Homer’s Barbecue

Photos and article by Christy Chaney

I live in Owensboro, Kentucky, the self-proclaimed barbecue capital of the world. We have multiple brick-and-mortar barbecue restaurants. We have barbecue food trucks. We even have a wonderful guy who sells barbecue on the side of the road off a folding table. We even have a festival. But the other day, I drove to Henderson to try Homer’s Barbecue.

I took some friends and ordered more than just barbecue because, you know, I need to know the whole menu, and I only have so much stomach space. Here’s what we found out.

I’m starting with the sauces because that is 100% where Homer’s showed up and showed off. Let’s start with the monthly sauce because, by the time you read this, it will probably be gone. But I will still be dreaming about it.

Blackberry barbecue sauce.

I’m telling you right now, you could dip anything in it. Anything. It could probably even make celery tolerable.

Then there are the regulars: Western Kentucky, Sweet ’N Tangy, Thick ’N Spicy, Carolina Mustard and Alabama White. The Blackberry Barbecue gets an honorary No. 1 because it’s temporary, so I’m not letting it mess with the ranking of the staples.

My personal sauce ranking looks like this:

No. 1: Alabama White — I swear to you, I would have stolen a squeeze bottle, put it in my car and driven it home if my waitress hadn’t been watching me so diligently. She literally saw me squirt it onto a spoon and eat it. I dipped the pork in it. I dipped the chicken in it. I dipped my daughter’s burger in it. I dipped the french fries in it. I dipped everything in the Alabama White sauce, and I suggest you do that, too.

No. 2: Sweet ’N Tangy — This was everything I love about barbecue sauce. I like the sweet viscosity of brown sugar, and I love a kick of heat on the finish. This did not overpower or burn; it complemented absolutely everything.

From there, I would try Western Kentucky, Thick ’N Spicy and then Carolina Mustard. I find mustard to be a worthless condiment, but if you love mustard, please move this sauce wherever you want in your own ranking!

My group started with fried okra: crispy little nuggets that, for a moment, let you forget they’re vegetables, topped with ranch and Sweet ’N Tangy. We also ordered chips and queso, and Homer’s needs to go ahead and bag those house-made seasoned chips. Just put them in a bag.

Matter of fact, if we could go back to the way Charles Chips used to be and Homer’s could fill up cans of them and deliver them to my house, I’d really be down for that.

Pro tip: Dip the chips in the Alabama White sauce. Do you sense a theme here? Because there’s a theme.

But the best appetizer we ordered was the Briskitos, which are basically what would happen if a taquito, a chimichanga and barbecue had a baby. They were perfectly crispy, stuffed with chili-rubbed brisket and candied jalapeños, and topped with queso, dry rub and Sweet ’N Tangy barbecue sauce. They are the stars of the appetizer world. If you’re going to Homer’s and you’re only getting one appetizer, get the Briskitos!

Then we moved on to the meals.

We tried the burger, the Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla and the Pulled Pork Smash Sammy special. Of those three, hands down, the burger won the table. Flat out won the table. Everybody took a bite of it. It was a fantastic burger.

In Owensboro, we have Burger Week. It would have won. I’m calling it. That burger would have won Burger Week.

It was good in all the sauces. It was especially good in the Alabama White sauce. Again. I know. I’m sorry.

Then there was the Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla. Yes, we went to a barbecue restaurant and ordered a Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla. There is a Barbecue Chicken Quesadilla on the menu, and that would be our choice next time because everything about the way the quesadilla itself was made was stellar.

Next time, barbecue chicken. That’s where we’re going. Plus, then you can dip it in Alabama White instead of sour cream. Who said that? Me. I said that.

We also ordered the three-meat sampler because we felt like that was the best way to taste everything. We chose the cheddar jalapeño sausage, which I find to be the darling of the barbecue world. If I go to Franklin Barbecue or Shotgun Willie’s or any of the top-tier barbecue places I’ve visited, I always get the jalapeño cheddar sausage. It’s the tiebreaker.

