Smokehouse Barbecue Shack, Mechanicsville, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

I decided to return to Smokehouse Barbecue Shack at 29084 Three Notch Road in Mechanicsville over in St. Mary’s County. I hadn’t been for a while and wanted to see if their ribs were still among the best in the Washington area, and to have another go at their pit beef. I also owed them a Campaign for Real Barbecue window sticker, as Smokehouse BBQ Shack cooks the meat exclusively with wood. So I took the slow route (MD 5) to DC from Lusby and pulled up in back.

For those unfamiliar with pit beef, it’s a Maryland favorite, especially around Baltimore and down along the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Pit Beef is top round, usually cooked over charcoal, and sliced very thin for tenderness. Some places serve it medium rare, often with a horseradish sauce, in which case — at least in my limited experience — it’s much like a standard roast beef sandwich, except when it’s graced with a light charcoal flavor. That’s to say it tastes very good.

Smokehouse Barbecue Shack is different. They cook the top round low and slow over hickory, and it becomes a form of actual barbecue. That’s to say it tastes great.

I went in and ordered a pit beef sandwich with horseradish sauce. They didn’t have any horseradish sauce on hand, but they did add some horseradish, which is the important part.

Here’s a side view.

That’s a hefty sandwich, and a very good sandwich. The beef has a good dose of hickory, and that makes it soar above other pit beef sandwiches. The bite of the horseradish offers a delightful counterpoint to the meat and smoke. Smokehouse BBQ Shack makes the best pit beef I’ve ever tasted

I also ordered a rib sandwich, shown here with the top piece of bread set aside. Every place that sells ribs should have a rib sandwich option. It’s just right for lunch.

I asked for sauce on the side so that I could check the meat unadorned. Delicious. I added some sauce, and found it sweet but thoughtfully seasoned. The ribs are meaty, and they embrace the flavor of a mix of hickory and oak smoke . These are excellent ribs, and Smokehouse BBQ Shack remains a top place for ribs in the Washington area.

There are scores of reasons to visit St. Mary’s County, most of them delicious. (Just search “St. Mary’s” in the blog.) The Smokehouse BBQ Shack fits in that category. Give it a try, and after that let me know of a better place for pit beef in the DC-Baltimore area, if there is one.

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