Cheap Eats: Proper Pig Smokehouse

Forget the sauce. You won’t need it here, where co-owners Shane Vidovic and Ted Dupaski smoke more than 1,000 pounds of meat each week for a fall-off-the-bone tenderness we aim for in our own backyard barbecues. Although pulled pork, smoked turkey breast and beef brisket are sold by the half-pound, a variety of combo platters allows you to mix and match meat with a slew of sides. For $12, pick up a quarter-pound of beef brisket, a quarter-pound of pulled pork and a side of potato salad. Then use the accompanying onions, pickles and white bread to build towering sandwiches. The salt-and-pepper rub on the beef and pork becomes a delicate blackened bark after smoking for 12 to 16 hours at 225 degrees, adding a crisp and crunchy flavor that pairs well with the potato salad’s Stadium Mustard base. Also Try: The Proper Slopper ($12) is packed with beef brisket, pulled pork and spicy sausage smothered in a maple bacon barbecue sauce. If that’s too much meat to handle the Texas Hot Link Sausage ($4) carries enough heat to stand on its own. 17100 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 440-665-3768, properpigsmokehouse.com