Rudy's Country Store and BBQ

Imagine my joy when in 2012, Rudy's Country Store and BBQ opened its smokey, red doors in Chandler, AZ.  Based in Leon Springs, Texas, just north of San Antonio, Rudy's smokes some of the most quintessential Texas barbeque that has been a staple in my diet for the last 25 years.  Rudy's currently has two locations in the Valley of the Sun, the first being in Chandler, and the second one now in Goodyear.  Now, why would you go all the way to Chandler or Goodyear for barbeque, you ask?  Well, for example, I was in Costco the other day behind two guys from Honey Bear's BBQ who had two of those giant shopping carts filled with Costco rotisserie chickens.  I am not saying it is a bad thing (as I too love Costco rotisserie chicken)...I'm just sayin'.  So go ahead and fill up those gas tanks because I am about to convince to you make the trek down the I-10.

Leon Springs was founded in the mid 1800s by Max Aue.  In 1929, Max's son, Rudolph "Rudy" Aue, opened a one-stop gas station, garage, and grocery store.  Barbeque was added in 1989, and Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q was transformed into one of the most sought-after BBQ destinations in the San Antonio area.  The meats are dry-rubbed (as opposed to being covered in sauce) and smoked in 100% oak-fired pits (as opposed to using mesquite).  The theory being that this type of smoking produces the most tender, juicy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicacies. 

Pick out a soda from the large stainless tubs while you wait

 
Order at the counter from a wide variety of smoked meats, which can be purchased in increments: quarter-pound, half-pound, pound or more.  Don't forget the sides.  Most love the creamed corn, potato salad and coleslaw, while I save room for the beans. 

  

Seating is family-style on wooden picnic tables surrounded by big screen tv's.   There are condiment bars with jalapeños, pickles, onions, to name a few. 

 

A typical meal features your choice of smoked meat wrapped in butcher paper, accompanied with bread slices (white bread is a must).  My favorites are the brisket and the turkey, hands down.  I also really love the "spicy chop with sause", where several of the smoked meats are all chopped up in Rudy's yummy barbeque sauce.  The sauce, or sause, as they call it, is on the picnic tables, and here in AZ comes in two strengths – the original Rudy's Sause, which is big and peppery, and the more benign Sissy Sause, which you will be hard pressed to find at the original Leon Springs store (don't even ask for it as they may laugh you out of there).  

If you have any room left, you can order from a fantastic variety of desserts that make me long for "home": banana pudding, pecan pie, chocolate pudding, buttermilk pie, Rice Krispy treats, Blue Bell ice cream and peach cobbler.  If you have never had buttermilk pie, a trip to Rudy's is a must.  They also have praline cookies!  A praline is the perfect little bite-size bit touch of sweetness you need after a large, heavy meal.  The sales gal had never tried them, so I bought one for her.  You can't sell it if you haven't tried it!

The sauses and rubs are sold in the Country Store, along with pralines and...

 

...Big Red...the kids love it

T-shirts for sale that might tick off a few vegetarians

Friendly reminders

 

Cheers to our brave service men and women who fight to protect our freedoms

Have a wonderful weekend!  xo M

Rudy's Country Store and BBQ, www.rudysbbq.com, has two locations in the Valley:

7300 W Chandler Blvd
Chandler, AZ
(480) 874-6440

  845 N Litchfield Rd

Goodyear, AZ 85338

(480) 663-6311

This is not a sponsored post...I just like what I like.   All photos by Marci Symington for texaztaste.blogspot.com.

Aarti Paarti

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Aarti Sequeira, celebrity chef, cookbook author and host of Food Network's Aarti Party.  In 2010, Sequeira was catapulted to culinary fame by winning Season 6 of The Next Food Network Star, a reality show on The Food Network.  She was among 12 contestants participating in cooking competitions and on-camera challenges to determine who would be awarded their own culinary show on the network.   Aarti's diverse background and work experience, along with her enchanting personality - I feel she has what Tim Sanders would describe as "the likeability factor" - provided a strong platform on which to outshine her competition.  Born in India, raised in Dubai, educated at a British school in the Middle East, and then at Northwestern in Chicago, Sequeira started her career at CNN with the dream of becoming a journalist.  After coming to the realization that her heart was not in journalism, she moved to LA with her husband, fellow Northwestern alum and actor Brendan McNamara, who gifted her a certificate to a local cooking school.  She parlayed her unique background into a stage at Suzanne Goin's Lucques (one of my culinary idols), where she was inspired to blog and post YouTube videos based on her own creations.

I am looking forward to cooking my way through her cookbook, Aarti Paarti, as it shares easy ways to enhance American dishes with simple but unique Indian influences.  I got inspired to pull out my Indian recipes, and would love to share one of my favorites with you, a recipe for Kheema Matar, a ground meat dish spiced with turmeric and garam masala.  


Kheema Matar

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 T ginger, roughly chopped
1-2 green chiles, seeds removed (I use jalapeños)
3 T of oil
2 bay leaves
1/2 - 3/4 lb. ground lamb
1/2 - 3/4 lb. ground beef (not being Hindu, I like to cut the lamb a bit with beef)
pinch of asafoetida **
2 T tomato purée
1/4 t. ground ground turmeric
1/2 t. chili powder
2 T natural yoghurt, drained
3 t. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
8 oz. fresh or frozen peas
1/4 t. garam masala
5 T finely chopped cilantro

Place the onion, garlic, ginger and chiles in a food processor until finely chopped.  Heat the oil in a heavy skillet, add the onion mixture and bay leaves, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown.  Add the ground meat and sauté for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the clumps.  Add the asafoetida and tomato purée, and lower to a simmer.  Add turmeric, chili powder, coriander and cumin and stir for a minute.  Add the yoghurt, salt and pepper.  Add some water, about a cup, a little at a time until absorbed.  Add the peas and simmer until peas are cooked, 5-10 minutes.  Add the garam masala and chopped coriander and stir well before serving.  

** Asafoetida, or heeng, is a spice used as a digestive aid and flavor enhancer that, along with turmeric, is a standard component of Indian cuisine.  It is a yellowish powder made from the dried latex of a type of fennel that has an extremely pungent smell, giving it the nickname "devil's dung".  No doubt, based on that description, you are dying to run out and buy some...or not.  It can be found at Indian markets, such as Little India Grocery in Tempe should you find yourself craving the smell.

xo M