Business is smokin' for Dick's Bodacious Bar-B-Que.

Richard Allen -- a local restaurateur whose Hoosier-grown business has a concept linked to his Texas heritage -- is about to take a big leap in the marketplace.

With four outlets already, by summertime, he and his partner and brother, David Allen, plan to have eight restaurants featuring their Texas-style smoked meat. By the end of 2004, the brothers expect to have 14 restaurants open at locations in Indiana, including Avon and Muncie.

In Central Indiana, the brothers are opening a restaurant on U.S. 31 North in Greenwood and one at 116th Street off of I-69 in Fishers. Allen said he is particularly excited about extending his reach to Muncie with a spot in the Muncie Mall. A location in Oaklandon will follow. Other locations already operating are at 4750 E. 96th St. and 579 Westfield Blvd., Noblesville.

Allen considers himself lucky to have been able to combine business with his passion.

"Growing up in Texas, I hung around a lot of barbecue places," said Allen. After moving to Indianapolis eight years ago, it was obvious what he missed most about his home state: the beef brisket, along with the all-beef sausages.

When Allen talks barbecue, he means slow smoking. Allen said the Texas approach came from a heritage that included German immigrants, East Texas slaves and the Hispanics in the valley. Brisket was a cheap cut that nobody wanted to cook. In the early settler days post-Civil War, they smoked meats to keep on the cattle drives up north. The sauce, created in the Midwest with mashed tomatoes seasoned with sugar and spices, was used to hide the meat that wasn't fresh.

Allen's motto goes along with the eatery's style of serving barbecue: "We serve sauce on the side because we have nothing to hide."

While he puts a strong focus on the meat, he bottles the sauce, which is sold at the restaurant. He evaluates his sauce as somewhat similar to the sweet chile-style sauce favored in Kansas City with a smoky flavor that's essentially Texan.

The "heat" in his spicy barbecue sauce comes from the Red Savina variety of habanero peppers grown locally by Jim Campbell, a Pike Township firefighter and creator of Mild to Wild Pepper and Herb Co.

Allen is proud of finally getting the company that produces Earl Campbell's Hot Links to send product to Dick's.

"They wouldn't send them," said Allen, who believes he's the only businessman to sell them north of the Mason-Dixon line. The 15,000 pounds he had to purchase is dwindling rapidly. He describes them as having a chicken, turkey, beef blend with a casing that snaps like a hot dog. Despite their name, there's only a little spicy heat mixed with the smoky flavor.

Allen doesn't just own barbecue eateries, he also does a lot of the cooking -- for work and for fun. On a recent weekend, he decided to create a smoker out of a whiskey barrel. It took maybe an hour's labor with grates placed inside, where he smoked meat at 200 to 250 degrees so there was no concern about it catching fire.

Allen plans to compete with his Noblesville team, The Pit Sniffers, at the Madison Regatta Aug. 20-21, and hopes in the future to be part of the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue.

It's one way he expresses his passion for barbecue. And when he sits down to enjoy barbecue, he typically goes for a sliced beef sandwich. That's how it's eaten in Texas.

More pasteurized eggs

According to local cooking class instructor and registered dietitian Michelle Plummer, pasteurized eggs are worth the search when cooks need to prepare foods requiring uncooked eggs, such as a cold mousse, a meringue or a Caesar salad.

While she had found them available only at selected Super Target locations, including the Carmel store at 10401 Michigan Road, a reader discovered another location: Trader Joe's stores at 5473 E. 82nd St. and 2902 W. 86th St. stock pasteurized eggs for $2.49 a dozen.

As cooks who love Caesar salads or who are cooking for someone with a compromised immune system discover their usefulness, the availability of pasteurized eggs may spread. Plummer advises that consumers still need to wash their hands before handling, wipe the egg shell and crack it into a clean dish before transferring to a food mixture.

Call Star reporter Patti Denton at (317) 444-6132.