Like so many Foodwalker moments, this was not on my itinerary as I drove from Annapolis MD to Chincoteague Island, VA, eager to get there by sundown. But when I spotted the high, rotating BBQ sign along the road just outside of Easton I swung a sharp and erratic right and, to the horn-blaring of angry drivers, screeched across two lanes of traffic and into the lot by a large smoker with a metal bull leaping over it. For a place the size of Easton (pop. ~17,000) there seem to be a lot of BBQ joints. Maybe this is because the town is technically in the South, where BBQ is more than just a popular cuisine but a way of life. Or maybe it’s because the people of this Maryland Eastern Shore region especially enjoy properly smoked meat. That certainly appeared to be the case when I stepped inside Hot Off The Coals BBQ and smelled the deep aroma of hickory wood smoke and tangy spice. Sometimes you can tell food is going to be good before you even taste it.
HOTC is similar to so many BBQ joints one encounters when driving south of the Mason-Dixon on an empty stomach. A scattering of beef, beer and pork-related artifacts, rusty signs, tee shirts and country-style decor greets you upon entering. There is a menu, but the chalkboard and easel of daily specials are what really control the ordering. I immediately knew what I wanted — the litmus test of any self-respecting BBQ establishment — and ordered the Slaughter House Beef Brisket sandwich and a half rack of baby-backs. Of course I had to include in my tasting the collard greens and sweet potato casserole (which did not disappoint).
“You don’t need teeth to eat our meat” is what they like to say at Hot Off The Coals and, while I fortunately have teeth, I would eat here even if I didn’t. The soft bun gave way to silky slabs of tender brisket that eased into flavorful mouthfuls with just the slightest pressure. It delivered a smokey beef blast and, with a slight slathering of HOTC’s own sauce, added a BBQ bite that obviated a need for anything else inside the simple sandwich. It was a thing of basic BBQ beauty.
The ribs were moist with nice surprises of burnt ends and glistening fat. The pork displayed that elusive level of just-right smokey penetration, giving the meat a pinkish hue that pulled off the bone easily without falling apart when lifting. The firmness of a BBQ’d rib is a tell-tale sign of the pitmaster’s ability to balance time and temperature. Getting the right softness without overcooking and drying out the meat is a skill that takes years to perfect. You can always tell a wannabe who misses that mark and tries to hide it by smothering the rib in sauce. At HOTC, the rack was browned by slow, smokey heat and barely coated with sauce — nothing to hide here. After appreciating a couple of ribs neat to enjoy their porcine purity, I slathered some of the rich homemade BBQ sauce on the rib and was quickly licking my fingers and chops like a dirty-faced kid in pig-heaven.
It all goes to show that there is great food to be found nearly wherever one goes, and it’s worth altering the plan in order to enjoy it. Hot Off The Coals BBQ was a place worth delaying my sunset arrival for, and the next time I head down that road I will build the stop into my journey. That way, with luck, I’ll pull into the parking lot like a safe, sane driver rather than the demolition derby enthusiast that I appeared to be this time, and again dive all sticky-fingered into some excellent Maryland slow-smoked meat.
Hot Off The Coals BBQ, Rt 50, Easton MD
