brisket, ray rae's rib shack

Ray Rae’s Rib Shack in Pleasant Hill, Missouri

Ray Rae’s brisket sandwich

I visited Ray Rae’s Rib Shack in Pleasant Hill on Saturday.  Ray Rae’s is located on 291 highway at the intersection of 291 and 203rd street.  It is south of Lake Winnebago and West of the city of Pleasant Hill.  If you visit, make sure you put it in your GPS or you might drive right by it.  It’s the only thing on that corner and it is literally a “Shack” on the side of the road!

There’s not much information about this place online, but they do have a website with their menu and a short write-up:

At Ray Rae’s Rib Shack, every dish is created using only the freshest, finest ingredients.  We serve only the choicest meats, freshest side dishes.  If you like fall off the bone ribs and slow-cooked brisket that makes your mouth water then this is the place for you!!

Just off 291 Highway in Pleasant Hill, Mo you’ll find this gem of a place.  Get your taste of KC BBQ here!!

Family Owned and Operated.

I found out that this venture is Ray’s retirement job.  It’s been open for 13 years and he started it with his wife after retiring from John Deere.  They are open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

I arrived around 3:45 on Saturday.  There was a crew from “Arrowhead Guys” there at the time filming an interview with Ray about his business. This is a very small place with two tables in it with four chairs around each table.  I ordered a brisket sandwich with a side dish and the total was around nine dollars.  They don’t offer french fries, but offer baked beans, coleslaw or potato salad as their side dishes.  There is no drink station.  They have a small cooler with bottles of pop in it.  I asked for a water and they grabbed a plastic cup and went to the sink and got me some water with no ice.  I had no problem with that, it was just interesting. Both Ray and his wife were very nice and accommodating.

I received my sandwich right after ordering.  The brisket was served thinly sliced on a bun.  It was tender with a great smoke flavor and smoke ring with a crunchy bark.  It was a bit dry, but they gave me a good helping of meat and some barbecue sauce on the side.  The sauce was nothing special, just what I’d consider a run of the mill sauce.  I ordered coleslaw as my side and it was good as well.

I have family that live in Waterloo, Iowa, and I noticed this advertisement on the wall for the “Waterloo Boy” John Deere tractors so I took a picture of it.  The photo underneath is a signed picture of Bob Johnson, who used to ride Warpaint at the Chiefs games and who visited Ray Rae’s and gave them the photo.

Check out Ray Rae’s if you’re in the area.  It’s good barbecue made by good people. 

This was visit number 69 on my quest.  Only one more to to!  Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook to find out what comes next!  Till next time….