Uncle Troy's BBQ opens Sunday at Fork Forty, here's what's on the menu

Don't be surprised if, on your next visit, Fork Forty Food Hall has a hickory-smoked aroma. Uncle Troy's BBQ opens on Sunday, Nov. 1 in the former Portland Press location. 

Keizer food truck operator Troy Campbell has traded in his distinctive yellow cart and moved the business operations entirely to the food hall. For now, he's made few changes to the Portland Press space, instead focused on launching with a robust menu.

Expect the daily options to include some of his greatest hits; fall-off-the-bone pork spare ribs, pulled pork and smoked sausage, all available by the pound. Frame them out into a meal with sides: cornbread, creamy black-eyed peas cooked with smoked ham hocks, ribbons of tender collard greens, and the crowd favorite, mac and cheese. 

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Two salads, one featuring smoked chicken and a second rotating special, will offer a less indulgent way for barbecue fans to enjoy. There are sweets on the menu, too, including banana pudding and sweet potato pie. 

Once he's in a groove and his new, cabinet-style smoker arrives, Campbell plans to offer other truck favorites as rotating specials. These will include items like brisket, beef cheeks, turkey legs, and meatballs. He'll use a cast iron Dutch oven to make chili and apple cobbler, dishing it out of the pot and "when it's gone it's gone."

During a soft opening period on Thursday and Friday, Campbell plated sandwiches. Pulled pork with red cabbage coleslaw and brown sugar barbecue sauce on a griddled bun was his version of the classic. A pulled pork patty melt on Texas toast with cheese sauce and velvety smoked pork gravy, offered a glimpse of more creativity to come. 

"We stepped our game way up," he laughed. "We're no longer in the food cart."

Campbell's style of barbecue reflects his family tradition. His grandparents ran a restaurant called Campbell’s BBQ in Portland for 20 years. His brother, Tory Campbell, owns Portland-based Felton & Mary's Artisan Foods, selling jarred versions of their grandparents' barbecue rub and sauce. Campbell uses the same recipes at Uncle Troy's. 

Despite his family's barbecue history, Campbell isn't so loyal to the old ways he's stuck. 

He's working on a copycat recipe for a McDonald's McRib sandwich, and excited to collaborate with Fork Forty's other vendors. In the afternoon hours between the lunch and dinner rushes, he said, "everybody's always making things and trying things, trying to push themselves and make something better, but also stay in their lane, you know? So it's nice being able to bounce ideas off of people, it makes everyone better."

He's thinking of collaborating on a barbecue bao with Chubby Panda, and it seems it's just a matter of time until Troy's chicken or pulled pork appears on a La Lucciola pizza.

Just as Uncle Troy's popped up as a guest at King's Kitchen before signing on to his Fork Forty space full time, Campbell is also hoping to showcase global barbecue traditions and host guest pit masters with expertise in other styles.

More BBQ:New Salem-area restaurant cooks up Santa Maria-style BBQ

Starting at noon on Sunday, Nov. 1, Uncle Troy's will be open during the Fork Forty standard hours of 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Uncle Troy's BBQ

Where: 440 State Street

Phone: 503-505-8504

Information: @UncleTroy'sBBQ (Facebook) 

Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at eteel@statesmanjournal.com, Facebook, or Twitter. See what she's cooking and where she's eating this week on Instagram: @emily_teel