OBSESSED. I am unashamedly OBSESSED with pickles.
As in, I eat them every single day. You don’t have to ask if I want the pickle that you’re not going to eat; you can just go ahead and put it on my plate because you already know, the answer is always yes.
So, I have been searching, planning - waiting for this day. This national holiday for which I insist we show reverence for. NATIONAL PICKLE DAY!
(Just imagine trumpets sounding and flags waving in celebration. It’s freaking majestic.)
Ok, no literally I really was searching, how in the world was I going to find something perfect to celebrate this occasion? I couldn’t do just some meme, or a jar of pickles, or a side, it had to be special and amazing.
Then I found it!
Chuckwagon BBQ and Burgers in Katy, Texas.
This place is known for its amazing BBQ and also the craft sausages. You see where I’m going with this?
Let’s go back a little bit first.
Waseem Hilal grew up on the southwest side of Houston, in a BBQ loving family. His father owned multiple BBQ restaurants, and Waseem swore he’d never own one - he didn’t even like BBQ.
As a young man attending college, he found himself bored and decided why not try culinary school. And that’s where it started. He would go to school during the day, and then work in his father’s restaurant in the evening, practicing what he’d learned that day. After graduating he began looking for a restaurant to buy, to start his own journey. He purchased Chuckwagon BBQ and Burgers.
Chuckwago opened in 2019, and just as he was getting his feet under him, Covid hit. Thankfully they survived and adapted, coming back stronger.
Chuckwagon is one of the few Halal BBQ restaurants around. Halal is a way of slaughtering and processing meat that is part of the Islamic beliefs. He enjoys watching someone experience BBQ for the first time, because he is able to provide a Halal meal.
Community is top priority for Chef Waseem and he takes pride in being able to engage with it. One bond that he fosters with the community is trying to make one of the toughest days of some families lives a little easier. When a family has a dying pet, they can take their fur-baby to Chuckwagon to get a final meal. Chef Waseem hopes that with this small gesture, he can give a bit of comfort to those that have loved and supported him on his journey.
Don’t worry, I’m getting to the part that has to do with pickles, just keep reading!
The Ruben sandwich came out first and I was amazed. Chef Waseem explained that the pastrami is brined in house for 14 days. The sauerkraut that is piled high and the Russian dressing that is drizzled on top are both house made as well. The sandwich was perfectly paired with the crispy sweet potato fries.
Then came one of his top sellers, the Hot Cheeto burger. Spicy, cheesy, crunchy, amazing!
The half-pound burger patty is topped with hot Cheetos, house crafted queso and sriracha hot sauce. When I heard about the combo, I didn’t think I would be able to handle the heat, but to my surprise it was actually perfect. Mine came with the crispiest, fattest onion rings I’ve ever had.
At one point when we were talking, Chef Waseem told me that he had the processes and recipes for the meats exactly how he wanted them, now he wanted to perfect the sides. Y’all this restaurant already has perfect sides, he’s just being humble.
When the 2 meat plate came out, it included mac and cheese and smoked cabbage. The mac and cheese was super gooey and cheesy. NO dry a$$ mac and cheese here. Perfection. And that smoked cabbage had bits of the pastrami in it. I love cabbage, and I don’t find it often. Even less frequently do I find it done well, and this was incredible. The ribs were tender and juicy, and had a wonderful texture and flavor. The brisket absolutely melted in my mouth though. If you’ve got MeMaw at home, and she’s lost her dentures again, even she can eat this, it was so decadently tender.
The knock-out punch hit me next though. I thought Chuckwagon’s food was fantastic up until this point y’all, but I didn’t even know what I was missing. The final plate had two of the most glorious foods I’ve tasted to date. Rib tips and sausage.
These were lemon pepper rib tips. First they’re smoked, then they’re fried and seasoned with the lemon pepper. They’re crispy, melt in your mouth, little pieces of heaven. He described them as pork chicken wings. I don’t think that does them justice.
One of Chuckwagon’s specialties is handcrafted, small batch, sausages, and when I heard they had a, you guessed it, PICKLE sausage. I knew I had to try it for the National Pickle Day article. Y’all this plan could have gone all wrong, I could have drove all the way to Katy for this to be the worst pickle thing I could have picked. Then what, I would have been devastated, but I knew I had to take the chance. And y'all believe me, you've never had pickles like this! This sausage was perfect. Tiny bits of dill pickles, cheddar and mozzarella cheese chunks were stuffed throughout the sausage. Now, it wasn’t like biting into a pickle, there was just a nice little zing along with cheesy goodness.
And you can’t finish out awesome BBQ without award winning banana pudding can you? The perfect cold, creamy, delicious dessert to round everything out.
You definitely need to check out this family owned and operated spot in Katy, Tx. So take the backroads on over to Chuckwagon BBQ and Burgers, you’ll be glad you did! When you get there, tell Chef Waseem I said hi!
4031 Fm 1463 Ste 50 Katy, TX 77494
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