HammerDown Barbeque, Aldie, Virginia

I’d heard a good bit about HammerDown Barbeque, but I was under the impression that they cooked with gas, so never went. Sigh! All those years wasted. I recently had a tip that they actually cook exclusively with wood, and swung by on a trip back from South Carolina. HammerDown was closed, but I saw two big smokers and a grill outside, free of any taint of a gas hookup, and a whole lot of wood.

On my next free day, I hopped in my car and drove out to where the blacktop ends. Slight exaggeration. It’s right where US 50 drops down to two lanes, a few miles short of Gilbert’s Corner, site of the famed Farmer’s Market.

The two big smokers were smokin’ and Ping, the owner’s brother, was working a grill full of chicken.

Beautiful. It smelled delicious.

I entered and looked around. I assumed that the building had been a garage based on the concrete floors with two bays on one side, but I read that it formerly was a tea house. Now it’s a warm and attractive open room with walls of barn wood, and a bar wraps around to the counter. The bar is festooned with handles for the 16 beers and ciders on tap, with more available in cans. The selection is admirable, and leans heavily toward locally crafted.

As I arrived early I was able to chat with Ben, the very open and friendly proprietor, and give him the

Campaign for Real Barbecue certification. We talked about the Campaign and his rise from food truck to the present HammerDown. He’s one of the good guys.

What to order? I was hoping to work off some of the effects of my intensive South Carolina Tour de Barbecue and Hash and Rice. I glanced up at the meats available by the pound, and Ben was nice enough to give me just a quarter pound each of pork and brisket, although they sell it by the half pound. I added some collards — so far, so good — and was mulling a chicken thigh when an evil force made me glance at the sandwich side of the menu.

I saw the words “pastrami sandwich” and farewell restraint.

I paid and sat, and a young guy — college age, give or take — came in wearing a sweatshirt with the legend, Itta Bena, Mississippi. I’ve been to Itta Bena, the birthplace of Marion Barry, BB King, and a whole lot of blues musicians. It’s a dying Delta town a long, long way from the highest income county in the United States. I asked if he were from there. Never, nor heard of it until he saw it in a thrift store and liked the name.

After a short wait, my tray arrived.

Let’s zoom in on the pork,

and the brisket.

I had asked that the pork and brisket come un-sauced, and Ben said that the meat always comes un-sauced, which I took as a sign of seriousness. They do offer three sauces, a real North Carolina vinegar pepper sauce, a “hot and sweet” sauce that isn’t excessively sweet — not the sort that drowns the flavor. And there’s a sweet sauce I didn’t try.

Does the pork look dry? It wasn’t. It was just waiting for the welcomed HammerDown’s vinegar pepper sauce. The pork was a hit. The sauce balanced the richness of the pork and brought out the smoke flavor. My lone quibble is that the pork had been pulled into strands, which is standard these days, but the strands weren’t chopped into bite size pieces, and thus the dry external appearance. That failure is also pretty standard these days, alas. It didn’t affect the flavor. I just prefer a more convenient chop.

Although the brisket was from the flat, it was as tender as brisket gets. It had a good douse of smoke and  outdid the usual peppery bark by using whole as well as lightly crushed peppercorns. The brisket was excellent, one of the best versions in the Washington area.

I saved the best for last. Take another look at the photo of the pastrami sandwich on the tray, with those two huge pieces of rye bread — good quality rye. The bread had been grilled as for a Reuben. Pastrami usually comes with sauerkraut and Russian dressing, but I just had it with mustard. Let’s see the pastrami.

Pastrami usually comes with sauerkraut and Russian dressing, but to better judge the pastrami itself, I asked for mustard only.  The meat was achingly tender with just the right amount of fat. The pastrami seasoning was readily noticeable, and complemented nicely with an excellent whole grain mustard. This is one of the best pastramis in the region, possibly the best. That will take more checking.

I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. I cleared my tray and went over to compliment Ben on the food. Among other plaudits, I mentioned the mustard, which was a whole grain mustard like Pommery, and he said he uses it because that’s the mustard he likes. I like that.

HammerDown is quite a place, one of the best in the Washington area, one of the best in all of Virginia. Go see for yourself.

***

And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box. Or bookmark us and check in from time to time. We’re on Instagram (johntannerbbq) and Twitter (johntannerbbq1) pages, and if you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre, Prague Castle, Vienna’s Old City, or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event.  We welcome comments and questions, and eagerly seek suggestions of places to eat and stories to cover.