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Food

3 secret menu items at barbecue joints in Dallas-Fort Worth

Yo, brisket cheesesteak covered in queso: Where have you been hiding? Off the menu, that's where.

In a new digital video series called BBQuest that highlights barbecue joints in Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth episode gives viewers a peek inside the kitchens of three restaurants, where they divulge secret menu items. The BBQuest host, Texas actress Kelsey Pribilski, joined Dallas chef John Tesar to visit Heim BBQ & Catering in Fort Worth; Ferris Wheelers Backyard & BBQ in Dallas; and 18th & Vine in Dallas.

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The point of the series is to tell stories that explain how "pitmasters and chefs are elevating Texas barbecue," says Rachel Chou, senior manager of consumer communications for the Texas Beef Council and the executive producer of BBQuest. The Texas Beef Council paid for the video series as a way to show off the many meaty stories throughout the Lone Star State.

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"We wanted to be able to tell these really memorable, beautiful stories about beef and how that is the centerpiece of creating memories with families and friends — and in our culture as Texans," Chou says.

Secret burger(s) from Heim BBQ

Heim BBQ in Fort Worth is selling burgers on Mondays after 4 p.m.
Heim BBQ in Fort Worth is selling burgers on Mondays after 4 p.m. (Greg Cella)
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The buzziest tidbit from the series is an off-the-menu HEIMburger from restaurateurs Travis and Emma Heim of Heim BBQ in Fort Worth. It comes with a side of food news, too: The Heims are adding a larger griddle to their West Magnolia Avenue restaurant, Travis tells me. They've added three burgers to the menu, and Travis says he's also hoping to sell breakfast tacos made with brisket and bacon burnt ends soon.

A line wrapped around the block when Heim BBQ opened in Fort Worth in 2016. It's not...
A line wrapped around the block when Heim BBQ opened in Fort Worth in 2016. It's not uncommon for the restaurant to sell out of most of its smoked meats each day.(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

On BBQuest, the HEIMburger was made with 44 Farms double beef patties mixed with smoked brisket. The burger comes topped with bacon-burnt end jam and American cheese and costs $11.99.

On the show, Tesar called it his favorite of the three secret menu items from D-FW restaurants.

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The other two burgers the Heims plan to start selling are the Funky Burger, topped with blue cheese crumbles and bacon-burnt end jam for $8.99; and the Hell Burger, topped with spicy cheese, grilled onions, grilled jalapenos and bacon-burnt end jam for $8.99.

For now, the burgers are available Mondays after 4 p.m. only.

Brisket cheesesteak from Ferris Wheelers

The brisket cheesesteak is an off-the-menu item at Ferris Wheelers in Dallas.
The brisket cheesesteak is an off-the-menu item at Ferris Wheelers in Dallas.(Doug Pickering)

At Ferris Wheelers, a bar and barbecue restaurant in Dallas' Design District, most customers order from the menu: smoked meats like brisket, pork, turkey and ribs, or starters like waffle-fry nachos or fried pickles.

But pitmaster Doug Pickering's brisket cheesesteak is a secret option for those in the know. It's a moist brisket sandwich served with sautéed onions, red bell peppers and poblanos, then topped with queso. It costs $15 and comes with the choice of one side.

"I love it because it's not traditional. It's whimsical," Tesar says in the video.

Burnt ends sandwich from 18th & Vine

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18th & Vine is a Dallas restaurant with a heart for Kansas City barbecue. So it makes sense that KC's beloved burnt ends are sold at this restaurant near Old Parkland.

The secret menu item is a Burnt Ends Basie Sandwich. Former pitmaster Matt Dallman takes the restaurant's $13 Basie Sandwich — chopped brisket, pepper jack and jalapeno — and adds burnt ends on top for an extra $5. Order it at lunch and it comes with a side.

Watch the D-FW episode of BBQuest below. Or, see the other Texas episodes, which feature Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

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The episode also stops by Tesar's Dallas steakhouse Knife, where Pribilski admits she's "internally freaking out" when invited to cook in Tesar's kitchen.

The series took seven months to film, and Chou says they'll consider a season 2 — but that it's too early to know, since BBQuest just launched. "We're really excited about the results we've seen so far," she says.