The brisket went on at eight last night.
I'm Ruth Ann Pruitt, and this is my smokehouse on Main Street in Goddard. Brisket, ribs and sausage by the pound, over the counter, until the block is bare. Then I lock the door and light the next fire.
Left on the block at 12:40
- Brisket22 lb, don't dawdle
- Spare ribs4 racks, then that's it
- Pulled porkplenty
- Sausage31 links
- Turkeygone at 12:05
Thursday tray, #14
Wood this week: post oak off a farm outside Cheney, split behind the building. The mesquite comes from my cousin in Lubbock, one box a month, and it goes on the ribs.
Thursday is burnt ends day
Burnt ends come off the point of the brisket, and it takes a whole week of briskets to give me enough points to cut them once. So it's Thursday, from 11, until the pan is empty.
Here's what happened the last six Thursdays. Five of them I was out by half past one. The sixth, it rained. I'd love to tell you I'm fixing that. I'm not. A brisket has one point, and I've lost that argument every week for years.
So hold up to two pounds online by Wednesday at 5. Pre-orders get bagged before the line forms. Please do that instead of driving out from Wichita to find a sign on the warmer.
When the pan ran empty
The last six Thursdays, by the clock on the wall. Doors open at 11.
- RARuth Ann PruittOwner and pitmaster. 14 years on a fire, the first nine in my own backyard.
- HVHector VillanuevaThe board. Slices, weighs, and decides your fate.
- JPJo PruittCounter, catering and the banana pudding. My daughter.
Why a mule, and why mesquite
Mesquite is in the name because my granddad cooked over it in Lubbock. I cook over Kansas post oak now, with one split of mesquite on the ribs, and I kept the name because he'd want the credit.
The mule is the smoker, a 1,000 gallon offset welded out of an old propane tank. It lives under the lean-to behind the building, and when the wind comes out of the north it does what it wants. Saturday night it held 265 to 285 from eight until morning anyway. Look at that curve. I'll show it to anyone who stands still long enough.
Nothing gets sauced before it leaves the board. Two squeeze bottles on every table, sweet and vinegar. You won't need either.
“Say moist or say lean. If you say ‘whatever's good,’ you're getting moist, and you're going to thank me.”
Hector Villanueva, on the cutting board since we opened
Catering, cooked on its own fire
Catering briskets go on separately, so your party never eats into the counter. Foil pans on butcher paper, with sauce, bread, pickles, onions, plates and forks. Pick it up, or Jo brings it.
The ranch hand
feeds 10 to 12- 3 lb brisket, 2 lb pulled pork
- Two sides, a quart each
- A dozen cornbread
The whole crew
feeds 25- 6 lb brisket, 4 lb pork, 2 racks ribs
- Three sides, a half pan each
- Banana pudding, half pan
The barn dance
feeds 60- 15 lb brisket, 10 lb pork, 40 links
- Three sides, full pans
- Two pans of pudding, sweet tea
Three days for most orders, a week for anything over 40 people. A brisket takes a night, and I only have the one mule.
40 dollars inside 20 miles: Goddard, west Wichita, Garden Plain, Cheney, Clearwater, Maize. Set-up and serving staff run 30 an hour.
No catering on Saturdays, May through September. The counter sells out by two on those days, and the regulars come first.
The counter, from your phone
Same counter, no line. It all runs on this site, so no delivery app gets between you and the brisket, charges you twice, and lets it go cold.
Order ahead, pick a window
Pounds come straight off the block count, so you can't order what's already sold.
Sellout texts
Pick what you care about. We text when it's low.
Burnt ends are out of the pit. Pre-orders are bagged. Counter has about 30 lb.
Brisket's down to 10 lb. Ribs are gone. Sorry.
Hold me 2 lb lean, there by 2
Catering quote
Headcount in, a real number out, before Jo even calls.
The pound card
Every pound you buy gets a stamp. Ten stamps and the next pound of brisket is mine to give. It lives on your phone number, so there's no card to lose in the truck.
Mostly, when I run out
The phone is at the counter too, so if the line's long, let it ring.
What time do you sell out?
Weekdays, usually mid-afternoon. Saturdays, some time between one and two. Thursdays the burnt ends go by lunch and the brisket follows them. Coming far? Order ahead, or call and I'll tell you what's on the block.
Can I reserve brisket for later in the day?
Yes, online or by phone, for pickup any time before close. If you don't come by close, it goes back on the block the next morning as chopped brisket and you won't be charged.
Is anything gluten free?
Every meat except the sausage, and the rubs are salt, pepper and a little garlic. The sauces have Worcestershire. Slaw and potato salad are fine. Cornbread is not.
Do you deliver?
Only catering. For the counter, order ahead and you'll be in and out in two minutes. We don't use delivery apps.
Why are you closed Monday and Tuesday?
Monday I sleep. Tuesday I trim briskets, split wood and go to the bank. The fire goes on Tuesday night for Wednesday.
Follow the smoke to Main Street
© OpenStreetMap contributors
400 block of N Main St, Goddard, KS 67052(316) 555-0155
Two blocks south of Kellogg, ten minutes west of the Wichita city line. Park on Main or in the gravel lot off 2nd Avenue. The back door by the smoker is fine to use; most regulars do.
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed, fire goes on at night |
| Wednesday | 11:00 to 7:00 |
| Thursday | 11:00 to 7:00 |
| Friday | 11:00 to 8:00 |
| Saturday | 11:00 to 8:00 |
| Sunday | 11:00 to 3:00 |
Every close time means “or sold out, whichever's first.” Closed Thanksgiving week and the first week of January, when I clean the mule.