I read that The Stellar Hog is well regarded and decided that BBQ Wednesday should hold its next field trip to their location. Mr D and I actually went on a Thursday, at noon and found the place to be nearly deserted. I certainly hope they are doing more business at night. It is a little obscure in a neighborhood bar-type place. It has a good amount of seating including outside.
I was tempted by the smoked corned beef brisket but let Mr D sample that for us. I tried three meats; pulled pork, regular brisket and ribs. The Stellar Hog makes very good barbecue, with some comments. I have been recovering lost sense of smell from this year's flu so I will not comment on things that I could not taste fully. I can comment on juiciness, texture, salt seasoning and appearance.
The brisket is not the best I have had in St Louis (Big Baby Q and Salt + Smoke get that honor) but it is better than pretty much all the rest I have tried. It was tender and not dried out, but maybe not quite as moist as the winners. Certainly not to be sneered at. Very few outside of Texas get this close. I wished for a little more aggressive rub. Bear in mind, I ate this un-sauced as always and it did not need it. I sampled Mr D's corned beef and found it too salty. I was glad I ordered the regular brisket.
The pulled pork is a medium coarse pull and appears to be very lightly sauced since it has a reddish tinge. It was also better than most pulled pork I get. It was not dried out roast pork and Ms T liked the leftovers, saying that it had good smoke.
Despite the first two meats being very good, I actually thought the back ribs were even better. They were cooked perfectly with a light glaze of sauce baked on. I don't mind saucing ribs this way if it get's some time to cook on. They came clean off the bone but were not mush. I am not in the fall-off-the-bone camp where the rib meat can be fed intravenously or through a caulking gun or easily gummed by toothless meth heads. But they should leave the bone clean and these were perfect. They had great color. I would have liked a bit more salt in the rub, but it was not a deal breaker. My only complaint is that these racks need to be cleaned up after they are sawed. I had unpleasant little bone pieces in about half of my bites especially when cleaning up the ends. I had a little pile of them when done and I only ate three ribs. They need to pay attention to removing these before rubbing and smoking. I have to do the same thing at home.
To accompany, I ordered slaw, which was a creamy (not sweet) version that I really liked. I always complain about slaw that is sweet but flat, meaning no vinegar. This was a little tart and I highly approve. It is not freaky creative but does break away from the run-of-the-mill. I applaud that.
In summary, The Stellar Hog is very good at a strong four stars. It is a bit of a hike for us and Big Baby Q is closer. On the other hand, I discovered that The Stellar Hog is AAdvantage dining so I was pleased to see the airline miles show up in my account. It also is a better place to dine-in than Big Baby Q. I need to return if and when my sense of smell fully returns. read more