As temps drop to single digits and flurries fly, a brave crowd proves it’s never too cold for brisket. They line up outside of a food truck. Their tingling fingers eagerly grab containers filled with Southern-style, low-and-slow smoked meats.
This arctic blast is no match for Kylie Q’s BBQ.
Lunch is served.
After a few weeks off for the holidays, Jason Hamer is back in the trailer, in his black sweatshirt featuring a porky pig on the front and a saying from his 6-year-old daughter Khloe on the back, “It’s goodlicious!”
Hamer’s doing what he loves. It’s humbling on this wintry day to see so many people pull into the parking lot on the corner of 28th and Myrtle. Given the weather, he shortened the serving time, and to his surprise, still sold out an hour early.
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But the work’s not done. There’s more meat in the smoker for a catered event at night.
In recent years, TV shows like "BBQ Pitmasters" on TLC, “Barbecue University” on PBS and “BBQ Crawl” on the Travel Channel have amplified America’s fixation on the savory flavors of smoked meats.
Suddenly, pulled pork sandwiches are being served at Subway, Wendy’s and Burger King, and you can even get brisket from Arby’s.
Smoking is the new grilling, according to Steven Raichlen, author of the award-winning "Barbecue Bible" cookbook series and host of the new PBS show "Project Smoke." The barbecue guru predicts smoking meats will go mainstream this year, thanks to the rise of affordable, easy-to-use smokers.
Hamer bought his first smoker around 2010.
“I had a blast with it,” he said. “I started having enough people tell me that my backyard was their favorite restaurant in town. That kind of got the gears turning. And my wife scared.”
He also had some encouragement from his oldest daughter, Kylie, now age 9, who told him he should open a barbecue restaurant.
“I really like his food,” she said. “And I thought other people would enjoy it, too.”
She may be his biggest fan but rarely gets to eat the food. Kylie Q’s BBQ usually sells out.
Hamer, a branch manager at U.S. Bank in Sioux City, started out mainly cooking for friends, family and church functions. It got more serious when he bought the food truck over two years ago.
Now, he often spends his Saturdays parked at the corner of 28th and Myrtle, serving about 180 pounds of beef brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs and chicken wings from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. or until the food runs out, whichever comes first.
His barbecue has been popular, and yet, the food truck is an unusual sight in Sioux City. That in itself is a trend that’s been growing in nearby cities like Sioux Falls, where a co-working space coordinated Food Truck Fridays last year, or Omaha, where more and more restaurateurs are rolling through the streets.
Perhaps even more people would stop at Kylie Q’s BBQ if they were more comfortable with the concept. Countless times, Hamer’s had new customers come up and say that they’ve driven by the food truck often but had reservations about walking up to the window. They approach with caution until they taste the smoky, seasoned barbecue.
“There is a great majority of people in this area that just have an aversion to the whole food truck idea,” Hamer said. “We welcome all of them to come try us, see how much pride we take in it.”
To get ready for a Saturday setup, Hamer and business partner Steve Voss, his wife’s uncle, stay up through the night, taking turns adding charcoal and hickory, apple or cherry wood to the smoker, keeping it a constant temperature of 225 degrees for 12-14 hours.
They cook a crowd-friendly barbecue so juicy and tender that it doesn’t need sauce, but they provide three homemade varieties anyway.
“We’ve got one older customer that says he loves coming to us because he doesn’t have to bother putting his dentures in,” Hamer said.
Some of the best compliments come from southern transplants who now live in Sioux City. When they bite into a sandwich brimming with brisket and their eyes light up, nothing’s better than hearing, “This tastes like home.”
