least favourite purchase from Meatings was its multi-meat chili. While it certainly didn't lack for protein, it felt more like a leftover user-upper because the chili base itself had no depth of flavour.
We didn't buy very many of the side dishes, as we preferred to prepare our own. But the cornbread we took home was right on the money, with good flavour and a tender crumb.
Meat maniacs would do well to follow Meatings on Facebook, where over-the-top specials such as tater tot poutine topped with curds, pulled pork, cheese sauce, rib tips and jalapeno or the cheesy brisket melt with hot peppers on a garlic butter bun should inspire cravings, and perhaps later, indigestion.
In the depth of February, I dream of warm summer weekends with my smoker belching smoke to flavour a giant piece of meat almost as much as I dream of an end to COVID-19. Until a reprieve from winter comes around, thankfully there's Meatings.