Animales Burger Co. - Minneapolis

Ok, my 2 star review comes because all of there BBQ is obviously cooked on a propane cooker, there was no smoke flavor no smoke ring at all. What they do is heat there BBQ in a smoker to make you think they really cook in a smoker. People who don't know, just don't know... I ordered the ribs, chopped pork, by the way cooked either in water or propane cooker absolutely no flavor at all. The pork belly was the worst I've ever had texture was horrible, gray in color and covered in grease. I've been all over the US for good BBQ and this is not one of them, far from it. I also think the reason they put slaw and pickles on the sandwiches is the meat has ZERO flavor. I'm not sure of the 4.6 star rating and don't care but I wouldn't waste my money again on there food. People were friendly. Sorry, won't be back. My 2 star is because I feel bad giving anyone a 1.

Well, where do I start. First of all, I know BBQ very well, and when you see them taking finished product from the old Hickory smoker, which I considered one of the worst in the industry because it's automation, assisted cooker. They take the meat out of the propane cooker, wrap it in foil and then put it on the offset smokers so you think they've been smoked on a smoker.... Now they may....for an hour or so but they're clearly cooking their meat well ahead of schedule. This can be determined by the way, the gristle and fat is rendered. Anyone that's been doing it for a long time can clearly make that determination. Texture, color, and the lack of smoke is not in any of there meats. I had their BBQ today and I can tell you it's some of worst I've had. The pulled pork was undercooked, and there's an easy way to disguise that by chopping it up and mincing it to hide the toughness and under cooking of the meat. You can see the smoke ring, but there was no smoke flavor. It's clearly being pushed through with a steaming process with propane. Topping this is the pulled pork sandwich covered with a pile of coleslaw, pickles, and whatever else you put on the sandwich. Most people don't eat sandwiches that way unless you're from South Carolina. Let's move on to the BBQ ribs, extremely disappointed, camouflaged with a mediocre style rub with a little bit of heat and a small hint of sweet. Fall off the bone ribs in my opinion, is a form of overcooking and the meat was mushy. It's almost like a pot roast on a stick with horrible flavor. If anyone knows ribs, they should have a little bit of a tug. They wrap them in foil, drizzle them with vinegar or a highly loose sauce this causes them to over cook. Extremely disappointed in the flavor, (no smoke flavor) at all, because again, they're using the propane Assisted old Hickory smoker. We all know that propane has a certain of moisture or water present which is why you will not get a smoke flavored piece of meat. Last but not least, the pork belly was nothing I've ever experience it was burned, tuff and over cooked and my tray was completely covered in grease. There was about a 1/4 of clear fat, hence propane cooker. They may throw a stick in there from time to time to get that small hint of smoke but 90 of what you're cooking with is propane. Now let me get to the burnt ends these were absolutely disappointing. No seasoning, gray and tasteless. They should be 1 inch cubes with brown sugar and seasoning is typically how these are smoked. I can go on and on, but if anyone knows anything about traditional BBQ, you will be disappointed. I can tell you right now, MINNESOTA IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF GOOD BBQ. When all you eat is in MN you will never know Great BBQ... Thank God they didn't have brisket. I would rather of eaten McDonalds for $40.00.

Best bbq, I mean best food in the twin cities. I didn’t know bbq in MN could be this good. This is my favorite summer spot for a meal outside.

BBQ is one of our favorite foods. We traveled all around MN and the Country trying different BBQ places. We finally made our way to Animales. I like the fact that Animales is a food truck as it reminded us of visiting some of the BBQ in Austin. We had also planned on visiting another BBQ location so we just picked up some ribs and brisket today. They did not have a beef rib as an option otherwise we would have also picked up one of those. Everything looked great and was packaged well. We were quite pleased that a few burnt ends were included with our pound of brisket. My first rib was OK. Pretty sure these were baby back ribs. My first rib, the meat all pulled away from the bone. I prefer a little more chew. The next ribs were better. Good flavor and pretty good bite. Not overly smoked and seasoned pretty well. Not oh my gosh good but pretty solid ribs. The brisket was also solid. Could have smoked a bit longer to render more fat but was still pretty tender and had a nice smoke ring. Their sauce is a tomato based sauce with a fair amount of spice. More so than what is usually found in MN. Overall pretty solid BBQ. Would certainly be interested in trying some of their other menu items and specials like their birria tacos and burger.

Good delicious food I've had the ribs. Also, the brisket is wonderful warm smoky flavors