Homer’s came sliced. Not my favorite.

I don’t like it sliced because I need to know about that snap. When it comes sliced, there’s no snap. So, points off for pre-slicing my sausage, but the flavor was there and the smoke was good.

We chose pulled chicken instead of the Half Bird, and next time I’m getting the Half Bird. With pulled chicken, you’re missing the skin, and I should have known that. I didn’t catch it when we ordered.

So, Homer’s, I’m coming back for you. I’m coming back for the smoked Half Bird because I need to know about that skin.

The last meat on the platter was pulled pork. You could see the smoke ring. I got a few little crispy burnt ends. The pulled pork was the star of the platter. It was tender. It was flavorful. And it dunked well into the sauce.

Yes, the white one again. I’m sorry. It was so good.

Then we have to get to the sides. We strategically planned this. Nobody got duplicate sides.

We got the french fries. I know what you’re thinking: French fries? You can get those anywhere.

Nope. Get them.

They were crispy. They were thin. They were seasoned. They were flavorful. And, obviously, they went into the Alabama White sauce. I know they seem like a throwaway side when there are all these other options, but they were good fries.

Next was the mac and cheese, made with cavatappi noodles. It was cheesy and topped with spice. That’s one thing Homer’s does over and over again: The food has flavor.

Then there were the barbecue baked beans. Those came off a little sweet to me and had a whang of something, but they were soft and tender. If you’re a beans person, get them. But next time, I’m not getting those barbecue baked beans. I’m getting the Cowboy Caviar.

It was chilled and tangy and had a bite, and it was so colorful. It was like bean confetti. Phenomenal. Get that.

We also got the burgoo. Now listen, I’m from Owensboro, Kentucky. We throw down burgoo with a paddle in a cauldron. So, while I’m not going to call Homer’s version Owensboro mutton burgoo, I’ll give their burgoo a nod.

Everybody there pronounced it correctly. You could see the vegetables in it. It wasn’t sludge. If you like burgoo, this was a very clean burgoo.

Then there was the Loaded Potato Salad. I love potato salad. I love it. But what I don’t like is mashed potato salad, and Homer’s did it right. Big chunks of potato, flavorful mayonnaise base, cheese.

I would take a quart of it home. I might even eat it in the car with a spoon on the highway.

But there was one sleeper hit on the table: a tiny little pile of pickled red onions and pickles.

Those pickles.

Homer’s makes them in-house, and they were phenomenal. You know when you go to a barbecue joint and get that thin little pickle that obviously came out of a jar? Fine. This was a thick pickle with a little bit of spice and this fun sweet-yet-vinegary flavor.

Get the pickles. Order extra. Do it. Order extra pickles.

And then there was the part of Homer’s that had nothing to do with what was on our plates.

There was live music. We were sitting outside on the patio. Everybody was jamming along, and our entire table sang along to the Red Hot Chili Peppers with the guy playing guitar onstage. A family was playing cornhole. Kids were playing Connect Four. People were sitting outside together.

It was glorious.

There is something to be said about a third space. A third space is somewhere that isn’t home and isn’t work. It’s the place where people gather, interact and connect with each other. And they matter.

Those casual interactions help create relationships, connection and a sense of belonging. They strengthen the ties between people who share a community, and I think the presence of good third spaces says something about the health of a town.

Homer’s is a third space.

Sitting on that patio, watching families play games, listening to live music and seeing people simply enjoying being together, I thought about what Homer’s says about Henderson. It says people want to be here, not just eat and leave. 

And that’s a pretty good sign of a healthy community.

So, if you haven’t been to Homer’s yet, go try it. Try all the sauces. Drink the Alabama White sauce. Order extra pickles.

It’s not just “Damn Good Q.” It’s a glimpse into Henderson itself and the kind of community where people want to stay awhile.