Miss Huddy's Brings A Texas Barbecue Experience to the Palouse

BY ADRIANA JANOVICH

Tim Schotzko was already closely — “but not obsessively” — following barbecue when he tasted the life-changing bite of brisket.

He and his wife, Molly, were vacationing in Austin in 2015 when they tried the pulled pork, house-made sausage and brisket at La Barbecue. All were good, but the latter was a revelation. “It was the perfect combination between smoke, fat and meat. It was what barbecue is supposed to be,” Tim says.

“He looked at me and was, like, ‘Holy moly, Molly, taste this.’ And that’s when it turned from a backyard hobby to an obsession. We have unpacked that experience more times than we can possibly explain. It was,” Molly says, “Mind. Blown.”

Before returning home to Pullman, Tim says he was already thinking: “How on earth can I recreate that flavor?”

Four and a half years after that inspirational bite of brisket and about a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shotzkos opened Miss Huddy’s Barbecue, bringing a taste of central Texas to the people of the Palouse. And, just like the Austin barbecue joint that inspired them, they regularly sell out of their beloved brisket, attracting customers not only from Pullman but Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Clarkston, Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and even farther.

The Shotzkos aim to give Inland Northwesterners an experience similar to the one they had in Texas, handing out “money bites” as customers wait for their orders. Queuing up is part of the experience.

“Barbecue is something to look forward to,” Molly says. “You’re going to meet people in line. You’re going to hang out together while you wait. There’s a sort of backyard party type of atmosphere. You’re all there for the same reason: to taste authentic, central Texas-style barbecue.”

Miss Huddy’s meats are minimally seasoned — with just salt and pepper — garnering their rich, smoky flavor and juicy tenderness from a long, well-tended cook. Expect blackened bark and perfectly rendered fat in the succulent brisket, cooked at least 14 hours in the off-set wood smoker that took Tim three years to build, repurposing a 500-gallon tank. In the fire box, it’s all Oregon white and Texas post oak.

The house sausage, infused with Washington State University’s Cougar Gold canned cheddar cheese, offers a gentle but welcome kick. Pork spare ribs with a simple salt-and-pepper bark, smoked turkey breast, and pulled pork with a delicate smoky flavor and hint of natural sweetness round out the meats, served on their own or in three signature potato-bun sandwiches.

The Huddy features pulled pork, house sausage, Asian-inspired slaw, red onion and sweet and peppery house sauce. Pulled pork and chopped brisket round out the sandwich selections.

The slaw, dressed with olive oil and different vinegars, features green and purple cabbage, onion, cilantro, crunchy ramen noodles, and honey-toasted almonds. Baked pinto beans — cooked with bacon, onion and garlic, and garnished with scallions — complement the rich, smoky meats. So do classic mac-and-cheese, topped with jalapeños, and potato salad from a favorite recipe from Molly’s family.

“You cannot have a good barbecue without good sides,” says Molly, who developed Miss Huddy’s single dessert: a mousse-like banana pudding.

Tim doesn’t remember exactly when he first became interested in barbecue. It was a process, like barbecuing itself. The more he learned, the more interested he became. By the time he met Molly, in 2006, he was already intrigued by it.

Molly remembers how, within the first month of their meeting, he invited her over to make pork, beef and venison summer sausage. He had hunted the deer himself. The sight of 50 pounds of raw meat and natural casings was almost too much for Molly, who grew faint at the sight of it all. “It was not,” she says, “a typical early date.”

Tim is, she says, “meticulous with meat, heat and fire.”

The challenge is what drew him in. “Cooking over open flame is so different than cooking on a stove because there are so many variables,” he says. “You get two different pieces of wood, and you’re going to get two different temperatures. There’s also how fast they heat up and the different flavors they impart.”

Sixteen years later, barbecue has become a way of life, something the couple not only enjoy doing and consuming but also sharing with the community. They launched Miss Huddy’s — named for their daughter, Hudson Irene, who turns 6 this summer — in a Pullman parking lot on New Year’s Eve, 2020, advertising only via posts on Instagram.

They were surprised to see — in winter, during the pandemic — some 120 people waiting outside in the cold. Their second cook, customers started lining up nearly an hour before Miss Huddy’s opened. Their third cook, they came an hour and a half early. A few regulars began queuing up even earlier — at 8 or 9 am.

That’s the thing about barbecue. The early bird gets the brisket.

Today, Miss Huddy’s typically pops up two Sundays a month at Pullman’s Trailside Taproom of Paradise Creek Brewery. Service begins at 11 a.m. While the line can take up to an hour or more, customers typically get their food in fewer than three minutes once they place their order.

The Shotzkos prepare all week. Monday, Molly starts prepping sides and sauces. Tuesday, Tim trims the brisket. Wednesday and Thursday, he makes and cold-smokes the sausage. Friday is for finishing up most of the sides. Tim fires up the smoker around 4 am Saturday, often tending the pit until 9 pm. Sunday, they’re both up by 5 am.

“Barbecue is this really labor-intensive thing,” Molly says. “We believe in it, and we love it.”

Not only do they love the food and flavor, they “love the food-cart vibe. In the food cart, you’re closer to the customers,” Molly says. “We get to interact with people. And we don’t mind skeptics who don’t think they can get good barbecue outside of Texas. We love the challenge. We love that they are willing to try our food.”

While barbecue is their passion, it’s also their second job. Tim, 43, teaches metal shop at Pullman High School. Molly, 39, has worked at WSU in various roles since 2005 and is now teaching in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.

She’s been to Texas twice. Tim has been four times, attending a barbecue class in Austin in 2018 and working to gain experience and further his skills during spring break 2021 at Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth.

What started as Tim’s backyard hobby has “become our dream,” Molly says. “It is a love story.”

FIND MISS HUDDY'S ONLINE AT MISSHUDDYSBARBECUE.COM AND VISIT PARADISE CREEK BREWERY AT PARADISECREEKBREWERY.COM

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