Texas BBQ Holy Trinity

Franklin BBQ - Austin

Well let's discuss what I refer to as the Holy Trinity of Texas BBQ,  ribs, sausage, and brisket.
Now I use the term Holy Trinity with great reverence.  I know the true meaning of the Holy Trinity refers to the religious reference to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit but it has also been used to describe some culinary combinations.
In Cajun Cuisine it refers to -   The aromatic vegetables bell pepper (poivron), onion, and celery are called by some chefs the holy trinity of Cajun and Louisiana Creole cuisines. Roughly diced and combined in cooking, the method is similar to the use of the mire poix in traditional French cuisine — which blends roughly diced onion, celery, and carrot. Characteristic aromatics for the Cajun version may also include parsley, bay leaf, green onions, and dried cayenne pepper (Wikipedia).
You could also say it could refer to mire poix in French cuisine - A mirepoix (/mɪərˈpwɑː/ meer-pwah; French pronunciation: ​[miʁˈpwa]) is a mixture of chopped celery (either common pascal celery or celeriac), onions, and carrots. There are many variants, which may include just one of these ingredients, or include additional aromatics. Mirepoix, raw, roasted or sautéed with butter or olive oil, is the flavor base for a wide variety of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. The three ingredients are commonly referred to as aromatics. (again courtesy Wikipedia). 
Again, I refer to ribs, sausage, and brisket as the Holy Trinity of Texas BBQ.  This combination makes for a very all encompassing sampling of BBQ in Texas.  Each item takes a certain expertise and the quality of each helps one to form an opinion on BBQ joint.  This is why when I'm on the road trying new places or revisiting old ones I usually take part in the Trinity.  So, let's break it down shall we?

Ribs

Lockhart Smokehouse - Dallas

Pork ribs, beef ribs, short beef ribs, or the occasional baby back ribs all can be included in this part of the Trinity although you rarely see the baby back.
Ribs are probably the most simple to barbecue but you can still mess 'em up.  First off is how long you cook ribs. Cooked too long and the meat falls off the bone.  This can actually cost you points in most BBQ contests but it is commonly found in East Texas BBQ where the ribs are cooked much longer than usual.  Cooked not long enough results in a tough rib.  If you have to tear with your teeth it's no bueno. The perfectly cooked rib should be tender to the bite but all of the meat shouldn't pull off the bone in that bite.
Secondly, how they are flavored depends on where you are in the state.  East Texas ribs will be rubbed with spices, thrown on the pit, pulled off and sauced, and then returned to the pit to glaze the sauce onto the rib.  In Central Texas, the ribs will be spiced with only salt and pepper and then thrown on the pit.  Then they will be pulled off and not sauced. This goes back to the tradition of the German meat market just smoking the meat as to not throw it away but to sell it to hungry farmers and workers for lunch.
There is definitely some skill involved in the rib process and a perfectly barbecued rib is something to savor. 

  Sausage

Sausage is the second part of the Trinity and it can  vary across the state in complexity and quality.  Some places make their own and others out source it which can sometimes even mean  H.E.B. store bought sausage.  It can come in link and ring, natural casing, and processed casing forms.  Most of the time if it's in a ring it will have a natural casing.  You can't really mess up the store bought stuff so let's focus on the places that make their own.  You're going to find good sausage in Central Texas, the Germans brought their sausage making skills from the old country to Texas and God bless 'em.  Taste of course is of the utmost importance and blends of various cuts or parts of pork, beef, and spices all play a part in the flavor profile. It's all what you like but be wary of meat that falls out of the casing when cutting into the link or ring.  A well prepared sausage should be tight and snap when biting into it.  Best way to eat a sausage is to just pick it up and bite into it.  A side note:  don't be afraid of hot link or jalapeno sausage.  You are missing out if you always only get the mild stuff.

Brisket

Black's BBQ in Lockhart

 The last and I think most important member of the BBQ Trinity is brisket.  Brisket sets Texas apart from all other states and BBQ regions.  St. Louis has its ribs, Memphis and the Carolinas the pig but Texas is cattle country where barbecuing a brisket has become a form of art.
Barbecuing brisket is all about time, temperature, and moisture, oh and patience, 225 degrees for 20 hours in most cases with a resting time of an additional 3-4 hours, but most home recipes can be knocked out in about 15 hours. So brisket takes time and a low temperature in order to achieve all of the important characteristics of a perfectly barbecued brisket - smoke ring, bark, and fat rendering.  Let's work from the inside-out and start with fat rendering or marbling.  If the brisket is well marbled and cooked properly the fat will spread or render throughout the brisket.
The next layer out is the smoke ring, the pink to red ring between the meat and the bark.  The more established the ring generally means the more perfectly cooked the brisket because in order for the ring to develop proper time, temperature, and moisture levels have to be present during the cooking process.
 On to the best part, the bark.  The bark is the outer layer of char on a brisket and should never be missed or cut away (I'd slap a friend across a table if I saw him doing this).  The bark is a combination of charred fat and rub (rub - usually just salt and pepper) that through heat have combined to form one of the most amazing flavor combinations known in BBQ or food for that matter. Think about the crust on a slice of prime rib taken to the power of ten!

