Places to Eat: Bison Smokehouse Tamworth

The first time I walked into JoJo's BBQ - a family run roadside Barbecue restaurant in Abilene Texas, I didn't really get it.

I immediately knew I liked it, but I thought I was in a Texas style themed restaurant, and this little Aussie gal hadn't really grasped the concept of American Barbecue. My friend who had moved to Texas had to explain to me that it wasn't Texas themed when it was in Texas.....

Since then, thank heavens I've evolved and now Chip and I are barbecue fans. Let's just say Franklin and Scott take pride of place on the bookshelf and Chef's Table BBQ edition is constantly re-binged.

Bison Smokehouse in Tamworth, Australia has a similar homey, Texas diner vibe to many of the smokehouses of the South. Like many barbecue joints, they're open 11:30am -9:00pm Tuesday-Saturday.

Bison Smokehouse was founded by Nader Shayeb, a BBQ enthusiast with years of experience perfecting the art of smoked meats. He's a classically trained chef driven by a passion for authentic flavours. Nader opened Bison Smokehouse to share the rich BBQ heritage of the American South with Tamworth.

However- before you go, you need to understand that you're eating Southern barbecue-which is easily confused with -but absolutely nothing like- the "Steakhouse" chains we often see in Australia.

Boiled ribs and overcooked steaks be gone.

Instead make way for smoked brisket, pulled pork (not the bbq sauce mess you may be more acquainted with) and great sides like rancho beans and buttered corn bread.

We opted for the Bison platter for two ($119) plus a selection of sides so we could really try the whole menu. I'm a sucker for sides and the elote corn ($13) is fire and the nixtamal tortillas and salsas ($16) deserve an honourable mention.

The platter comes with lamb ribs (a touch of Aussie done in southern style), brisket, smoked wings, pulled pork and pork belly, and house made hot links. There's also dill slaw, pickles and fries.

The bloody good brisket and tender pulled pork were the standouts. The brisket was the best we've had in Aus, and featured some very good bark. The apple and red chilli glaze with the pulled pork is definitely a good idea, but don't stop there. There are also 6 different sauces to mix and match that also take you across the South with Carolina gold, Alabama white, Kansas city and more traditional Texan options.

If you've got the kids in tow, we can vouch for the brisket cheeseburger and chips but there's also mac and cheese, a pulled chicken roll with mayo and chips, (All kids meals - $15) or pulled pork, chips and tangy texan bbq sauce.

If you fancy, say, brisket and hot links but not in the mood for a full platter, you can order BBQ meat by weight and there's also some rolls, burgers and salads for a lighter option.

Because tequila and barbecue go together like salt and pepper, we also had to have a frozen passionfruit marg. Do not fear- this is not an insipid frozen marg from a machine- this baby was blended and had a decent hit without being too sweet. Next time, I'll be interested to try their standard marg offering because I'm a purist who doesn't love pesky brain freezes.

And there will be a next time, in fact, we've already been back and I hope there are many more visits. I can imagine this would be the perfect space for a shindig.

Bison is family friendly with a really solid menu filled with South barbecue favourites and some house made surprises. I'm sure barbecue afficionados and Steakhouse stalwarts will all agree that Bison is a great addition to the dining scene in Tamworth.

Location and contact details

Bison Smokehouse

583 Armidale Rd

East Tamworth NSW 2340

0490 452 216

enquiries@bisonsmokehouse.com.au

Open Tuesday-Saturday 11:30am - 9:00pm