Beast Craft BBQ

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Beer-Braised Pork Tacos

I think it’s obvious that I’m a fan of Beast Craft BBQ’s beer-braised pork…the carnitas are one of the best things I’ve eaten! They also put that delicious pork on tacos, and I had the chance to try them for the first time on Sunday (I have tried the pulled rib tacos in the past).

Not that I’m surprised, but these are SO GOOD. The flavor is reminiscent of the carnitas, and yet it’s its own thing. Three of the fabulous Beast tortillas (I seriously love these tortillas, whether they’re served plain or fried!), are filled with pork, cotija cheese, and a red cabbage slaw, and topped with both BBQ and fry sauce. They also added a few slices of lime on the side, and a little squeeze of juice adds a lot of flavor! The tacos are just the right amount of spicy, with the right amount of crunch, and the pork is just as good in tacos as it is as carnitas. I wonder if they can find anything else to do with it? If they do, you can be certain I’ll try it!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: The Brisket Mac Attack!

About two weeks ago, Beast Craft BBQ debuted a new “sammich” on their menu, and it had been a long time since I tried one of their sammiches! So on the way home from the grocery store, we stopped and I got the “Brisket Mac Attack”–Texas chainsaw brisket, smoky bacon mac ‘n’ cheese, shredded cheese, and grilled onions on Texas toast. I also got a side order of the mac ‘n’ cheese, because I don’t think I’ve tried it since they landed on their current recipe.

This sammich is not for the faint of heart…the sauce packs some major heat. But it was the perfect combination, because the mac ‘n’ cheese and shredded cheese helped cool it down some, the onions added a nice flavor, and the bread was toasted perfectly…well, the top piece, anyway. The bottom piece had completely disappeared under the meat and sauce, but I assume it was just as good!

Beast has had some other new menu items recently, as well, including pork taquitos which are AMAZING, and grilled peaches topped with blackberry butter and mint, the perfect summer side dish!

I will warn you, if you want to carry out food, especially on a Sunday in our experience, you need to be prepared to wait. Ryan was in the restaurant for almost half an hour waiting for my sammich and his turkey to be prepared, even though it wasn’t overwhelmingly busy, and he was a little frustrated by the time he made it back to the car. Calling ahead definitely alleviates some of that, but I think that on the weekends, you just need to expect that you’re going to have to wait it out.

Tasty Tuesday…on a Wednesday!–Beast Craft BBQ: Beer-Braised Carnitas

My love for carnitas is well-documented…I just shared a link to my crock-pot carnitas recipe (which I originally published here five years ago!), yesterday! So when I saw that Beast Craft BBQ, my very favorite BBQ place, was serving beer-braised carnitas last week, I was very excited. I was also worried when I first saw it, because I thought it might be a one-time thing that I was going to miss out on, but now it appears that their carnitas will be making a regular appearance on the menu!

So, um, I’m pretty sure I should never make carnitas again. Because how could I ever compete with the amazing smokiness in the Beast carnitas? And they were served perfectly, with Beast’s delicious lime sour cream, diced tomatoes, and white cheddar. All on top of one their tortillas, which I already loved (seriously, best tortillas ever!), but with the added benefit of having been fried! Did I mention that I had it with the Texas Chainsaw BBQ sauce? I’m pretty sure I’ve never tried it before, and it has a great kick! This is seriously my new favorite dish from Beast!

Honestly, after all this time, I figured that their food would always be great (because it always is!), but that there wouldn’t be much new to look forward to. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that I was wrong, and I have even heard that there might be something else new in the future!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Taco Tuesday!

Can you believe it’s been almost one year exactly since I last reviewed something from Beast Craft BBQ? It hasn’t been quite that long since I’ve eaten there, but I haven’t seen anything new that’s caught my eye since last January. I recently saw tacos on their menu, though, and I told Ryan that I was pretty sure I needed to try them the next time they were offered, and today was that day!

This was actually one of the “lighter” meals I’ve had from Beast. The pulled pork rib is delicious, but not as fatty as, say, burnt ends, so you don’t feel like you’re eating as much. It is a little drier, due to the aforementioned lack of fat, so you may want to add the sauce that comes on the side. The red cabbage, onions, and homemade salsa gave it a nice fresh taste, and I already knew I liked the Beast tortillas, so that was a welcome part of the meal. And, of course, I had the brussels sprouts on the side, which were as delicious as always!

It was fun trying something new from Beast again, and I’ll keep watching the menu for whatever new items they may come up with!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Beer-Braised Short Rib Sammich

At the beginning of December, Beast debuted a new sandwich (I think, unless I missed it along the way), that I really wanted to try, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it there that day. I waited (kind of) patiently for over a month, and last week, they finally had it again! It’s a beer-braised short rib sammich with onions, beer mustard, and some wonderful gooey gouda cheese, topped with pickle slices, on one of their amazing buns:

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This is my new favorite at Beast, which saying a lot, because I’ve tried so many amazing things there. It had a perfect combination of flavors and textures, and I wouldn’t change anything about it. As always, I’m so happy Beast came to Belleville, and I’m even happier that they’re doing so well, and continuing to come up with amazing new specials!

Tasty Tuesdy–Beast Craft BBQ–My Favorites

I’ve tried quite a few different things at Beast Craft BBQ now, and I’ve decided to make a list of my favorites by category of meat.

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In the poultry category (and I have tried both the turkey and chicken at Beast), The Jive Turkey is my favorite. Any Beast turkey is excellent, but I especially like the combination of flavors (including tomatoes, cucumbers, and smoky mayo), in this sandwich!

