Gatlin’s BBQ brings on the breakfast
Texas barbecue joints continue to innovate and expand their smoked-meat offerings, with breakfast items being some of the fastest-growing and most-creative menu additions.
Because most barbecue joints have staff on site from very early in the morning tending fires and wrapping briskets, it’s not a stretch to open before lunch and sell breakfast. Statewide and local chains such as Pappa’s Bar-B-Q, Rudy’s Bar-B-Q, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, and Harris County Smokehouse have been providing barbecue breakfast items for years.
Recently, craft barbecue joints have been getting into the breakfast game.
Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin has become almost as well known for its Sundays-only breakfast spread as for its superb craft barbecue. Any Sunday morning trip from Houston to San Antonio should include a stop to sample the excellent huevos rancheros made with crispy tortillas, salsa roja, sunny-side-up fried eggs and pitmaster Ernest Servantes’ world-class smoked brisket and beef cheeks (barbacoa).
In Houston, craft-barbecue pioneer Gatlin’s BBQ continues to expand and experiment with its extensive breakfast menu.
Headed by executive chef Michelle Wallace, the evolving breakfast menu at Gatlin’s is a master class in combining the best of Texas barbecue with traditional comfort food breakfast items. The Country Breakfast features the classic combination of a pancake, eggs, potatoes or grits, and a meat option like ham or bacon for a wellpriced $9.95. There’s a superb chicken-and-waffle dish featuring crispy Southern-fried chicken wings on a Belgianstyle waffle served with creamy butter and classic maple syrup.
Things get really interesting with Wallace’s own estimable version of heuvos rancheros. Crispy corn tortillas and house-made ranchero sauce provide the perfect base for refried beans, fried eggs and a side of bacon. Brisket or smoked pork belly can be swapped for the bacon for an additional charge. The thick, smoky slices of pork belly are one of the best options for upgrading any of the breakfast items here.
“Pork belly is a protein op tion for tacos as well, and for the pork belly biscuit sandwich,” Wallace said.
Indeed, the true magic of the breakfast at Gatlin’s is found in her house-made biscuits.
These are “cat head” style buttermilk biscuits which feature a lighter, fluffier biscuit with a pillowy inside and a slight crunch on the outside. For biscuit connoisseurs like myself, this is often the preferred biscuit for sandwiches and other breakfast items.
Here, there is a basic chicken biscuit sandwich with a crispy fried chicken breast, though you can substitute the aforementioned pork belly or brisket for an additional charge.
Ironically, the most popular breakfast item here is an offmenu option that has gained something of a cult following on social media as well as on a recent television episode of “The Texas Bucket List.” The Brisket Biscuit features Gatlin’s excellent brisket piled high on Wallace’s biscuit, then covered in grilled onions and jalapeños, an oozy fried egg, cheese, and a house-made bacon jam.
As an additional sign that Gatlin’s takes breakfast seriously, the restaurant offers Brenham-based Independence Coffee. I’ve always thought quality coffee program should be part of any craft barbecue joint’s repertoire, and Gatlin’s gets this one right.
If you’re looking for a quiet and comfortable breakfast place, head over to Gatlin’s early and grab a seat in the brightly lit, high-ceilinged dining room with a fresh cup of coffee and a Brisket Biscuit sandwich.