LOW 'n' slow is the motto at Jim's Smokehouse, where the food is finger-lickin' good.
Push the cutlery aside when sinking your teeth into sticky chicken wings or juicy spare ribs – served as a rack, an impressive foot long.
Mouth-watering barbecue ribs, chicken, beef and pork are dry-rubbed, left overnight, and smoked on hickory wood for 12-16 hours to replicate that intense barbecued flavour of Texas in middle England.
To achieve this, a smoker has been brought all the way from the US to the Hockley restaurant's kitchen.
It's just 12 days since the venture opened – and the first Saturday's rush of customers took owner Prashant "PJ" Jaiswal by surprise.
"We ran out of food early in the evening because I wasn't expecting it to be as busy as it was and had to turn a lot of people away.
"If there's more people on the door, you can't just take some food out of the fridge and start cooking it," says PJ.
"The smoker is where the whole magic happens. It is a very slow process of smoking the food and, at the same time, cooking the food as well, very slowly and on a very low temperature for a long time."
Cooking time varies depending on the cut of meat. Chicken and ribs take around 12 hours but for joints of beef brisket and pork shoulder, it's more like 16.
From the smoker come three types of ribs: St Louis (the most meaty), baby back (tender and tasty) and thick-cut belly – all coated in a tangy homemade barbecue sauce.
Ribs not your thing? There's beef brisket, spicy pulled pork and barbecue chicken – which, the menu informs diners, is fully cooked and the pink tint is from the wood smoke.
Accompanied by a generous bowl of colourful red cabbage and carrot coleslaw and fries, these dishes aren't for the faint-hearted.
"In their feedback, people were amazed by the portion sizes. It is more than they were expecting," says PJ.
For something lighter, meat-filled hoagies (a submarine sandwich) are a popular option.
Burger-lovers can have their fill on a ribeye steak in a bun, a hog patty with maple sugar or the Wild Wild West, a giant tower of meatiness made up of a homemade cheeseburger, beef brisket, pulled pork, bacon, fried onions and onion rings.
For extra flavour all the tables have smokin' barbecue sauces. Choose from sweet, hot and tangy or mustard.
The surroundings are casual and relaxed. Think American diner (mismatched plastic seats and plastic sauce bottles) with an edgy industrial feel (from the floorboards and wood on the walls).
The restaurant is located in the very first home of Red Hot World Buffet, in Goose Gate, before it became the huge national operation it is today.
PJ was its operations director at that time and oversaw the move to the prime spot it has today in Nottingham's Cornerhouse.
He decided to go it alone and last year, back at Goose Gate, opened his first solo venture, Rakono, a multi-cuisine grill offering Chinese, Indian, Thai and Italian. But, he says, the food wasn't different enough to stand out among so much competition in the city.
This is why he's so excited about Jim's Smokehouse.
"I believe Nottingham was waiting for something like this.
"I have been in this industry for the last 13-14 years, working for big hotel chains and restaurant groups, and I was looking for something quite unique in terms of the taste.
"Smoking the meat is very different to grilling it. There is a lot of depth – it's a completely different taste."
At the moment, there's not a massive choice for vegetarians except for bigger versions of starters of nachos, hush puppies (savory fried balls), taco sliders (with chilli beans) and jalapeno flamers (chilli peppers stuffed with chipotle cheese).
"We're looking at incorporating more vegetarian options; maybe a hoagie with chilli beans and veggie burger," says PJ, who studied hospitality in Birmingham.
As time goes on, specials of chicken breast with Cajun sauce and tiger prawns will be added to the menu.
The 105-seater restaurant has wide appeal, attracting office workers, students and families.
PJ says: "Everyone loves a barbecue when the weather permits but at the same time, when the sunny weather goes away, people can come here for a good barbecue indoors with nice juicy meats.
"People are always looking for something new and it's all about bringing the authenticity as well. This is fantastic food and there's nothing like this in Nottingham, so let's bring it on."
Customers Pat and Ade Ford, who have travelled Route 66 in America, say the restaurant could give Wyoming hot spot Cassie's Bar a run for its money.
"The chicken was so succulent with a hint of smoke on the shin – utterly delicious. The ribs were meaty and so tasty," they say.
Jim's Smokehouse, open Tuesday to Sunday, will be opening from 12pm for lunch as well as in the evening and all day Sunday. Telephone 0115 9241742.
