“ARE THEY STILL OPEN?” an anxious-looking woman asks me from the passenger window as her husband pulls their car into the gravel lot outside Watson’s Bar-B-Que and Tucumcari Ranch Supply. It’s midafternoon, and barbecue aficionados know it’s risky to arrive at a serious joint this late: Most places smoke only what they think they’ll sell that day and close up shop when it’s gone.
My friends and I are just returning to our vehicle after spending the better part of three hours at the beloved Tucumcari destination. We’re nearly comatose, having grazed our way through beef brisket, pulled pork, ribs, zesty green-chile-and-cheese sausage, and an array of piled-high sandwiches and meaty combo burritos. But we assure the couple, on vacation from California, that they can still hustle in, and that, despite our gluttony, we left some meat for other diners. The road-trippers got lucky.
Diners come from near and far for Watson’s mesquite-smoked meats.
Like many customers, the California couple found their way here through Watson’s years of enthusiastic Yelp reviews, which earned them a spot on the crowdsourced site’s latest list of Top BBQ Restaurants in America. Watson’s sits three short blocks off the Mother Road and just up from such midcentury icons as the neon-emblazoned Blue Swallow Motel and the sombrero-shaped La Cita restaurant. The barbecue joint is tucked inside Tucumcari Ranch Supply, a rambling general store where you can buy a lariat, a globe, a birthday card, an electric drill, some barbed wire, a jar of green chile preserves, and even Fiestaware and Frankoma Pottery dinnerware. You can also plunk out a tune on a 103-year-old upright piano with a sign that urges, “Play me!”
The ranch supply business dates to 1980, when Stella and Jimmy Watson partnered in the classic small-town emporium of everything. The genial pair took over full ownership in 1982 and ran with their tried-and-true formula for success for the next few decades.
In 2008, a combination of outside forces shook their business model. “The overall economy took a big hit,” Jimmy recalls, “which was intensified locally by a severe drought. Big-box stores were coming to Tucumcari, and Amazon had convinced folks to order from a website that had at least two dozen of anything imaginable and could arrive at your door the next morning. We realized we had to adapt or wither away.”
from left
Owners Stella and Jimmy Watson; Low and slow is the recipe for Watson’s spareribs.
Jimmy’s father had owned a version of Watson’s Bar-B-Que locally back in the 1980s. Having learned his dad’s low-and-slow method of cooking over smoldering wood, he and Stella decided that this old-school technique could shape the store’s future.
They carved out a kitchen within the general store and set up a barbecue pit outside. What had been a greenhouse became a cozy dining room, cheerfully outfitted with red-checked oilcloth-covered tables. They decorated the walls of the restaurant with the same eclectic decor as the rest of the store, every surface covered with vintage license plates, old photos, gas station signage, and bric-a-brac.
They eventually added a tin-roofed patio with picnic tables to accommodate the many car clubs and motorcycle clubs that drive Route 66 and want to stop in for a meal. “Some of these groups come from as far away as Spain and Australia, because they’re fascinated with the Mother Road culture and the American Southwest,” Stella explains. “They get a kick out of having barbecue and then playing cornhole or participating in stick horse races, of all things. That outdoor dining space turned out to be a godsend for us when Covid hit.”
Watson’s dining room features the same Americana charm as Tucumcari Ranch Supply.
The Watsons barbecue a broad range of proteins: brisket, butt, ribs, and sausage, as well as turkey and ham—all smoked for hours over locally sourced mesquite. The wood requires an experienced pitmaster to get “a cook” just right, because it burns hotter than other hardwoods and has smoke that is flavorful in moderate doses but can get overpowering easily.
Jimmy pulls the Certified Angus Beef briskets from the pit with a practiced eye when they have absorbed a deep savor from just enough smoke, then oven-finishes them as they’re wrapped to stew in their own juices. The pork-and-beef sausage speckled with cheese and green chile has loads of flavor and is smoked to juicy perfection as well, and has that serious “snap” barbecue lovers crave.
The hefty slabs of pork spareribs—ordered by the half or whole rack—are pull-apart tender but still offer a little chew, each luscious bite expertly perfumed by the mesquite. A tangy tomato-based barbecue sauce comes on the side, but we dabbed it sparingly to enjoy the full-bodied flavor of meat married to smoke.
from left
Josh Oglesby holds a BBQ plate, which comes with a freshly baked cookie. House-made peach cobbler.
Stella and Jimmy offer several variations on the classic barbecue sandwich, some featuring a single meat, others with pork or brisket piled high then topped with slices of the sausage and served on buns or pita bread. The Brute burrito brings some New Mexican heat with pulled pork and shredded brisket, beans, and a robust Christmas combo of Hatch chiles. “One of my favorites for a lighter meal is the house salad topped with smoked turkey,” Stella says. “For those wanting to skip the ’cue, we serve a Frito pie or a burger.”
