The Texas BBQ Joint That Won Guy Fieri Over With 'Dynamite' Handmade Sausages

In "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" shown on the Food Network, Guy Fieri visits restaurants in every state in search of comfort food. At The Pit Room in Texas, sausage steals the show, with a recipe made with cheddar, pickled jalapeño brine, and dry spice. In a clip posted to YouTube, Fieri samples the sausage fresh off the restaurant's smoker before calling it "dynamite", noting a satisfying snap of the casing and the right balance of heat. 

The Pit Room's owner, Michael Sambrooks, demonstrates the process of making the sausage, coating hand-cubed pork with a dry spice mix before letting the meat cure overnight. Once hand-ground, the meat is then mixed with spicy pickled jalapeños and cheese before it is smoked twice at different temperatures. The meticulous process builds flavor without the risk of overcooking the meat.

Sambrooks' choice of cheddar is one that doesn't completely melt under heat, resulting in warm bites that aren't gooey but filled with creamy flavor. Plates are served with made-from-scratch barbecue sauce, a recipe that includes smoked beef fat and requires an hour and a half to cook down. The all-natural casings, the grind size, and the hydraulic quarter-pound press all help create a sausage that has customers describing as noticeably juicy on the show. 

At The Pit Room, two sausage links are presented to Fieri, along with fresh, house-fried chicharrones and house hot sauce. The Pit Room offers several meat options for customers who want to follow in Fieri's footsteps with its house-made sausages, including Czech-style beef, black pepper garlic venison, and jalapeño cheddar pork sausage, each served for $6.

Fieri certainly isn't alone in his love for the place. Customers have raved about their experiences online, with one visitor writing on TripAdvisor, "Our best ever food experience in the USA." Another visitor noted on Google that "the atmosphere was awesome," and strikes the right balance between a BBQ Pit restaurant and a sports bar.

On it's own website the Pit Room describes itself as making "traditional Texas BBQ", the combination of black pepper, smoke, and love has come to help it earn a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction. Two custom-made barrel-style offset smokers and a vertical sausage cooker help cook meats to perfection, and ingredients are carefully sourced, including USDA Prime beef and heritage, Berkshire-Duroc pork. If a recipe can grab the attention of a chef like Fieri, it is probably worth seeking out for those in the area.