Pork Spare Ribs

Switchback Smokehouse

/ Mitch Clark / Leave a comment

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 8/10 and Yes. Ended up stopping here after a warm winter day hike and was pleasantly surprised by what we found. Nestled right between Bear Creek Road and Bear Creek itself, Switchback is a cozy little spot with indoor and outdoor picnic table seating. One of the only places I’ve ever seen with smoked duck as an option, would recommend to anyone driving by, but would also say its worth making the short trip from Denver for a destination visit as well. Wide ranging and non-traditional bbq menu that should please almost anyone in your group, with a dog-friendly patio that makes a great spot for a post hike bite. Would recommend making a stop

Date Visited: 2/26/2022

Address: 26220 Colorado 74 Frontage, Evergreen, CO 80439

Day of the Week: Saturday

Time of Day: 2:11 PM. Open at 11:00 AM

Owner: Darryl Swartz

Website: https://switchbacksmokehouse.com/

Number of Years in Business: Since 2012

Number of People in Line: About 15 people already sitting down

Regional Style of BBQ: Doesn’t claim on specific style and blends several together for unique offering. Does make the brisket Montreal style, so more of a thinly sliced pastrami than traditional brisket

Total Cost: N/A

Type of Wood: Colorado fruit woods

Type of Smoker: Unsure

Best Dish: Duck

Best Sauce: Mule Sauce

Best Side: Didn’t order any

Interior Description: Small cozy interior with walk up ordering, that has interior and exterior picnic tables for you to sit down and enjoy your bbq at. Picturesque views along Bear Creek make this a fantastic spot to grab a tasty bite of bbq

Pro Tip: Don’t skip on the duck, as one of the only places you can find it and is top quality on top of it.

St Louis Style Spare Ribs 

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Unsure

Description: Really solid rib overall, that was fall off the bone tender, but at the same time had a nice crispy exterior as well. That said, the rib had minimal seasoning to it that left it a little bland, but had really great smoke flavor running through it. Would recommend adding The Mule hot sauce they they make in-house for the best combination. Would order this one again

Duck

0/10 Ranking: 8.5 to 9/10

Seasoning: Unsure

Description: Good apple smoke coming through in each bite. Extremely tender and juicy with a nice light gaminess with the natural duck essence coming through. Had a mild seasoning on the outside which was tasty, but had it had been more powerful/intense it would have put the duck over the top into almost being perfect. Would absolutely order this one again

Sauces – Mule Sauce (Hot) – Need official review

Sides – None ordered

Interior & Menu Photos:

Hank’s Texas BBQ

/ Mitch Clark / Leave a comment

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 9/10 and Yes. Sadly, Hank’s is no longer in business, but there is a chance it could come back at some point. That said, the place had great vibes and brisket and would have recommended it to anyone who was craving some Texas Style BBQ

Date Visited: 5/12/2021

Address: 5410 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80220

Day of the Week: Wednesday

Time of Day: 11:15 AM. Open at 11:00 AM

Owner: Christopher Nicki

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 2019

Number of People in Line: 2 in front and then 6 more after me

Regional Style of BBQ: Texas

Total Cost: $39 with tip. 1/4lb lean brisket, 1/4lb fatty brisket, 1 spare rib, 1 sausage, 1/4lb pulled pork, 1 Shiner Bock

Type of Wood: Post Oak

Type of Smoker: Offset reverse flow

Type of Seasoning:

Best Dish: Brisket

Best Sauce: Hot/Smokey

Best Side: (Needs review)

Interior Description: One of my favorite in Colorado. It has a nice BBQ feel without feeling faked or gimmicky. There’s also a really nice outdoor patio area that sits adjacent to the outdoor smokers & firewood. Laid back 90’s and 2000’s music filled the speakers while I was there, so any millennial should feel right at home when they come for a visit

Pro Tip: Beef ribs on Saturday’s, Prime Rib Sunday’s, Wing Wednesday, Burger Fridays

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 9/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: Texas Style fatty and lean only for options, no burnt ends here. Juicy and trimmed well, had great overall flavor, but needs more of a smoke and seasoning punch to take it to the top of the local ranks. That said, I could easily east 1/2lb of the fatty and lean problem and this was easily a top 4 or 5 brisket in Denver. Smoked for 9-12 hours between 225 and 260 degrees

Burnt Ends

Description: Not served here

Pork Spare Ribs 

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, onion powder

Description: Tender, but only at the minimum baseline for juiciness and moisture, as they could almost be considered dried out. Minimal seasoning on the ribs and not a ton of smoke flavor coming through either. 50/50 on if I would order the ribs again. Said they smoke them for 4-6 hours

Pulled Pork

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, maybe cumin and others?

