Chicken Strips

I’ve told you before that Johnny only buys the highest quality ingredients and that’s part of the reason why his food is so amazingly delicious. So it makes sense that his chicken strips are some of the best I’ve ever had. The moment you sink your teeth into them,, you can tell they’re hand-battered, white meat only chicken.

But rather than write you a couple paragraphs about the exceptional nature of Johnny’s chicken strips, I’ve consulted my brother, a certified picky eater. My little bro doesn’t usually go for chicken; he’s more of a hamburger and mac and cheese eater. But here’s what he had to say about Johnny’s chicken strips:

“I don’t normally like chicken but I really like this. Tender and tasty.”

He wasn’t kidding either. The next time I turned around, most of those chicken strips were gone gone gone!

Check out the pictures on Flickr.

SPECIAL: Smoked Turkey Sandwich

I know I’ve already done a post today but this was just too good not to share!

Johnny’s special today is a smoked turkey sandwich!

All I’ll say is “WOW!”

I’m calling for an encore of this one :)

Beer and Wine

Yes we have it. Jill has worked very hard to build a wine list that complements the food at JMS. Be sure to check it out next time you’re in!

Fish Sandwich

You may have noticed that I titled this post “fish sandwich” but if you looked at the picture above, you’re probably asking yourself, “Where’s the bun?”

I’m not trying to trick you; it really is a fish *sandwich*-- it’s just that the fish filet is so big is completely covers up the bun. If you look closely, you can see a browned edge of the bun sticking out in the bottom left of the picture. So that should give you some idea of how BIG this fish filet is. The fish filet used on the sandwich is the same size as the regular fish filet plate.

So, WOW. If you really love fish, this is the sandwich for you. Actually, even if you don’t love fish, I suggest that you give this sandwich a try. As I mentioned in the post about the fish filet, it’s not really like any fish I’ve ever tasted before. It’s not particularly fishy, just yummy. Don’t forget, you can pick how Johnny cooks your fish: grilled, blackened or fried.

So, what’s the difference between the fish sandwich and the fish filet? The bun and the number of sides. The fish filet comes with two sides. The sandwich comes with a bun and one side.

Check out the pictures of this enormous sandwich here.

Pork Plate

I know I tend to go on and on about how much I love Johnny’s brisket, but this post is to let you know that he has delicious pork too. Not just average pork. Not just “oh they’re out of brisket so I guess I’ll settle for pork” pork. It’s full-on “wow this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted!” pork.

After all, Johnny and Jill work hard to make sure that nothing in the Smokehouse is just adequate. Every dish is carefully crafted to have the perfect balance of flavors that will make your tastebuds thank you for making the trip out to Euharlee.

The pork plate is a great way to get your daily dose of Johnny’s delicious cooking. You get Johnny’s slow-smoked pulled pork, grill toast, a pickle, and 2 sides! Plus you can add your favorite Smokehouse sauces! It really doesn’t get any better than that!

I love the size of this plate. When I’m really hungry, I can polish off the meat and sides yet not feel over-full. On the day of the photo shoot, it was more of an afternoon snack so I ended up taking some home for leftovers. However you choose to eat the pork plate, you’re sure to enjoy it.

Check out more photos on Flickr.

PS: I ordered my pork plate with coleslaw and french fries so look for those :)

Brisket Plate

I believe I’ve mentioned several times before how much I love Johnny’s brisket. Hmmm, maybe in the brisket quesadilla, party pick, winter wine dinner, nachos, and redneck reuben posts. I even worked it into the fried pickles and mushrooms post!

So you get the idea. I *love* Johnny’s brisket. I understand why it wins awards. It’s just that good. The brisket plate is no exception. It’s a stupendous way to get your daily dose of brisket.

Really the only thing I have to add it a great quote from Johnny that lets you know how serious he is about serving high-quality, tasty food,

“Sauce is a condiment, not a cover-up”

So yes, Johnny’s food is served with sauce, but it doesn’t have to be smothered to be delicious!

Check out more photos of the brisket plate here!

Rack of Ribs

When I covered the party pick, I already told you how much *I* enjoyed Johnny’s ribs. You can check that out here.

This time, you don’t have to take my word for it. I was able to interview an expert! Warren Kaylor, a member of the Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse competition team, was kind enough to let me pick his brain for some interesting tidbits to share with you.

Warren was first introduced to barbecue competitions through work. At the time, he enjoyed cooking but absolutely fell in love with competition. He started out cooking for his employer’s team then joined the JMS team in October 2007. Of course since then, the JMS team has gone on to win many an award (including grand champion at the Georgia Barbecue Classic) so I would definitely consider Warren an expert about competition and good food in general!

First I asked Warren about the differences between cooking for a restaurant and cooking for competition. He said that the most important thing is the portions and the flavors. In a restaurant, people are probably hungry and a planning to eat an entire plate of food. In competition, you only have one bite to impress the judges so you need to have more intense flavors. Warren says that the JMS team self-tests their samples for quality. Right before turn-in, they each taste one piece of rib. They check for the nice bite mark, texture, and taste to make sure that the judges are getting the very best the team has to offer that day.

I mentioned in the other post that you can take a bite out of Johnny’s ribs and leave a perfect semi-circle bite mark. Warren highlighted the importance of this in competition. Competition standards dictate that a bite should leave a clean mark, without pulling the meat away from the bone. Johnny chooses to apply this same standard in his restaurant.

As competitors, Johnny and his team are constantly looking for tips and tricks to modify and enhance flavors to give them more depth. Then Johnny turns around and applies the same high standards to his restaurant food, ensuring that every bite of rib at Johnny’s will be as rich and flavorful as possible.

A big thank you to Warren Kaylor for letting me interview him and for being a superb hand-model for the rib photo shoot! Check out those photos here.