If barbecue is part of Fourth of July plans in Bakersfield, Prime Time Barbecue is gearing up for one of its busiest weekends of the year, with smoked meats and catering orders ramping up ahead of the holiday.
At the downtown restaurant, owner Lois Morales said the grill was already going with tri-tip Thursday morning. “This morning we have some tri tip. This is certified Angus beef tri tip, so it’s a higher scale and this is what we grill typically on a daily basis,” Morales said. He said the meat was smokes over red oak wood sourced from the Central Coast.
Owner of Prime Time BBQ, show us how they smoke and prepare their tri-tip every day. The tri-tip and hit links are smoked over red oak wood. PHOTO: KBAK
Morales adds that the tri-tip and hot links are the only two meats cooked on the grill, with the tri-tip taking about a hour and 15 minutes. The hot links takes around 20-30 minutes to smoke.
For a go-to plate, Morales recommended pairing tri-tip with “mac and cheese, chili beans, a salad, and maybe some bread,” adding, “Cold beer, you gotta have a cold beer, right?”
Beyond dine-in service, Morales said catering has been especially busy heading into the holiday weekend. “
The catering has taken off. It’s been really crazy,” he said. “This typically this weekend is one of our busiest weekend of the year, and Saturday, I don’t know, we’re going to be insane in here. It’s going to be crazy.” Morales added, “We have so many orders, we’re probably gonna sleep here Friday night for sure.”
Morales also shared what goes into some of the restaurant’s sides. “Secret ingredient on the mac and cheese is definitely the cheese and the hot links,” he said, crediting his chef, Robert. When it comes to the baked beans, it is prepared with “bacon,” “hot links,” “chorizo,” “ground beef and veggies, and the last kick on that is garlic.” Morales said.
For customers hoping to place orders for the holiday weekend, Morales said the restaurant is aiming to have orders in by the end of the day. “So we’re looking at tonight, today, the end of the day was, is what we hope that we get all the orders in,” he said. “I know people like to wait for the last minute, and we can operate like that.”
Prime Time BBQ is located in downtown Bakersfield on 1927 20th street, they are open from 10am-3pm and 10am-6pm Fridays. You can place your catering orders in store or online.