On the search for the best BBQ in Connecticut brings us to Taino Smokehouse in Middletown.

This small store on the corner of a hardware store plaza is unassuming. But inside lies some of the best brisket in Connecticut.

Brisket is a complicated monster, and to really get it good, you have to ask for it cut from the fatty end. That is where the flavor is.

So I can’t tell you what the lean brisket is like, only the better stuff.

The bark on the brisket is the worst part about it.

It is EXTREMELY salty and acts more like a skin, peeling off with a hard to cut membrane.

Don’t let that stop you, it’s still good.

For the meat: it is perfectly cooked, juicy, and breaks apart into tiny rectangular pieces in your mouth.

I tried other things there, like the sausage, which was dry, tough, and gritty (5.5/10) but the Brisket I would travel for happily.

Skip the sausages, and go straight for the brisket from the fatty end.

The Rating:

From the fatty end, this brisket is among the best brisket in Connecticut. The bark is over salted and membrane-y, but that can be forgiven as it still tastes great.

8.5/10

The recommendation:

Whatever you do get the brisket and ask for it from the fatty end. The coleslaw is fine and the mac and cheese is bland; maybe there is a great side waiting to accompany this brisket?

https://www.instagram.com/eatthisct/

Address: 482 S Main St, Middletown, CT 06457
Closed Sundays and Mondays

www.tainosmokehouse.com/#Menu

Phone: (860) 358-9828