by Teresa Gubbins

No pre-formed meat at this place, no-sir-ee.

KELLER — You pronounce Smoqued "smoked," as in smoked meat, as in all of the sandwiches at this Keller deli are made with meat that's smoked on-site and sliced to order.

Brant Seaton was inspired to open Smoqued because he'd worked at delis and thought that sandwiches should be made with better meats.

"Every deli uses the same pre-formed meat," he says. "I thought it would be nice to have smoked meats that are freshly shaved onto the sandwich. So we got a smoker. It's inside, right behind the register, a big black box. I did a lot of research. You have the big ones that are half outside, half inside. This one's all electric, but it's a wood smoker, and it was able to fit under the Vent A Hood."

As long as he had the smoker, he went ahead and put barbecue on the menu, so that's what the place is: combination deli and barbecue place. The menu items all have a Texas theme in their names, from the tumbleweed vegetarian cold sub to the Bluebonnet, a tuna salad sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, salt, and crushed peppers on ciabatta bread.

The best seller is the Tejas cheesesteak, made with shaved rib eye, diced potatoes, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, and mayonnaise, on a hoagie roll. They get their dough frozen and bake it every day.

They're located in small strip center, in a space that used to be Pizza Patrole. The restaurant had only been there six months, so Seaton inherited an almost-new Vent A Hood and walk-in refrigerator. Coming soon to the area is an Academy Sports store as well as an Aldi Food store, so Smoqued stands to benefit from an infusion of business.

In anticipation, they've just rolled out a new line of burgers that get smoked for 45 minutes before they're cooked. One comes topped with chopped brisket, which Seaton calls the burger club. The guy likes smoke.

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