Description: Very juicy, maybe one of the juiciest in Colorado. Had a unique flavor with the seasoning, but not much for smoke coming through. A little over cooked as the meat was on the verge of getting mushy. That said, really good with the smokey sauce and would order again with that

Sausage 

0/10 Ranking: 8 to 8.5/10

Description: Good blend of fat and meat with a nice internal texture and consistency. No sauce needed and can stand on its own. Not necessarily a distinctive flavor profile that comes out of it, but it does a great job of blending seasoning and meat for a balanced and tasty sausage

Sauces – Hot

0/10 Ranking: 8.5 to 9/10

Description: Smoky with a slight heat on the backend. Really good with the pulled pork

Sauces – Carolina

0/10 Ranking: 7.5/10

Description: Intense mustard and vinegar flavor coming through. Overpowering is the first word that comes to mind, so only need minimal for dipping

Interior & Menu Photos

Rollin’ Bones BBQ

/ Mitch Clark / Leave a comment

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 9/10 and Yes. If you see this food truck, do yourself a favor and walk over and order from them immediately. For a food truck slinging barbecue, you won’t find better in Colorado. They have the best ribs in the state in my opinion and they are one of the only places who make jerk chicken, which they marinate in a jerk sauce made by Tony-Mon at 1 & 1 Exotic Coffee & Spices. Not only do they make up some kickass food, the owner Eric Holinger is a super nice and laid back guy who is always ready to talk barbecue and answer any questions you may have

Date Visited: 10/24/2020 & 2/18/2021

Address: 2775 Valmont Rd, Boulder, CO at the Rayback Collective. Also can be found at Cannonball Brewing depending on the weekend

Day of the Week: Saturday and Thursday

Time of Day: 3:30 PM and 12:00 PM. Typically open at 12:00 PM

Owner: Eric Holinger

Website: https://rollinbonesbbq.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 2016

Number of People in Line: 4 the first time and then 2 the second visit

Regional Style of BBQ: Mix of several styles

Total Cost: Reasonable prices

Type of Wood: Apple, cherry, mesquite, oak, and other fruitwoods

Type of Smoker: Offset custom-made smoker combo, with rotisserie wheel and a gas fired burn box attached (Eric is the 4th owner)

Type of Seasoning: Salt, pepper, paprika, and others

Best Dish: Spare ribs or jerk chicken

Best Sauce: Have not tried this yet, need further review

Best Side: Mac & cheese with the green chili sauce

Interior Description: Food truck, so wherever they roll up to

Pro Tip: House-made pickles and coleslaw are delicious as well as having arguably the best ribs in the state. Order the jerk chicken every time its available

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 8 to 8.5/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, & a few other spices

Description: A good 1/4 inch of red ring on the brisket. What was most surprising was that even though I ordered at 3:30, the brisket was moist and still had a good bark to it. The fat and meat balance was on point and was a nice blend of the two in each bite. Tried the BBQ sauce with it, but doesn’t really add anything more to it. Good overall brisket, but Owl Bear, Smok, Post Oak, & Hank’s are all ahead of them

Burnt Ends

0/10 Ranking: 8 to 8.5/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, & a few other spices

Description: Nice blend of fat and meat with an enjoyable mild seasoning, but overall nothing to special to write home about. Eric said he separates the flat and the point then chops it up, but doesn’t add anything extra to them and doesn’t place them back in the smoker

Pork Spare Ribs 

0/10 Ranking: 9.5/10

Description: Fall off the bone tender and smoked to perfection. Great flavor running through them with almost a cinnamon flavor and warmth coming out in each bite. Zero sauce needed and arguably the best ribs in Colorado

Pulled Pork

0/10 Ranking: 8.5/10

Description: Juicy with good overall taste, but nothing too unique as far as smoke or seasoning flavors coming through. That said, this is one of the juiciest pulled pork in the state, but needs more intense seasoning and smoke essence to put it as one of the best

Cheddar Chipotle Sausage 

0/10 Ranking: 8.5 to 9/10

Description: Smoky and delicious with a great meat to fat ratio. Had an unique taste running through it that I couldn’t quite place, but was very enjoyable overall. A nice taught casing with good snap, would recommend ordering again

Jerk Chicken

0/10 Ranking: 9.5/10

Seasoning: Gets his from Tony-Mon at 1 & 1 Exotic Coffees and Spices. He visits his family in Jamaica several times a year and brings back fresh ingredients to make his jerk sauce and marinade

Description: Literally the best jerk chicken I’ve had outside of Jamaica. While I am a sucker for jerk sauce, I almost always end up leaving disappointed when ordering it, as no restaurant or bbq joint has quite come close to my memory of authentic jerk chicken flavors. As such, when I took my first bite, I was instantly transported back to Negril and the road side shanty that produced the best chicken I’ve eaten in my life. While the memory may be stronger than the reality these days regarding the jerk taste, this was the closest I’ve ever gotten to reclaiming that euphoric taste experience that I had during my youth. Do yourself a favor and order this every time it is available and be prepared to go back for seconds, which I inevitably always end up doing

Sides – Coleslaw

0/10 Ranking: 9/10

Description: Uses no mayo for this and is instead a vinegar base sauce. A very enjoyable, crunchy, and light option to accompany the meat, without the typical guilt that comes with the your normal mayo based slaw

Interior & Menu Photos