Folks, I have some great news! I just spoke with Mr. Dennis Brock, owner of Brock’s Smoke Hut located at 4200 Dundee Road in Winter Haven, Florida, and we’ll be doing a feature on his Smoked BBQ Business in the very near future.
Winter Haven Barbecue – Step Right Up and Place Your Order
Photo Credit – www.whatweheard.com
Take your food out back to Brock’s Garden Patio
Photo Credit – www.whatweheard.com
Brock’s Smoke Hut is a great local Polk County, Florida BBQ story, as it was started by Dennis Brock, a down home boy from way back. I’ve very excited about talking with him about what he’s done with Brock’s Smoke Hut, its ties to the local community, and his success as a local businessman.
Some Basic Facts about Dennis Brock and the Smoke Hut
While attending college, the founder, Dennis Brock, took employment in the theme park business at Florida’s Cypress Gardens. Starting out in customer service in 1970, Dennis stayed with the company throughout Anheuser-Busch’s tenure. In 1995, Dennis Brock along with 5 other partners purchased Cypress Gardens from Anheuser-Busch. In 2003, Cypress Gardens was sold and Mr. Brock retired.
In 2003 Dennis and his long term partner, Bob Kehoe opened a Purina Distributorship in Winter Haven, FL. Also that same year Dennis opened his next business, Brock’s Smoke Hut. The next five years proved to be a successful venture. The success lead to the franchise opportunities of Brock’s BBQ Co., LLC.
So, stay tuned. Dennis has agreed to open the doors and show us what it takes to produce high quality smoked barbecue on the local level – where it counts. No tricks, just good old fashioned hard work!
Have you eaten at Brock’s Smoke Hut? Have a favorite item on the menu? Share with us here!
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Recently, Jimbo, a good friend of ours, reported back to us that should we ever get to Houston, Texas again, we had to seek out 529 BBQ, located at 12512 FM 529 Road, Houston, TX 77041.
When asked what he thought was so special about 529 BBQ, he said without hesitation: “The Best and Meatiest Damned Ribs I’ve Ever Had!”
For those of you who are more familiar with BBQ from the southeast, like Carolina Style ‘cue, with it’s focus on pork, both sliced and pulled, and a vinegar-based sauce or Kansas City-style barbecue with a more tangy tomato sauce focus and a mix of pork and beef in the form of ribs, brisket, burnt ends and such – Texas style ‘cue is a whole different bag.
For one, Texas-style barbecue tends to focus primarily on beef, yet does allow a bit of pork to enter into the picture. What I like most about Texas-style BBQ is that it is all about the smoke. And the Mesquite wood smoked flavor of their barbecued ribs is where Jimbo said 529 BBQ delivers one hell of a smack down. If you haven’t had mesquite smoked barbecue, you’re missing out.
Though we live in southeast, I do quite a bit of smoking using mesquite wood chips. You just can’t do the flavor justice in words. Mesquite burns slowly, and it burns hot. I love the stuff. Oak and hickory are great, but no matter how many different types of wood we try, we always go back to mesquite. I actually think it’s a great wood to begin your first meat smoking experiments with, as it has a light and sweet taste.
Map to 529 BBQ – Houston, TX
Jimbo said that the depth and complexity that the fine folks at 529 BBQ coax into their ribs was mind blowing. Folks, Jimbo loves to eat – especially when he’s eating good BBQ. If he uses the words “mind blowing,” then you should take note.
I’m definitely heading to 529 BBQ on my next trip to Houston. In fact, the way he went on about their homemade potato salad and peach cobbler, I might be heading their very soon!
Do you have a 529 BBQ experience you’d like to share? If so, drop a comment here! Photos would be great too, as Jimbo forgot his stinkin’ camera!
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