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On The Texas Barbecue Trail
mong polite society, a few
subjects are invariably
touchy, threatening to Although you can find good
flare into heated debate. barbecue throughout the South,
Politics. Religion. the Texas variety is different
from that in other barbecue
And don't forget to add one more capitals. Texas barbecue means
topic to that list if you're in beef brisket, basted meats, and
Texas: barbecue. tomato-based sauce, or sometimes
no sauce at all. The selection
Whether you spell it barbecue, varies from pit to pit but in
barbeque, bar-b-que, or just bbq, most tradition reigns.
one thing's for sure: barbecue is
more than just a meal, it's a In each region, divided by
mantra. hundreds of miles, the local
barbecue is influenced by other
At last count, Texas boasted over culinary cultures, from Southern
1,300 barbecue joints, ranging to Tex-Mex to Southwest. Cabrito
from side-of-the-road or barbecued goat is often served
greasehouses with slamming screen in the western portion of the
doors to sit-down restaurants state while pork or lamb is a
with beautiful vistas, air more common offering in East
conditioning and even (gasp) wine Texas. Cooking styles vary as
lists. The business of barbecue well. Out on the West Texas
rings up over a half-billion plains, barbecue is usually
dollars annually, a cobweb of cooked over a slow fire of
commerce that connects an mesquite wood while in Southern
otherwise diverse, sprawling and Central Texas pecan and oak
state with a common mission: Go are more common. Farther east,
forth and seek out good barbecue. barbecue pits are stoked with
hickory. Throughout the state, subtler than ordinary smoking.
meals are served with sides of Don't miss Cooper's Old Time Pit
cole slaw, pinto beans, and Barbecue. From its huge
spongy white bread, often on rectangular pits located by the
plates of butcher paper. Dessert, front door to the dining room
if found at all, is usually a lined with loaves of white bread
scoop of banana pudding with a and jars of jalapeño peppers,
dose of vanilla wafers. this is the real deal.
Unlike Kansas City and Memphis, Taylor: Taylor calls itself "The
Texas has no clearly defined Barbecue Capital of the World,"
capital of ‘que. But Texas does home of two legendary barbecue
have what's sometimes nicknamed joints separated only by a
the "barbecue belt," a smoky parking lot and small road at
swath that runs through the their locations on Second Street.
central part of the state and Louis Mueller's is housed in one
includes: of the most authentic barbecue
joints in Texas, with an
Llano: On the westernmost edge of old-fashioned screen door,
the barbecue belt lies the smoke-covered walls, and giant
community of Llano. What makes fans that provide the only cool
Llano unique among the central breeze on a hot summer day. Next
Texas barbecue towns is its door, Rudy Mikeska's serves its
cooking style. Most pit masters equally fine offerings in a more
in this town rely on indirect citified atmosphere. During his
barbecuing. In a firebox, wood lifetime, Rudy Mikeska was the
burns down to coals, then it's dean of Texas pitmasters. If
transferred to the main section there was a political function to
of the pit beneath the meat to be held, Rudy Mikeska and his
impart a delicate smoky taste barbecue specialties were there.
Market. No, don't say "Cruise."
It's "Krites," rhyming with
Elgin: In Texas, the town of "lights." Also in town, don't
Elgin is synonymous with sausage. miss Smitty's, housed in the
The small community, located building where the original Kreuz
about 25 miles east of Austin, Market was located, and Black's
produces the sausage sold by many BBQ, which claims to be the
barbecue joints through the oldest barbecue house in Texas
state. The best known of Elgin's continuously owned by the same
smokin' stops is the Southside family. Since 1932 the Black
Market, probably one of the most family has been firing up these
recognized names in Texas brick pits every day for lunch
barbecue lore. In business since and dinner.
1882, the market is known for its
Elgin hot sausage, sometimes Luling: Located east of Austin,
known as Elgin Hot Guts. Luling is the land of oil wells.
No longer a boomtown, today the
Lockhart: Twenty-three miles barbecue restaurants are the ones
south of Austin lies another producing black gold. The best
"Barbecue Capital of Texas," known spot in town is the City
Lockhart. The test of a real Market, a no-frills smoky meat
Texan is to know the correct market, with ambiance replaced by
pronunciation of the town's Kreuz plenty of local atmosphere.
About the Author:
Paris Permenter and John Bigley are the authors of Texas Barbecue and numerous other books on Texas travel as well as the editors of http://TexasTripper.com, http://www.TexasTripper.com, an online travel guide to the Lone Star State.
Source: www.isnare.com
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