Rural Missouri - February 2018 - 13

Above: The Rebel Rooster burger, with house-made pimento cheese, hickory-smoked bacon and a fried egg atop a 1/2-pound burger, is one of The Rebel Pig's most popular sandwiches. Above
right: The Rebel Mac was created by the staff. It's an open-face smoked pulled pork sandwich smothered with homemade mac and cheese, then topped with pieces of fresh smoked brisket and
drizzled with the signature Rebel Pig smoky barbecue sauce. Bottom: The melt-in-your-mouth baby back ribs are a popular choice at the northeast Missouri smokehouse.

by Heather Berry | hberry@ruralmissouri.coop

t's not normally the thing to say when you've tried a new restaurant, but
sometimes you've got to tell it like it is. Once you've eaten at The Rebel Pig
Smokehouse and Grill in Palmyra, the desire to slather your plate with the
homemade barbecue sauce will seriously come to mind.
"The secret's in the sauce. It's not too spicy or too sweet," says owner Doug
Dry. "We sell quite a bit of it by the bottle."
Doug's no stranger to the restaurant world. Nearly a
decade of working as a general manager for a McDonald's
franchise in Hannibal drove him to the path to restaurant
Palmyra
success, something he brought with him to The Rebel Pig.
"It's about meeting people, building relationships and having a passion for what you do," Doug says. "Anyone can cook
a burger. I've told our staff many times it's also about building
relationships and getting to know the people we serve."
Doug credits his interest in the dining arena to his grandparents who owned Snack and Pack in nearby Monroe City when he
was young. "My job was to butter the buns and toast them," he recalls.
That experience, as well as job shadowing chefs at area restaurants, drove
Doug to write a paper in high school about why he wanted to be a restaurateur.
"I'm a passionate guy," he adds. "And I love people, food and this business."
Anyone coming to The Rebel Pig for a meal can see the passion Doug and his
staff have for mouthwatering menu options. The owner takes pride in allowing
his staff of 30 to get creative in the kitchen when they want, hoping their creations will become a special or menu staple.
"They've created one we call The Rebel Mac and we're selling nearly 500 a
month. People are going crazy over them," Doug says. The creation is an openfaced smoked pulled pork sandwich smothered in homemade mac and cheese,
smoked brisket then drizzled in barbecue sauce.
The appetizer list at The Rebel Pig offers tasty options such as Rebel Pig
Skins (potato skins loaded with pulled pork, shredded cheese, sour cream and
chives); house-made pork rinds; handbreaded Onion Petals (fried to perfection
and served with a signature sauce) and Portobello Fries (fresh portobello mushrooms, sliced, hand-breaded and fried until crisp.)
Two of the starters will likely require you to invite a group of friends to share
them. The Ultimate Rebel Pig Pulled Pork Nachos are popular, offering fried
tortilla chips piled high with either smoked pork or chicken, then smothered in
Rebel Pig Jalapeno Queso, diced tomatoes and the signature sauce.

While that may be a house favorite, Doug says his personal choice is The
Rebel Pig Horseshoe Explosion. "We grill Texas toast, pile it high with seasoned
wafﬂe fries, smoked pulled pork or chicken, top it with our jalapeno queso
cheese and smoky barbecue sauce. It's a plate mounded up high with all kinds
of good stuff," Doug says, adding, "It's good for the soul."
If you're a burger or sandwich enthusiast, the menu offers nearly 20 ﬁlling
options, each served on grilled Texas toast.
Signature burgers include the 1/3-pound Smokehouse Burger topped with
pulled pork, onion tanglers, pepper jack cheese and barbecue sauce. The Rebel Rooster is a 1/2-pound burger topped with pimento cheese, bacon and a
fried egg. "At ﬁrst, customers were like, 'I don't know if I can do that,' and
now it's one of our most popular burgers."
Other favorite sandwiches include a shaved Prime Rib Melt on Texas
toast served with Swiss cheese and hot au jus; hand-breaded Jumbo
Tenderloin, served grilled or fried, or the Rebel Hog Slaw Deluxe, a
pile of smoked pulled pork stacked on Texas toast and topped with
a creamy homemade coleslaw.
Doug says if someone's never been to The Rebel Pig before, they
may want to go for the Pick 2 or Pick 3 platters so they can taste several of the meat options. All platters come with sweet honey cornbread.
Choices of meat include smoked brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, fried
catﬁsh or chicken tenders. Sides include coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad,
baked beans, wafﬂe fries, fried corn on the cob, applesauce or cottage cheese.
Locals know the time Doug and his staff put into cooking the tender meats
the menu offers because a giant propane tank-sized smoker sits outside the
front door, wafting the mouthwatering aroma around the town square. The
meats are applewood smoked for 6 to 8 hours and also are sold by the pound.
The restaurant also offers a daily all-you-can-eat buffet which includes
homemade soup, salad bar and specials, such as Tuesday taco bar and
Wednesday fried chicken. Doug says the best way to know the specials is to
follow the restaurant on Facebook.
Doug recently purchased a 24-foot mobile kitchen trailer for the restaurant's
growing number of catering gigs. In December alone, The Rebel Pig pulled off 64
of these jobs, some two hours away.
The owner says the name of the place came about when sitting on the tailgate
of a truck and chatting with friends. A girl who used to work with Doug tossed
out the name Rebel Pig and Doug thought it was crazy.
"But then again, people that do abnormal things can get abnormal results,"
says Doug. "That's become part of our branding."

The Rebel Pig Smokehouse and Grill
Specialties: Slow-cooked smoked baby back ribs, Rebel Pig Horseshoe Explosion, Pig Mac burger, Rebel Rooster and Jumbo Tenderloin.
Price: Starters from $4.99 to $9.99. Sandwiches and burgers from
$7.99 to $10.99. Platters from $9.99 to $16.99. Lunch buffet for $7.99.
Details: Open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 4
p.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Cash and major credit cards
accepted. Catering available. Full bar. Free Wi-Fi.
Directions: 119 S. Main Street in Palmyra.
Contact: 573-769-2454 or follow Rebel
Pig Smokehouse and Grill on Facebook.

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