A year ago, Flor and Fletcher Sheridan looked down at a historic building for sale in downtown Alliance, Nebraska, from atop the Ferris wheel set up for the community’s annual Heritage Days. The small town in the picturesque Sand Hill region of western Nebraska is Flor’s hometown. The couple lived in Houston at the time, and hadn’t seriously considered leaving until they saw how little it would cost to buy their own barbecue joint in Alliance. The deal on the 110-year-old building was too good to pass up, so they sold their house in Houston, became Nebraskans again last September, and opened the doors to Golden Hour Barbecue in March.
Coincidentally, I visited Alliance during this year’s Heritage Days, but I was there for barbecue rather than the carnival rides. I sat down with a full tray at the front of the restaurant’s event space, which the couple opened in addition to the regular dining area for the festivities. This is the same room where Flor attended her aunt’s wedding reception and her sister’s quinceañera long before she bought the place. Through the picture window, I saw kids with fresh-squeezed lemonade, the lights of the Ferris wheel, and a muscled teenager taking punches in the stomach for cash. This small town’s charm wasn’t lost on me.
But I had traveled across the state to this inconvenient destination with high expectations. Fletcher Sheridan began his barbecue training at Truth Barbeque in Houston. He developed the smoked turkey katsu sandwich at Roegels Barbecue, and helped it open a new Katy location. The last time I’d seen him was when I was reporting a sausage story at Dozier’s in Fulshear, and he had made a ham-and-Swiss link just for the occasion. I knew the guy had solid Texas barbecue chops, but how would that translate to his own menu in Nebraska? Astoundingly well, it turned out.
The Sheridans benefited from the minimal barbecue exposure most of their customers have. “I’m fascinated by what little barbecue exists in this state, specifically with how big of a beef state it is,” Fletcher said. They were lucky to not have to change their vision to fit the area’s barbecue expectations. Alliance was a clean slate, so there haven’t been complaints about prices, limited hours, or the fact that Golden Hour Barbecue sells out nearly every day. On the other hand, having the smoked brisket here as your first barbecue experience will make going to most any other Nebraska barbecue joint a letdown.
The black bark of the brisket was glossy on the cutting block as Fletcher portioned off a fatty slice. It was perfectly cooked, with melting fat that made it pull-apart tender. We talked as he built the tray, and Fletcher said he finally felt like he had found his barbecue calling. It all starts in the pit room, of course, but he enjoys talking with every customer. “I wanted to be the guy that knows the customer’s name,” he said as he sliced through juicy house-made beef-and-jalapeño cheese sausages. They had snappy casings that held onto the flavor of post oak smoke. Flor’s father-in-law owns a trucking company, so it’s not a challenge to get the same wood Fletcher was using at Dozier’s shipped to Alliance. He burns it clean in the Nebraska-built M Grills smoker out back.
Feeling festive during Heritage Days, Fletcher added pork belly burnt ends and smoked corn on the cob as specials. Fresh buttered sweet corn on a summer day in Nebraska is hard to beat, but those tender, sweet, and smoky nuggets of pork certainly tried. Corn casserole is a regular menu item, and its sweetness is offset by a little spice from green chiles. The rest of the sides were well-done versions of classics such as slaw, potato salad, beans, and mac and cheese.
Even Golden Hour’s pulled pork is impressive. It’s held in large chunks, and Fletcher doesn’t shred it until an order comes through. It was great on a simple sandwich with house-made pickles, pickled onions, and golden, mustard-based barbecue sauce on a potato bun. Smoked turkey was also well executed, and the tender pork ribs had been brushed with a sauce that was more acidic than sweet. The flavor was a surprise, although not unpleasant, but the color on their bark suffered.
Flor and Fletcher first met as students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He had left his home in Texas to pursue a tennis scholarship and missed barbecue dearly. While a student, Fletcher took a job at a local joint that’s now closed. “It was the worst barbecue I had had in my life,” he said, but the smell of smoke made him less homesick. He and Flor have now brought the barbecue lessons they learned in Texas to help make a name for Nebraska barbecue, and they’re off to a great start.
