When the State Fair of Texas closed for the season on Oct. 20, 2024, I feared the new pastrami sandwich sold at a booth near the Cotton Bowl might be gone, too.
“It’s literally the No. 1 question we get on Instagram and Facebook,” said Juan Reaves, the concessionaire who created the sandwich with his brother, Brent Reaves.
Good news: This barbecue sandwich will be sold at the owners’ restaurant, Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking in Dallas, on Fridays and Saturdays only, for a limited time. It starts Oct. 25, 2024.
This pastrami was my favorite bite of the 2024 State Fair. It was also one of the best bites of barbecue I’ve had this year. It was peppery, fatty and salty. Generously portioned. Deliciously indulgent. My family and I argued over who got the last bites as we strolled the Midway, holding a fistful of napkins to wipe our greasy hands.
Why only 2 days a week?
Those familiar with Jewish delis like Katz’s and 2nd Ave in New York might be familiar with the hot pastrami sandwich. Barbecue fans might have gotten an occasional taste of brisket pastrami from Cattleack Barbeque in Farmers Branch, but it isn’t a regular on most barbecue menus.
The Reaves brothers traveled to New York to taste some of the most popular pastrami sandwiches there. Then, they brought those ideas home and gave it the Texas barbecue treatment.
Each peppery brisket, which they call “Texas pastrami,” is brined for at least seven days, then smoked for about 16 hours. It’s then set aside to rest before it can be sliced.
This brand-new item is the most time-consuming ever made by the Smokey John’s team. (To wit, they can’t just whip up more if they run out.) That’s why they’re targeting two days a week, for a limited time.
Barbecue price cut
Interestingly, the sandwich didn’t sell at the fair as well as the Reaves brothers expected. Price was part of the problem: It was originally marked at $30 for a half sandwich with a half-pound of meat or $60 for a whole with one pound of pastrami. The Reaves brothers said the $30 price tag was in line with what they found at New York delis.
And besides, Juan Reaves said, “fair inflation” is real.
They lowered the price on the third day of the fair at the advice of some fellow concessionaires. For the remainder of the fair, it was sold for $25 for a half sandwich, $45 for a whole — a better price than before, but it still might have given some passersby pause.
For those who shelled out all those coupons, like I did, it was worth it.
At Smokey John’s restaurant, the sandwich will cost $17.95 for a half sandwich with a half-pound of meat or $32 for one pound. The Reaves brothers are hoping the sticker shock isn’t there for barbecue aficionados, since other Texas barbecue joints are selling brisket for $30 to $35 a pound.
300-pound gamble
The Reaves brothers probably would have entered the brisket pastrami into the State Fair’s annual food contest, the Big Tex Choice Awards, but it wasn’t ready by the deadline. Instead they entered Standing on Business, a surprising mix of chicken wings and ice cream that made it into the Big Tex Choice Awards semifinalist round.
Then they got back to work on the pastrami, which took nine months.
The brothers were patient. If they changed the brine recipe, they had to wait seven to 10 days between each tasting.
“We probably went through 300 pounds of brisket, trying to figure this out,” Juan Reaves said.
Then they’d change up the rub or the smoke time.
The final recipe has a pepperier bark than Smokey John’s traditional smoked brisket. And it’s much smokier than most pastramis from a deli.
Smokey John’s finished sandwich is served on seedless rye bread from Signature Bakery, piled high with pastrami and then topped with spicy brown deli mustard and provolone cheese. Kosher pickle slices come on the side.
They remember when they finally got it right.
“We sliced it, we both tried it and we paused and looked at each other, like, ‘Bro,’” Brent Reaves said.
“Bro,” his brother said back.
“Bro,” Brent said again. “This is it.”
Go get one.
Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking is at 1820 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. Pastrami will be sold on Fridays and Saturdays until it’s gone. Restaurant open for lunch and dinner six days a week; closed Sundays.
