MANILA, Philippines - They say where there’s smoke, there’s fire. We say where there’s Texas Smoke ’Em, there’s bound to be a lot of good food to set your heart on fire. Smoke gets in your eyes as soon as you’re seated at this no-fuss, no-frills restaurant in Greenbelt 3, Makati called Ray and Pete’s Texas Smoke ’Em. Your taste buds are simply greeted by the titillating aroma of pork and beef ribs and smoked chicken laced with barbecue sauce fresh off a wooden smoker. Suddenly, you’re tempted to demand, “We wanna rib!”
Texas Smoke ’Em reigns supreme as the king of ribs. “We take our barbecue ribs very seriously,” says the young, no-nonsense chef/owner Peter Ayson, who’s the “Pete” in the restaurant’s “Ray and Pete” name. The “Ray” is young entrepreneur Raymund Magdaluyo who’s also behind a long list of restos: Red Crab’s Seafood Club, Crustasia, Blackbeard’s Seafood Island, BluFish, The Flying Pig, Clawdaddy, Heaven n’ Eggs, Cocorama — did we miss anything?
So serious is the duo about their ribs that they brought in a giant smoker from the US that can do at least 50 to 60 ribs at a time. “We have a big charcoal grill, too,” says Peter. “Doing real barbecue is a long process that takes four to six hours.”
If that’s not serious, I don’t know what is. But there’s more. “Everything is served fresh here,” Peter asserts. “We cook everything a la minute. Here, everything is homemade, made from scratch. We make our own salsas/sauces daily.”
“It’s really no secret and I’ll be happy to share it with anyone,” says the very generous Chef Peter. (Peter shares his immortal barbecue rub/sauce recipe on Page E-4.) “Yes, you can order our barbecues for takeout. We just give you the barbecue sauce and give instructions on how to grill the smoked meat.”
And here’s the beef — make that very good beef. But what’s a good beef? “For me, you really start off with the quality,” Peter stresses. “To ensure quality and safety, you start off with a nice butcher. You know where they’re getting their meat. You have to talk to your butcher properly. Here, we take our butcher really seriously. I know how much fat I want in my beef so I get more flavor.”
He elaborates, “And it depends on what you do with the beef, how skilled you are. For me, a simple steak will do, as long as you cook it properly. It’s really the flavor of the meat that’s important, you don’t want to compensate for it with the sauces. For me, it’s just regular rock salt, fresh cracked pepper, a little bit of oil, garlic, that’s it! When you eat beef, especially expensive beef, you don’t want to cover it.”
So, how’d you like your steak?
“I don’t serve well-done steaks,” Peter robustly declares. “If you cook expensive meat all the way through, it’s gonna be hard. I do the charcoal grill or just use a skillet, a real hot skillet — really, really high heat.”
Peter knows he has yet to educate the Pinoy’s taste buds. “Filipinos still think that barbecue comes in a stick. Then they grill it. Our concept is the same, but we smoke our barbecue and then finish it off on the grill to get the Filipino flavor. Filipinos still love that sweet taste. And they’re so used to the thin steak with a little bit of fat in it and marinated in soy sauce. Here, we have our own rub. When you eat steak or ribs at Texas Smoke ’Em, you taste the real beef flavor off the bone.”
Peter must have tasted enough barbecues to last him a lifetime. “I grew up in Jakarta where my mom’s friends or members of the Filipino community would come and cook barbecues on weekends,” he recalls with great relish. “There was no place to go in Jakarta back then, there was no mall. So the Filipinos just entertained themselves, they’d bring potluck dinners.”
Peter comes from a family who loves to cook and eat together — dad Pete and mom Chit Ayson share an all-consuming passion for food. “My dad was always doing American food and I studied in an international school so I had different tastes of what people ate all the time. It was always a roast beef dinner, which is why I was inspired doing it,” Peter traces his culinary roots.
At 12, he was already cooking steaks and at 18, his cooking career was off to a fiery start.
You’re a vegetarian? No problem! Texas Smoke ’Em is no carnivore country. It’s got enough green offerings to make any vegetarian grin. It’s got vegetarian tacos, vegetable tamales, mixed salad greens drizzled with honey sauce, and, of course, the white bean hummus.
As if the menu isn’t staggering enough, Chef Peter now has his border cuisine offerings. Here are some fresh good tidings: “Now, we’re doing modern Mexican border cuisine. They’re high-end, modern, upgraded tacos. Normally, it’s just ground beef — we’ve upgraded it a bit and we’re making sure you taste the real, authentic border cuisine. We’re also using whole wheat tortilla, not the regular corn tortilla.”
Let’s go south of the border, down Mexico way. First, let’s try the pork carnitas. It’s a delicious new take on tacos with pork marinated in a little bit of chimichurri sauce (a mix of herbs, lime, honey, and spices). The chef will tell you he marinated the pork overnight, grilled it, and sliced it thinly. It comes with a black bean salsa with a little bit of alfalfa, sour cream lime dressing, and smoked tomato salsa. There are the beef and fish versions to this.
You’d rather have the fish? The baja beer battered tilapia soft tacos come with a salsa verde, black bean salsa, and guacamole. It’s wrapped in a little bit of coleslaw with red cabbage and singkamas. Its tortilla is flavored with parsley and basil.
What’s Mexican food without the tamale? Yes, there are tamales today. And they’re bound to be tomorrow’s hot sellers. The mole poblano and chilli tamales are made of chocolate, chilli, and cinnamon, and served in corn husks.
For a sweet ending to a Mexican food trip, have some Tres Leches, a really, really creamy three-milk cake. Coming up this week is the Dulce de Leche with caramel.
“Every six months, there’s something new for diners to look forward to,” Peter promises. “But of course, we’re retaining the best-sellers. If you want the best barbecue, you come here and we’ll give you the real thing. We offer good ribs, good food, great value for money. You can even use your hands when you eat here. It’s as simple as that, I don’t want to complicate things.”
Rib and let rib!
Chef Peter Ayson’s Bbq Sauce And Rub
BBQ rub:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup salt
1/2 cup smoked salt
1/2 cup celery salt
2 tbsps. chili powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/ 2 tsp. all spice
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir or whisk to mix. Transfer into a large jar. Cover and store away from heat and light. This rub will keep for several months.
BBQ sauce:
I bottle of tomato ketchup
1 cup apple cider
2 tbsps. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1-1/2 tbsps. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Combine all ingredients in a large heavy non-reactive saucepan. Stir and whisk to mix. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat.
Simmer the sauce uncovered until thick and richly flavored, stirring often to prevent scorching.
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Texas Smoke ’Em is located at the third level of Greenbelt 3, Makati with telephone number 728-3056 and cell phone number 09178251130. It also caters and is a favorite party venue. Chef Peter Ayson can customize a menu to fit your needs and budget. He says, “When you celebrate, you want something good. Let’s work on your budget.”