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In the beef category, I have to go with The Beefcake. Why, you may ask? First of all, burnt ends. They were the first thing I tried at Beast (other than the fried brussels sprouts), and the reason I fell in love with Beast. Aside from that, The Beefcake also has tobacco onions (onions straws in my world), that are amazing. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if I could pay Beast to give me a box full of just those, I would! The rest of the sandwich, especially the white BBQ sauce, is great, too!

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In the pork category, I have to go with the biggest sandwich of all–The Pig Daddy. This is the sandwich that actually made me appreciate pork steak, plus it also has ribs, pulled pork, and candied bacon! Of course, you need an army to finish this particular beast, but given that we’re a family of seven, that is not a problem!

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And, the obligatory other category. The things that I include here (The Big NY, The Big Oscar, Pastrami Hash, and Nachos, brisket or otherwise), could go in one of the other meat categories I guess, but they’re such special items, I think they need their own group. Plus, the Brisket Nachos, my favorite item in this category, could fit in with all of the other meats at one time or another, depending on how Beast is serving them (I think I’ve seen both chicken or pork options at different times, as well)!

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Finally, side items. Now, Beast has a lot of good sides. But this one is a complete no-brainer, and I think the only side I’ve ever actually ordered (even though I’ve sampled the different things Ryan has tried)–the fried brussels sprouts. I’m weird in that I like brussels sprouts anyway, but when they’re fried with pork belly…AMAZING. Can’t get enough of them!

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So, those are my current favorites at Beast. Of course, this list may be revised in the future, depending on what new menu items Beast comes up with. But really, everything I’ve tried at Beast has been excellent, so you can’t go wrong, no matter what you order!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Brisket Nachos

Did you know that Beast Craft BBQ makes brisket nachos? Now, I’ve done brisket nachos at home before…actually, I make them every year with our Fourth of July leftovers. But I may just have to give that up this year, because Beast’s are so much better!

What makes their brisket nachos great (you know, aside from the wonderful Beast brisket)? Let’s start with the…brussels sprouts?!? Yes, the nachos are topped with brussels sprouts, and being a huge fan of them, I love it (there is someone in this house that insisted on picking around the sprouts, however). But, there’s more than just brisket and brussels sprouts on Beast’s nachos. There are also tomatoes and jalapeños, smoked cheddar cheese, a lime sour cream (which is AMAZING), and of course, Beast’s fantastic BBQ sauce.

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The tortilla chips managed to hold up under the weight of all that pretty well…they did get pretty soggy by the end. But when I say all that weight, I really mean it. None of us could believe the amount of toppings on the nachos, and it was a full family effort to finish them.

As always, I’m impressed with the menu items Beast creates…they sound familiar, but they always have a unique Beast twist, which has made everything I’ve tried unlike anything else I’ve ever had before!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Pastrami Hash

I’m mentioned Beast’s amazing pastrami before. Sucker that I am for pastrami, I had to try the pastrami hash when it appeared on the menu, and it didn’t disappoint!

The hash is made with pastrami and brussels sprouts (!!!), and served on top of fries on top of rye bread. The whole thing is then smothered in smoked hollandaise, with the standard Beast pickle slices in top:

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I loved this Beast creation just as much as you would expect. One word of warning, though…this was an extremely salty dish–make sure you have a beverage to go with it!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Apple Bottom Pork Steak Sammich

Yesterday, the Beast Craft BBQ menu featured the Apple Bottom Pork Steak Sammich:

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This is a no frills creation…everything that is on the sammich is in the title. A whole pork steak, which is drenched in apple butter BBQ sauce. Other than the pickle slices (have I mentioned how it tickles me that they put them on top of the bun instead of inside?), that’s all there is to it.

I mentioned that when I tried the “Pig Daddy” that Beast turned me into a pork steak convert. Before tasting their rendition of this St. Louis staple, I was simply not interested. But once I discovered how good Beast’s pork steaks are, I knew I’d try this sammich eventually. I wasn’t disappointed…the pork steak was as good as I remembered from the first time I tried it. And the apple butter BBQ sauce…it seems fairly unassuming at first, but the more you eat of it, the more the heat builds…it definitely has a kick to it!

This was another great Beast creation, but it was way too much, even when sharing. I had no idea how big a whole pork steak is! I was also worried about reheating the leftovers, because I was afraid that doing so would result in the dry pork steak that I’m familiar with and dislike. Any tips on how to manage a good reheat in the future are welcome!

I’m looking forward to seeing what else Beast may do with that apple BBQ sauce in the future!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: The Big Oscar

I’m not going to lie…the Big Oscar is one Beast special that I was reluctant to try. All beef smoked bologna, bologna burnt ends (who knew? I sure didn’t!), smoked bacon, Tabasco, and…mac ‘n’ cheese?

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The definitely struck me as a strange combination, and I’m not that much of a bologna fan anyway, so I wasn’t going to bother. Ryan convinced me I should give it a shot, though, and I’m glad I did!

First, the bologna. It was amazing. I’m not going to lie, it didn’t really even taste like bologna…at least not the kind you buy pre-packaged from the grocery store. It was more like a really good sausage…maybe that’s what bologna is actually supposed to be like. And Beast makes amazing mac ‘n’ cheese, and pairing it with the bologna was a fantastic idea!

At this point, I’m willing to try just about anything Beast offers, no matter how strange it sounds at first (except snoots…I just don’t do snoots). They’ve definitely earned my trust when it comes to creating excellent, albeit unexpected, combinations!