Tabb Singleton keeps showing the creative side of Oklahoma barbecue
Phat Tabb's BBQ is an Oklahoma treasure well worth the four-hour drive from Oklahoma City to Idabel, a town of about 7,000 people in the state's southeast corner. But in recent months, Tabb Singleton, the pitmaster who opened Phat Tabb’s BBQ in 2020, has brought his talents to OKC.
Last month he was serving his succulent brisket at The Curbside Chronicle’s 100th issue celebration. This past Saturday, he was at Chefs Fest and stealing the show (in my opinion and the opinion of those standing in his long line) with smoked Hawaiian shoyu pork belly and chilled sesame rice noodles, topped with chili flakes. He also served fried bologna sandwiches with cucumber kimchi, American cheese, and kewpie mayo on a sweet Brioche bun.
The recent Chefs Fest offering exemplified Singleton's immensely creative side. His BBQ tastes old school at its core, but Singleton builds on that foundation with unique creations that sometimes seem out of place at his roadhouse-style joint.
His menu has included tangy beef cheeks that melt in your mouth, spicey and smokey gumbo, and tuna bowls with an incredibly rich taste. Singleton has pushed the limits even more with “redneck sushi,” which is a bacon-wrapped creation of smoked brisket, sausage, cream cheese and much more. Sides can include kimchi and elotes-style coleslaw.
My favorite “non-traditional” fare of his might be the smoked beef belly burnt ends, which he cuts into large cubes and confits in beef tallow.
Then again, maybe my surprise at what this pitmaster and his crew are slinging reveals my own ignorance. Singleton and his nephew Bailey McCullough not only bring creativity but a level of intellectual curiosity about barbecue that highlights a talent in rural Oklahoma that city slickers like me too often overlook.
Barbecue is a classical food with a playbook of simplicity and consistency that can hold some pitmasters back from trying new things. That's what makes Singleton's efforts not just damn tasty but immensely brave.
“We call it Okie-Tex barbecue but it’s really just us making the kind of barbecue we want to eat,” Singleton recently told me.
I've always said the beauty (or potential) of Oklahoma barbecue lies in the fact that it isn't an established region. There are specific ways of doing things in Kansas City, central Texas, and each side of the Carolinas that have been canonized. Tradition goes a long way in barbecue but Oklahoma isn’t beholden to a specific style or flavor and Singleton is taking advantage of that BBQ freedom.
Any visit to Phat Tabb’s BBQ must start with the staples — sliced brisket, ribs and pulled pork — that are as good as any in the state. But Singleton’s rotational menu items are what really showcase his culinary talent and beg the question: What will he come up with next?
Fortunately for me, he’s brought his smoked talents to Oklahoma City in recent weeks. But Phat Tabb’s BBQ is a worthy destination whether he’s within walking distance at an Asian District food festival, or back at his roadside joint a couple hundred miles away.