According to Trip Advisor www.tripadvisor.com The BEST BBQ on the island of Nantucket can be found at: B-ACK Yard BBQ, located at 20 Straight Wharf, Nantucket, MA 02554, which was Voted #1 of 94 restaurants on the island! B-ACK Yard BBQ is an authentic BBQ restaurant with a Nantucket twist; its menu includes different ‘Q styles from around the country, along with a selection of Kentucky bourbons, Tennessee whiskeys, and craft beer. Trip Advisor Reviews state: “Fun, cracking atmosphere with incredible service, food and a myriad of wonderful cocktails and well, everything else!” and “OMG, the food at this place was amazing! I ordered a brisket of sliced meat in a bun with cheese and fries, and it was delicious! I only wish that I had more time on the island to go for a round 2!” Other diners called B-ACK Yard BBQ “A Casual Little Gem!” Additional statements made include; “Went for a quick lunch and wanted to dine outside! Split a fantastic chicken sandwich, which was the special, with crispy fries! Very close to the ferry! Don’t miss it!” and “We’ve lived all over the South and have been in New England for 8 years. This restaurant is a DIAMOND! It is the ONLY really good BBQ restaurant we’ve found in the North. All meats –we had chicken, brisket, and pork– were excellent and the sides were fabulous, especially the corn salad! Cocktails pack a punch and were delicious. Great service. This was a huge and delightful find!” and “Excellent brisket sandwiches, great fries and lots of other sides options. Loved their sauces selection. Several Tvs for watching sports. Servers were 5 Stars!” Trip Advisor describes B-ACK Yard BBQ as an American, BBQ, Cajun and Creole restaurant serving lunch and dinner. www.ackbackyard.com
Press coverage of B-ACK Yard BBQ includes quotes from “Mass Live,” who states that “BYB” AKA B-ACK Yard BBQ, is voted “Best in Mass” and that the restaurant “smells like BBQ and sounds like (the) Blues.” Food Network voted B-ACK Yard BBQ “The Best Ribs in Every State” winner. Zagat says that B-ACK Yard BBQ is one of the 11 Hottest Restaurants on Cape Cod and the Islands. Furthermore, B-ACK Yard BBQ Executive Chef Fred Bisaillon made a starring appearance on “The Today Show!” Classically trained in the French style with Italian influences, Chef Bisaillon prides himself and his staff on the quality and freshness of the dishes prepared at his restaurant. After culinary school, Chef Bisaillon has cooked at some of the finest hotel kitchens in the world including hotel and resort kitchens in Colorado, California, Bermuda and the Bahamas. He has also worked with some of the biggest Chefs in the business, at charity events and food and wine festivals, including; Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Bobby Flay, and Jasper White. Chef Bisaillon compares his kitchen to a symphony orchestra when describing his style in overseeing the staff at his restaurant. Chef Bisaillon says, “As an executive Chef, you’re not playing an instrument—you are the Maestro!” www.nantuckettodayonline.com
www.foodnetwork.com declares B-ACK Yard BBQ co-owners Fred Bisaillon and Denise Corson’s menu at B-ACK Yard BBQ, nestled upon picturesque Straight Wharf in Nantucket, “gives BBQ enthusiasts a menu of different BBQ styles from all over the country. Meat is smoked by way of old whiskey and rum barrels from Nantucket’s Triple 8 Distillery, giving the BBQ a unique flavor profile. Heritage pork ribs are a tried-and-true favorite, best paired with a local craft beer or one of their many bourbons on the beverage menu.” www.masslive states, “Upon opening the doors of B-ACK Yard BBQ, the comforting smell of BBQ wafts through your nose and the soulful sound of Blues greets your ears. Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bill Withers, and Stevie Ray Vaughn all get their fair share of air-time inside the walls of this Nantucket BBQ restaurant, which is just a quick walk down a cobblestone street from the Hy-Line Ferry.” Chef Bisaillon said, “I was having a beer with a friend of mine and I thought, you know what Nantucket needs? BBQ. I’m drinking a beer, I’m listening to some good live music and there’s just no good food! We need something where you can just feel like you’re in your own backyard.” B-ACK Yard BBQ’s hyphenated name is a play on “ACK,” the call letters for the Nantucket airport.
While on a tour of the grounds of Nantucket’s Triple 8 Distillery with his co-owner, Denise Corson, they asked the owners of the distillery what they did with the barrels after taking the liquor out of them. They learned that the barrels were cut in half, and some of them were made into planters. Bisaillon proposed the idea of chopping up the spent barrels to utilize to smoke BBQ, and a partnership was born. The barrels are made of oak, “which is a good thing for smoking BBQ. That’s mostly popular in Texas,” says Chef Bisaillon, and the barrels are “soaked with bourbon, which is great with BBQ,” Bisaillon added. B-ACK Yard BBQ typically uses Triple 8’s rum and bourbon barrels to smoke their meats. “Every once in a while, we’ll get a ‘Notch Barrel,’ which is their highest-end scotch,” Chef Bisaillon says. Triple 8 Distillery’s bourbon barrels are aged for eight years, and their scotch is aged for twelve to sixteen years, “making the wood an especially unique piece of b-ACK Yard BBQ’s stamp and signature.”
