Review: Stumpy’s House of Bar-B-Que in St. Peters

Barbecue, to me, has always been about avoiding chores on the weekend. It’s a reason to drink beer all day and play with fire, while you slowly smoke some sort of meaty goodness. “Sorry honey, I can’t clean out the basement today – we’re having pulled pork.”

Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating some kind of drunken pyromania, just a little procrastination on the “honey-do” list. It’s truly a lot of work to barbecue all day: You have to keep the temperature just right or the meat will cook too fast or not at all. You have to keep the smoke from getting too dark or the meat will have a sooty carbon flavor to it. You need to rotate the meat to ensure even cooking. You need to baste the meat or mist it from time to time, and if you get distracted for too long you could have a disaster on your hands.

Some might be wary of giving this level of commitment to a piece of meat. Luckily, if you want some barbecue without having to invest hours of your life (and still want to avoid that chores list), there are places like Stumpy’s House of Bar-B-Que.

At Stumpy’s, the subtle smell of smoke and meat along with a friendly staff dressed in tie-dyed shirts that say “Peace, love and Stumpy’s” create a casual and welcoming environment.

The menu features the typical items: brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, nachos – wait, nachos? Yep. Loaded with baked beans, nacho cheese, your choice of pulled pork or chicken, and jalapeños, they’re a don’t-miss. The beans are a little on the sweet side and the pulled pork was nice and juicy, although not as smoky as the pork that came with the sandwich – whether that’s by design or an inconsistency, I don’t know. I do know that the idea is brilliant, and the next time there is leftover pulled pork at the house, I’m making nachos.

Other interesting items were fried green beans, fried pickles and salads. How do you barbecue a salad? After I set aside my skepticism, these anomalies were some of the best items on the menu. The fried pickles and green beans – battered, deep-fried and served with ranch dressing – had a nice crunchy coating; the pickle wedges had a nice tangy dill flavor and the green beans were fresh and very crisp. The Stumpy Salad was a tossed salad with Cheddar, red onion and your choice of pork or chicken. Once again we opted for pork and once again it was not as smoky, though it was nice and juicy and the salad was very satisfying and quite un-salad like.

And the ’cue? The sandwiches and dinner plates come without sauce, but there are three types available: original, hot, and sweet and smoky. The original is the way to go here; the best of the three, it was a nice balance between sweet and tangy. The hot sauce tasted like a cross between a Louisiana hot sauce and Stumpy’s original sauce; it paired best with the chicken. Skip the sweet and smoky, it’s too sweet and not very smoky.

The sandwiches came with your choice of side: fries (think Ore-Ida), Stumpy’s beans, green beans (not fried), potato salad or coleslaw. Though still on the mild side, the pulled pork was nicely permeated with hickory smoke. Go for the coleslaw and put it on the sandwich with just a little of the original sauce, which is how the Stumpy Special Sandwich is served for a dollar more. The brisket was sliced inconsistently and could have used more time in the smoker, as it was a little tough.

The half-chicken plate would have been flat-out phenomenal if it were just the dark half. That said, the overall flavor and smokiness of the chicken was very good, even if the breast was a little dry. The hickory was much more prevalent here, and a dash more of the dry rub and some of the hot sauce really balanced well with the smoke.

St. Louis cut rubs, available in four, six or full slabs and served dry, were very meaty and nice and tender without falling off of the bone. They had that nice bite that lets you know they weren’t boiled and a subtle hickory flavor.

So if you’re in the mood for barbecue on a weeknight or for lunch some day (or you are no longer allowed to have a day of drunken pyromania due to the “list”), give Stumpy’s a try.

FILLING UP FOR $20 OR LESS

Where: Stumpy’s House of Bar-B-Que, 620 Jungermann Road, St. Peters, 636.441.7222
When: Mon. to Thu. – 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri. and Sat. – 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sun. – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Dine-in-Ability: If you want to avoid weekend chores, dine in: There’s plenty of seating and a casual, friendly atmosphere.
Try it, You’ll Like It: Nachos with jalapeño peppers, fried green beans