The dessert that has everyone asking for more is the green-chile-laced apple cobbler, one of Stella’s ideas. “The filling has just enough chile to make itself known but not dominate the fruit,” Jimmy adds. Peach cobbler is available most days too, sometimes accompanied by a blueberry or cherry rendition.
In the hours it took to devour and digest our mega-meal at the restaurant’s central table, a steady stream of customers came and went, many of them locals picking up sizable orders to take back to lucky colleagues. Nearly every one of them commented that they were fortunate to have such a fine family-owned-and-operated business in their community. “We love our visitors from around the world but couldn’t have dished out barbecue for all these decades without the wonderful town of Tucumcari fully behind us,” Stella says.
The couple is reaching retirement age, though, and they’re looking for a new owner to carry on the Watson’s Bar-B-Que flame. That future someone will have big cowboy boots to fill. Go soon!
Cheryl Alters Jamison is a four-time James Beard Award–winning author of cookbooks including Smoke & Spice, one of the bestselling books of all time on American barbecue.
Like most serious pitmasters, the Watsons barbecue their meats over a hardwood (mesquite) that grows locally. That’s why, across the country, the smoke for cooking and flavoring might come from oak, hickory, alder, or in food writer Cheryl Alters Jamison’s case, a cherry wood that grows on her Santa Fe property. Spareribs, which require hours of cooking to become tender, are best made in a dedicated smoker, such as a log-burning pit. You can do a serviceable job of barbecuing in a gas or charcoal grill, but you’ll be cooking hot and fast—which is against barbecue’s nature. If using a grill, keep the temperature down and be prepared to add wood chunks or chips over the initial four hours of cooking.
- 3 full slabs “St. Louis cut” (trimmed of the chine bone and brisket flap) pork spareribs, 3 pounds each or less
RIB DRY RUB
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup paprika
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons coarse-ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
CIDER MOP (OPTIONAL)
- 1½ cups apple cider or juice
- ¾ cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Serves 6 or more
1. The night before, combine dry rub ingredients in a bowl. Apply about half of the rub evenly to the ribs. Place the slabs in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
2. Take the ribs from the refrigerator and sprinkle thoroughly with the rest of the dry rub. Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes.
3. Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200° to 220°.
4. If you plan to use the mop, combine the ingredients in a spray bottle.
5. Transfer the slabs to the smoker, meaty side up. Cook for about 4 hours. Add wood as needed to keep the temperature in the proper range and keep a steady stream of smoke wafting over the meat. If using the mop, spray it lightly over the ribs at 1-hour intervals.
6. Wrap each slab of ribs in foil and return to the smoker or to a 200° to 220° oven for 1–2 (or more) hours, until the meat bends very easily between the bones. Let slabs sit for 10 minutes before slicing them into individual ribs. Serve with your favorite tomato-based barbecue sauce, if you wish.
Classic coleslaw, with a sweet-sour mayonnaise-and-cream dressing, makes a welcome accompaniment to smoked foods and can also be piled onto a sandwich with pulled pork or chopped brisket, if you like.
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or coarse sea salt
- 1 medium head cabbage, grated
- 2 to 3 medium carrots, grated
Serves 6 to 8
1. In a lidded jar, shake together the half-and-half, sugar, vinegar, mayonnaise, garlic, and salt until well-blended.
2. Place cabbage and carrots in a large bowl, pour the dressing over the vegetables, and toss together. Chill the slaw for at least 1 hour. It keeps well for several days.
“We just take a classic homey cobbler recipe and add green chile for extra zest,” Stella Watson says. “People love it.” Watson’s uses a prepared apple pie filling, which can vary in the amount of sugar and spice depending on the brand. Adding a little lemon juice will brighten the fruit, and a bit of fresh-ground nutmeg and cinnamon amps up the flavor. Taste your chosen filling and tinker with it as you wish. Top with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream.
FILLING
- Two 21-ounce cans apple pie filling, such as Lucky Leaf Premium Apple or Caramel Apple Fruit Filling and Topping
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- ½ cup mild to medium New Mexico green chile, roasted, skinned, seeded, and chopped, including any accumulated juice, add more according to taste
BATTER
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup whole milk
Serves 8
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the filling ingredients.
3. Melt the butter in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, either in the oven or on the stovetop over low heat. In another medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix in the milk until lightly blended. Spoon the mixture over the melted butter. Don’t stir it, which would preclude the development of crunchy edges.
4. Scrape the filling evenly over the batter.
5. Bake 45–50 minutes. As the cobbler cooks, the batter will ooze up and around the filling, creating a golden-brown crust with a mix of soft and crunchy edges. Serve warm.
