J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q

By GREG OLIVER - Producer
SLAM! Wrestling

To hear Jim Ross talk about the art of smoking meat just right is to have one's mouth water. Just as he is an expert on describing what's going on in a wrestling ring, he's damn good at explaining what makes his barbecue joint so special.

"Smoking is kind of a lost art in the restaurant world, ostensibly because it's so darn time consuming," he explained to SLAM! Wrestling recently. At his restaurant, J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q, located on 353 Interstate Drive in Norman, Oklahoma in a refitted Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop, a few employees arrive at 4 a.m. to get the outdoor smoker started each morning. The pulled pork, for example, made from pork shoulder or pork butt, is a 12-hour process.

Thanks to his travels as a wrestling announcer, particularly as the play-by-play man for WWE Monday Night Raw, Ross has been able to hit barbecue restaurants big and small the world over. The one thing he brought home with him is the challenges of not running out of the prime attractions.

"One of the worst things in the world is you go to a barbecue place and they say, 'Well, we're out of ribs.' That's a cardinal sin," he said. Yet he also acknowledges that running out is generally proof that the restaurant serves good ribs!

Open since July 2007, J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q hasn't run out of ribs too often, Ross said, but the rotisserie chickens are another matter. It's a popular item for take-out, with families buying whole chickens to take home.

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