The ribs at B-ACK Yard BBQ are smoked for 4 hours and 20 minutes. A light glaze is put on top of the ribs in the last ½ hour. Chef Bisaillon is of the mindset that, “fall off the bone ribs anywhere in the South is considered overcooked meat. You want just a touch of chew. We make sure that we don’t put sauce on our ribs, or any of our meats. That way you can add it (the sauce) at the table.” www.masslive.com reports that “Nantucket has strict regulations against what restaurants can and cannot do when it comes to smoke emissions. B-ACK Yard BBQ was able to make their business work with a ‘Cook Shack,’ which is an electric-assist smoker. It limits the amount of smoke put into the air.” “These units are not traditional, but they are a lot of the way people are moving forward in restaurants,” said Bisaillon. The wood chamber rests at the bottom of the smoker with 2 trays where the wood from the spent whiskey and rum barrels goes. After it closes, the smoke rises through the trays, generating the heat to cook the meat. “They say that basically when the smoke comes out of the hood, the next time you’re going to smell it is somewhere in England!” claims Chef Bisaillon.
B-ACK Yard BBQ’s pulled pork is made strictly from pork butts. Chef Bisaillon states, “We just take chunks out and give it to you. It’s as natural as it can be. We do as little to it as we can (to the meat), so that way, you can taste the real flavor of it. We’re not masking anything.” Mass Live continues, “Bisaillon and Corson have many influences from the South and the Midwest on their menu. The pair have taken a total of three road trips across the country trying different BBQ places in the South and the Midwest to gather inspiration and learn more about the science of BBQ. They’ve brought what they learned back home to New England while (also) offering their own stamp and signature.” B-ACK Yard BBQ offers a variety of side dishes to compliment their meats: Grilled asparagus, house-made pickled red onions, pickled vegetables, Kielbasa and pineapple, cauliflower Caesar salad, signature coleslaw, potato salad, stewed greens, ranchero baked beans, street corn salad and Mac-N-Cheese….Their Mac-N-Cheese is topped with crumbled Gold Fish crackers! The fries are freshly cut in-house and the house-made Vermont cheddar cornbread is topped with whiskey butter. The house-made smoked salmon is a specialty dish at B-ACK Yard BBQ. The salmon is cured from 4 to 5 days and cold smoked with apple wood or whiskey barrels.
There are 4 standard sauces at the BYB restaurant:
1) The Gold Sauce is a mustard based BBQ sauce which Chef Bisaillon procured from a good friend of his in the Carolinas, Gary Seymour. “I can’t give out the recipe, but it does have a little bit of a zing to it because of the mustard and a little hint of thyme,” says Bisaillon.
- The Hot Sauce is a Southwestern-style chipotle sauce, which has a little bit of heat and a touch of sweet right at the end of the bite.
- The Sweet Sauce is more of a traditional Kansas City style ketchup-based BBQ sauce, it has no heat.
- The last sauce is the North Carolina-style vinegar sauce; basically, apple cider vinegar, a little bit of cayenne pepper, and a touch of sweetness… it is especially recommended to try this sauce with the pork.
“Upon request, customers can ask for B-ACK Yard BBQ’s Secret Hot Sauces, which are kept behind the bar. They’re kind of just the Chef’s whim…whatever I feel like doing! Green Dragon is like a green sriracha sauce. The Magic Mike XXL Sauce is a play on the (entitled) movie because it’s a little bit of sweet and a little bit of heat. Armani’s Revenge is named after a former bartender—she was the girl who goes around with a jalapeno in her purse at all times!” expresses Bisaillon. B-Ack Yard BBQ also makes The White BBQ Sauce, that may be asked for upon request, “which goes great with chicken, what it’s traditionally known for,” says The Chef.
B-ACK Yard BBQ @ackbackyard “WE ONLY SMOKE THE GOOD STUFF!” has had its share of famous patrons and visitors from Rob Gronkowski and Julien Edelman- both former New England Patriot’s Football Team Stars, “The Tonight Show” Host, Jimmy Fallon, Actor Jerry O’Connell, Lori Greiner from “Shark Tank,” and former Boston Bruins Goaltender and current Boston Bruins corporate ambassador, Tuukka Rask. Nantucket, itself, is famous. In the 19th century, Nantucket was a leading whaling town, becoming one of the wealthiest in the United States with more millionaires per capita than any other city at the time. Nantucket is sometimes called “The Little Gray Lady of the Sea,” a nickname that refers to how the island appears from the ocean when it is shrouded in fog. The color of “Nantucket Blue” was inspired by the island’s deep maritime history. Nantucket is a major tourist destination known for its more than 80 miles of beaches, historic downtown with its intricate, preserved architecture, high-end shops and restaurants, cobblestone streets, its vibrant culture, and overall charm. www.ribbqnews.com readers can find information regarding schedules and traveling to Nantucket via ferryboat at: www.nantucketferries.com
Whether you go to Nantucket for its timeless appeal, its natural beauty, to visit museums and galleries, to stroll its beautiful beaches, to meander its cobblestone streets, to pop into quaint boutiques, or to attend the 30-year-old Nantucket Film Festival, now YOU KNOW the inside scoop on THE PLACE to go for THE BEST BBQ on the island! B-ACK Yard BBQ! #ackbackyardbbq
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org
www.nantucket-ma.gov
www.nantucket.net
www.visitma.com
www.nantucketchamber.org
www.nantucketculturaldistrict.org
NANTUCKET
Just a sandy wind-swept island!
What more would you have it be,
With a turquoise sky above it,
Around it a sapphire sea?
When its dawns are pearl and opal,ts noons are crystal clear,
And its sunsets shower down gold dust
Till the diamond stars appear—
When to those who are born on the island,
And to may from over the sea,
‘Tis fairer than all its jewels,
What more does it need to be?
—Mary E. Starbuck
