2025 Alabama BBQ Tour: Calhoun County - The Rocket BBQ, Jacksonville, AL

 

Last week, we took a drive over to Calhoun County to continue our fun Alabama BBQ Tour.  The Rocket BBQ is a long time institution in Calhoun County.

Calhoun County is named for John C. Calhoun, a Senator from South Carolina.  The county seat was originally in Jacksonville in 1833, but was changed to Anniston in 1899.  Jacksonville State University is located here and was founded in 1883.

 

From their website:  Gary Marbut’s family started The Rocket in Jacksonville, Alabama in 1958. The Rocket initially operated as a drive-in like Sonic today. This Mom-and-Pop barbecue-and-burger joint has a loyal following and old-timers fondly view the restaurant as something straight out of “Happy Days.” Besides barbeque sandwiches and salads, The Rocket also serves other all-American food such as chicken fingers, French fries, cheeseburgers, and onion rings. The Rocket is a throw-back to times gone by where the staff calls most customers by their first name and delivers excellent food with even better customer service. The barbeque joint has been a staple to the people of Calhoun County since 1958. The Marbut family is now serving the fourth generation of the same families that have traded with them for years.

Being a college town, I would wager a bet that 99.99% of the students of JSU have dined at The Rocket.

As we drove around the back of the restaurant in search of a parking space, I spied the proof that this is a definite certified BBQ joint.

Be prepared if you visit.  The dining room is small.  The tables are packed together.  But it is so worth the closeness of your fellow dining companions.

You'll need to come early or at off times if you want a window seat.  Here's a look at the menu.  It's nice to go ahead and check it out, because you'll be ordering at the counter and those people in line behind you?  They're hungry!  If you're going to need a bit to decide what you want, be a nice person and let them order ahead of you.

Sweet Harold ordered while I grabbed a table.  If you're craving sweet tea, this is the place.  This is how I used to make it before I realized that sugar was considered evil.  This is how your grandmama made sweet tea.  It's worth every single calorie.  

While we waited on our meal, and while sipping that heavenly nectar a/k/a sweet tea out of the styrofoam cup, we enjoyed some of "Yesterday's Country Music" being broadcast over the local radio station.  

At last!  Here are our meals.  I'll share Sweet Harold's selections first.

He decided on the smoked chicken plate with fries, and baked beans.

The smoked chicken was sublime according to my dining companion.  Large chunks of smoked chicken with a distinct smoked flavor, extremely tender and juicy was his description.  He loved the sauce which wasn't too thick nor too thin, and had a great balance of flavors that didn't overpower the chicken.

These are his favorite type of fries:  the handcut version with some of the peel on each fry.  These were nice and crispy with just the right amount of salt.

Now to the beans.  Y'all know we've been having some issues with the beans on prior visits of our BBQ tour.  He's been served some that were so overcooked and dry they were sticky.  Then there's been some that have barely been emptied from a can and warmed through.

But as of now, these are the #1 bean of the tour.  Look at all the extras in these beans!  There's onions, bell peppers, hamburger meat, and even slices of grilled hot dogs!  Talk about a hearty baked bean!  He was so happy.  In his words, "The Rocket could give lessons on how to make baked beans."  

I'm staying true with trying the pulled pork plate to get a good baseline on that item.  I had the pulled pork plate with onion rings and corn nuggets.

Before I begin with my food descriptions...I suppose you've noticed the generous serving of pickles on each plate.  Note to yourself:  If you don't care for pickles, you need to tell them when you order.

Now, moving forward.  My pulled pork was a mixture of lightly chopped and pulled pieces.  There was a nice amount of bark mixed throughout my serving.  I enjoyed the sauce as well.  Bottles of extra sauce were provided if you'd like to add more.

The corn nuggets were an immediate favorite.  Fried like corn fritters in a light crispy batter with creamy corn inside.  There were 24 on my plate!

Onion rings are offered two ways:  beer battered or homemade.  I chose the homemade variety.  Again, a very generous serving and I had some left to bring home, which I never do.  These were nicely fried (which means they weren't cooked too long and the oil was fresh).

The toasted bread was nice and buttery and had a good crunch!

I also did something I've never done before:  I took pictures of how much food we had left to bring home!

You'll definitely get your money's worth here!   

Standouts:  Sweet tea is some of the best I've ever enjoyed either at home or dining out; baked beans were phenomenal; onion rings were worth making a drive back to Calhoun County; both smoked meats were superb.  

Overall score 0 - 100:  93

So many people have raved to me about their burgers.....guess I'll be going back to try those!