Texas Barbecue in DFW International Airport

What is there to do at DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas) when your flight is cancelled, and the first available flight is the next day? 

When my wife, Linda, and I had hours to fill, the search was on for authentic Texas Barbecue in the many airport terminals.

We were stuck in Terminal C, near gate 22. I parked us at a table with AC power plugs so I could while away the hours on my laptop computer working on my 99 Cent Chef YouTube videos and Blog Posts.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Thanks to Linda's persistence online and phone calls with our airline, she wrangled two $12 meal vouchers and a hotel voucher for our overnight stay nearby. 

She out-cheap$kated me!

We stayed overnight at airport-adjacent Comfort Suites - I had a Texas Waffle for breakfast.

Back to DFW, the hunt was on for Texas Barbecue when pangs of hunger hit. I found a Bánh Mì restaurant counter where Linda ordered a Bánh Mì Vietnamese Salad with Tofu. I kept going, sniffing the air for the tell-tale aroma of hickory smoke. 

I hit the jackpot when I saw the Dickey's Barbecue Pit sign - look no further! 

Go to the counter to order. The barbecue will be waiting for you by the cash register before you get your credit card back. I'm sure they smoke the meats off-site and bring it in. 

The thing about Texas Barbecue is that it's ready to eat after hours of slow-cooking over smoky hickory coals. The meat stays moist, wrapped up then reheated. A whole beef brisket is smoked, then sliced or chopped to order. 

I spent a few of my younger years in Texas and have indulged in many slices of smoky, lean, tender, and moist Barbecue Beef Brisket. I like the Barbecue Sliced Brisket piled high in a hamburger bun smeared with tangy barbecue sauce, sliced raw onion, and pickle. 

For a heaping full-on order, tackle the 1, 2, or 3 Meat Plates with 2 Sides, and Texas Toast. Similar to a Prime Rib station, all that's left is slicing the whole brisket, then adding the sides.

I skipped the $18 tap beer at the bar nearby, and used the airline $12 voucher on a 2-meat plate of Sliced Beef Brisket and 2 Pork Ribs. My 2 Sides were Green Beans with Bacon and Mac & Cheese. Barbecue can be expensive, but worth it. My $12 Voucher saved the day - 99 thanks, Linda!!

The Pork Ribs are not as meaty as larger beef ribs, but they were tender with plenty of smoky flavor.

The thickly Sliced Barbecue Brisket had a thin, red, tender rind between the seasoned, crisp, dark outer bark and succulent lean beef.

This is a real Texas-style Barbecue Brisket restaurant oasis, slotted into a cacophonous airport.

The sides are almost beside the point, but a tasty distraction.

I selected the Signature BBQ Sauce, which is sweet and tomatoey tart.

The Mac and Cheese would be better with a baked-on crust of cheddar. The cheese sauce was creamy, the macaroni tender. A fine Mac & Cheese similar to any fast food joint like KFC.

My small side of Green Beans with Bacon was missing bacon - I did detect a couple of small pieces, but the flavor of bacon grease was there. The Green Beans were tender and smoky. Quite tasty.

A thick slice of white bread, Texas Toast, served its purpose of sopping up any leftover beef juices, barbecue sauce, green beans juices, and yummy streaks of mac & cheese.

 

If you are going to be stranded in an airport, DFW is the one! Moist, smoky, lean Beef Brisket from Dicky's is amazingly delicious, even in a busy airport setting.

I would hop the airport Skylink tram no matter what terminal you are in. The tram is quick, so head to Terminal C and about Gate 6. Look on the restaurants/shopping side for the signage of Dickey's Barbecue Pit. You will see the long bar, then look for the food display counter to order.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit has 2 locations in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Terminal C near Gate C6, and Terminal E near Gate E27.

Skylink trams are on the upper level for fast transport to all Terminals. 

Airport Address: 2400 Aviation Drive, DFW Airport, TX 75261

Dickey's Phone Number: (972) 973-4799

Website: www.dickeys.com

Hours: Monday thru Sunday 5 AM–10 PM

Swamp Chef Crawfish & Cheese Omelet

When in Louisiana, it's all about Crawfish. Cajuns eat Crawfish morning, noon, and night. My latest recipe serves Crawfish for breakfast. It only takes a handful of these crustaceans to make a Crawfish Omelet.

Hello there, this is a Swamp Chef, and I'm taking over with a recipe from deep in the Spanish Moss-covered bayou. I talked my way into Mom's kitchen to make a breakfast recipe, I guarantee, you are gonna like.

There's nothing to it, really. Make an Omelet your way with your favorite cheese and add a dozen small Crawfish, plus a Trinity of sautéed veggies.

Crawfish are similar to small Bay Shrimp, but milder in flavor, as Crawfish are raised in freshwater instead of saltwater like shrimp. All the meat of a Crawfish is in the tail, and you cook and peel them like you would a shrimp.

Here in Louisiana, Crawfish are bought cooked and peeled in 12 to 16-ounce packages sold in the frozen seafood section of most grocery stores. All you do is add some at the end of cooking the Crawfish Omelet, as they are ready to eat, and need only heating through.

 A combination of chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper is called the Trinity in Louisiana. Again, just a handful of sautéed veggies are added to the Crawfish Omelet.

Besides eggs, the last thing to add is some cheese. I would normally add a slice of American cheese, but I had partied heartily the day before and had some leftover fancy cheese. Use any favorite cheese. 

 

As for the egg part, I cook mine the French way. That is, I pour the beaten eggs into a low-heating pan and slowly stir the eggs like I would a scramble. 

