Boss Hogg’s Restaurant & Saloon
A vision of classic American eats can be found five minutes from the Pagosa Springs Golf Club, right on the main drag in Pagosa Springs. Boss Hogg’s doesn’t look very fancy, but they’re happy to throw a little “slop” your way.
A menu with the backstory of the place (now run by daughter Ima Hogg, har har) complements the friendly but not overbearing service. Kids running around at one table and date night at another. And you can sit by the fireplace. Oh, and hearty, wholesome food. Boss Hogg’s house specialty brings to mind one of my two favorite meat/math jokes. What is the first derivative of a cow? Prime rib!
Prime rib is not as forgiving as other smoked foods, such as brisket. When it comes to preparing this piece of meat, it’s not a matter of time as much as temperature. At Boss Hogg’s, the meat is slow smoked, making it even more tender. They don’t inject the meat, but they do season the outside heavily with a flavorful rub enriched by salt, herbs and spices. Mixed with the juices that are squeezed out by the heat, it dries to a beautiful, dark, crunchy, delicious bark—the smoke adheres to the crust and doesn’t penetrate too deeply, which enhances, rather than masks, the internal beefy flavor from the fat and the bone.
My order was perfectly cooked to mediumrare, the same desirable red color throughout the slice, served with a creamy, tangy horseradish sauce on the side.
Truly the best I’ve had in years. However, prime rib cannot be cut with a steak knife, because it is only divisible by itself and one. Yeah, that’s the other joke.
157 Navajo Trail Dr., Pagosa Springs; 970-731-2626
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