FEATURE — Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has a storied tradition dating back nearly eight decades, according to Brad Phillips, owner of the Dickey’s franchise located in the Bloomington area of St. George.
“Dickey’s Barbecue has been around since 1941, based out of Dallas, Texas,” Phillips explained. “They are the largest barbecue chain in the world. We go through the most briskets of any other company in the entire world.”
Watch Sheldon and Colleen as they make a pit stop at Dickey’s in Episode 42 of “What’s on the Menu” in player above.
Phillips called the beef briskets, which are the chain’s most renowned specialty, “just amazing,” adding that the secret lies in how the meat is cooked.
As it’s cooked and smoked just right, he said, “It’s just glorious to watch it. The juices fall out of it, the flavor comes out of it. You can actually get the hint of the hickory smoke coming out.”
Phillips said the restaurant’s chicken is also a highly popular menu item.
“Our chicken is marinated for days and days in advance,” he said. “We put that chicken in, we smoke it, then we flip it, we smoke it some more. The moment we pull that chicken out, we hit it with some barbecue sauce and wrap it, and the moisture just soaks in.
“It is just a beautiful piece of meat. We just absolutely enjoy it. A lot of people don’t realize we actually do salads here, and you can have some chicken on top of a salad.”
Pulled pork is also a favorite among the Dickey’s crowd, Phillips added, noting that, again, proper preparation is the key.
When you’re actually grabbing into a pork butt, which happens to be the (upper) shoulder, you’re actually going to pull a piece out of it and then you’re going to season it nicely. Then you start squishing it and pulling it apart. You’re just wanting to break down the fibers and then get it to be able to shred right there for you.
During St. George News’ recent visit to the restaurant, “What’s on the Menu” host Sheldon Demke and guest Colleen Rue, a morning show host for radio station Planet 101.5 FM, experienced sensory overload as they each sampled a full Dickey’s meal, and then some.
“The meat was juicy and tender, some of the most tender brisket I’ve ever eaten,” Rue said. “And the chicken, I didn’t even realize they did chicken! It was marinated and I wish so much that I could take all that chicken home and have it in all forms all the time.”
Rue also raved about her favorite side dishes.
“The sides went from spicy to perfectly creamy and savory, like the mac and cheese,” Rue said. “They’re known for their mac and cheese, and it lived up to the expectation.”
For dessert, Dickey’s customers can also head over to the soft-serve ice cream machine and top their brownies, cookies or slices of pie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
“I didn’t realize that not only does Dickey’s have the best meat, but they have ice cream,” Rue said. “You just pull it down, get all the ice cream you want, load up your brownie with it.”
“Dessert, meat, sides … it’s the best at Dickey’s!” she added.
One of Dickey’s most popular ongoing specials is the “Deal of the Day,” featuring a different menu item each day.
“It comes with a good portion of meat, two sides, a roll and a drink, for $9.99,” Phillips said. “It’s an amazing deal. My favorite is Tuesday, which is rib day.”
Dickey’s also specializes in catering for businesses and events, both large and small.
“I like to think of us as a catering company that’s open to the public,” Phillips said. “We do a ton of catering for businesses, lots of 10-15 person offices. We do major weddings. And at this very moment, we’re on a military base up north feeding over 400 troops. So, we can feed the masses. The largest I’ve done is over a thousand people.”
What’s on the Menu: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit | Brought to you by Camping World.
Resources
- Dickey’s Barbecue Pit | Website | Facebook | Location: 2610 S. Pioneer Rd., St. George (click for map). | Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Telephone: 435-674-1206.
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