The trick is to keep the eggs moving until almost done, but still damp. Then add the cheese, sautéed Trinity, and Crawfish. Finally, close up the Crawfish Omelet and cook until it reaches your desired doneness. I like mine slightly moist when done.

You can cook the Crawfish Omelet any way you like, even old-school, well done, diner style. All the extra flavor is in the Trinity plus Crawfish. 

I do like Omelets with cheese and seafood. If you don't have access to Crawfish, it's okay to substitute with small cooked shrimp. 

Cooked Shrimp             Cooked Crawfish       Click on any photo to see larger.

Check out how this Cajun cooks a Crawfish Omelet - straight from the swamp!

Crawfish Omelet - VIDEO                 Play it here, video runs 5 minutes, 48 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• 3 Eggs - lightly beaten. Okay to make a 2-egg omelet.
• 1/4 cup of Trinity - chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery.
• Crawfish - cooked and peeled, about 12 per Omelet. Crawfish are quite small. Okay to substitute with small, cooked, and peeled shrimp.
• Soft or Semi-Soft Cheese - about 3 tablespoons.  I happened to have leftover Herb & Garlic Goat Cheese from a party. Okay to use a slice of American Cheese, or any soft or semi-soft favorite, like Mozzarella, Cheddar, Swiss, Provolone, Ricotta, and Monterey Jack. 
• 2 Teaspoons of Oil - a tablespoon each to saute the Trinity veggies and a tablespoon to cook the omelet.
• Salt and Pepper - to taste. Cheese is salty enough for me, so I leave salt out. 

Directions

Chop the Trinity veggies of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Add a tablespoon of oil to a medium-sized pan over medium heating pan.

Saute veggie until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add cooked and peeled Crawfish to the veggies and mix. Saute Crawfish for a minute, just to heat through.

Remove veggies and Crawfish while you make the Omelet.

I like to make my Omelet with 2 to 3 eggs. I whisk them in a bowl to blend the eggs.

Add a tablespoon of oil to a low/medium-heated pan. I like my Omelet soft, so I cook it over a lower heat than normal so I can control the dampness of my Omelet. This is a French-style Omelet. It's okay to cook the Omelet your favorite way, well done or slightly damp.

Add the mixed raw eggs and slowly stir the eggs in the pan. When they are cooked, but still soft and moist, I spread out the eggs to cover most of the Omelet pan. Fill in any holes of the Omelet with soft egg. 

Add salt and pepper if you like. I find cheese is salty enough to my taste, so I leave it out.

Now is the time to bring it all together. Add the cheese first, so it will melt. I add the cheese to half of the Omelet. Spread it out a bit. 

I add the cheese first, so it will melt. Next, add the sautéed Trinity vegetables and Crawfish over the cheese. 

I like to slide a spatula under the cooking Omelet as it gets close to finishing to loosen it from the pan. When the Omelet reaches doneness, it's okay if the eggs are slightly damp. I gently fold the Omelet in half to cover the cheese and veggies. 

I let the folded Omelet cook another 30 seconds or so. You can slice into the Omelet to check for desired doneness. 

If you want to gild the lily, then slather a little butter on the Omelet.

National Croissant Day - Recipe Videos

I prefer a heated plain Croissant with coffee in the morning. When I have them in bed, it's a flaky affair. I usually have the L.A. Times newspaper laid out underneath my chin to catch the crumbs. That's how I like to start National Croissant Day. 

Croissants can be filled with chocolate or feta cheese and spinach, along with many other sweets or savories. Usually associated with the French, Croissants originated in mid 1800s Austria. The pastry is layered with butter so you get a puffy and airy interior with a hard flakey brown exterior. 

While not the same by any means, Flakey Biscuits and Crescent Rolls in the can/cardboard roll give you a rough idea if you have never had a Croissant.

Croissants are now featured on many breakfast menus, even in fast food joints like a Jack in the Box Supreme Croissant made with scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, and bacon, and they are pretty tasty, too. 

If you are staying at a vacation B & B (Bed and Breakfast), they often serve a Continental Breakfast that includes Croissants. But Croissants are best fresh from a bakery deli case. 

Lately, I get mine cheaply from my local Ralphs supermarket bread bargain bin. They usually come four to a box and are less than a dollar per Croissant. Mini-Croissants turned up this year. Lately, Everything Croissants with poppy and sesame seeds are not too much of a good thing. This year, I found Croissant Rolls in the Dollar Tree, too. 

They may be a few days old, but because I like them warm, they reheat to an almost fresh state, crunchy on the outside, and buttery soft on the inside. 

I like to buy a container or two at a time, as they freeze and defrost well. Since I get a great deal there is no reason to make my own...maybe one day I'll give it a shot.

I reheat them on the stovetop in a pan, just for a minute on each side. A toaster oven works quite well, too. If I am heating up a few Croissants then I will heat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or so - they don't need to brown anymore, just heat through - so check on them frequently just in case - warm to the touch is enough. Of course, they are delicious at room temperature.

I like my Croissants warm and plain, but lately, I've been making stuffed Breakfast Croissant Sandwiches. Check out my Scrambled Egg Croissant Sandwich video below. Nothing to it really just scrambled eggs anyway you like them, then load them into a sliced-open Croissant. I finally heat the Croissant for about a minute on each side.

For my next recipe video, I added cheese on top of the scrambled eggs. I use American cheese, but you can use any favorite cheese. Again, nothing to this simply delicious Scrambled Egg and Cheese Croissant Sandwich, it's so quick and easy to do!

My last Breakfast Croissant Sandwich is the most decadent with not only scrambled egg and cheese, but add a slice of ham -- check it out below.

I'll celebrate National Croissant Day any day of the year, and when you try my above Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches, you will, too.