Cooper's in Llano

Brisket - Rubs and Sauce?

Rubs for brisket can very from paprika, chili, powder, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, combinations to just simple salt and pepper.  I prefer just good ole salt and pepper.  Let the meat speak for itself.  Some of the best brisket I've had on my many BBQ trips has always been just simple salt and pepper. As for sauce on the brisket or sauce for dipping on the side?  Shame on you if you ever do this, it's disrespectful to the pit master and the brisket.  Although the pit master probably doesn't care either way if you use sauce on brisket or not, but if you want to be taken back to the time when meat markets turned into BBQ joints, do without it.

JMueller - Austin

Pecan Lodge - Dallas

 Burnt Ends

Although not part of the Trinity you don't want to pass these up.  Some places will offer these when you order at the counter and others you have to ask for them.  Click on the Wiki link for a description on true burnt ends http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnt_ends Most places will just cut the "point" off the brisket and cut it up and serve it to customers when ordering but Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas serves true burnt ends on Thursdays.  My first experience with burnt ends was at Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor when I was ordering.  I got up to the counter after waiting a little over an hour in line. The pit master dropped a burnt end on my tray lined with brown butcher paper and I popped it in my mouth.  He then asked me what I wanted to order but I couldn't focus on him because I was in Heaven.  Burnt ends are the definition of "meat candy".  Don't pass them up.

That's it for this week...

Next week..."To Sauce or Not to Sauce?" - that is the question

Until next week BBQ fans!

The Pit, the Wood, and the BBQ Joint

This week's post will cover some basic elements of Texas BBQ, the pit, wood, and characteristics to look for in good BBQ joint.

Stoking the fire @ Smitty's in Lockhart

The Pit
Barbecuing requires a pit to deliver indirect heat during the cooking process. Meat placed directly over the heat source is called grilling. So with that being said whatever type of pit is used it will usually have a fire box or be designed so the fire can be placed at the mouth of the pit away from the meat.

Types of Pits
The three most popular types of pits are, the barrel smoker, commercial grade stainless pit, and the brick-lined floor pits.
  The barrel pit usually in a shed at some places or on a trailer in others is of simple design with a fire box on one side connected to a long barrel-shaped metal pit.
The commercial stainless pit can be found many times in the BBQ chains in cities.  These pits are a bit safer and allow the pit to be located inside the restaurant.  Again these have a fire box on the side and the pit itself has a number of grates set at different levels to hold the the meat.
  Some rotate but most are stationary allowing the pit master to move the meat during the cooking process.

Commercial-grade pit at my uncle's lake house

The last type of pit is the brick-lined floor pit commonly found in Central Texas BBQ joints.  The design is simple, rectangular brick walled pit on a concrete floor with one end of the pit open to act as the firebox.  Grates are placed across the top of the pit to hold the meat and heavy metal plates cover the pit with pulleys attached for opening and closing the pit.
Of course all of these pits have smokestacks that can be opened or closed in order to help regulate the heat of the pit.  BBQ requires low temperature and long cook-times and controlling the temp is important.

Some pics of types of pits:

Aaron Franklin and his barrel pit @ Franklin BBQ, Austin

Brick Floor Pits @ Kreuz Market, Lockhart

Pit Age and the Pit Fire

I am a firm believer in the older the pit the better the BBQ.  Daily use of the same pit seasons the pit similair to seasoning a cast iron pan.  The years and decades of smoke, moisture, and meat grease builds up on a pit and adds flavor to the meat.  Now you can't always know how old the pit is by the "founding" date that most places put on their signs or merchandise because of a little thing known as a pit fire.  Those "seasonings" I was just talking about can be quite the accelerant for a pit fire.  Some pit fires require the building of a new pit or in the worst case scenarios a new facility. But don't fret BBQ fans, if a place burns down they just rebuild it usually bigger and better than before. Some places have been rebuilt more than just once!

The Wood

Well it's not rocket science, you need a fuel source to barbecue.  That fuel source is wood.  The type of wood used really depends on where you are in Texas. It makes sense, you use whatever kind of wood is available in the immediate area. So lets take a quick tour of BBQ regions of Texas:

Wood stacks @ Kreuz Market in Lockhart

West Texas

Mesquite is the wood of choice in West Texas. Pit masters use mesquite for the "cowboy style" of BBQ found in this region.  Mesquite flavors the beef, goat, and mutton associated with West Texas BBQ.

Wood outside of Smitty's in Lockhart

Central Texas

The Germans and Czechs of Central Texas use oak, post oak, and pecan to flavor their spiced rubbed meats like brisket, ribs, and sausage. Very large wood supplies can be found just outside the old European-style meat markets turned BBQ joints in the "The Barbecue Capital of Texas" AKA Lockhart,TX.

Southside Market in Elgin

East Texas

The former plantation area of East Texas boasts great chopped beef sandwiches and ribs with meat falling off the bone and  requires hickory or pecan wood.

Charcoal

Another fuel source used in Texas BBQ is charcoal.  Of course it still comes from wood and yes a lot of us use it in our grills in the backyard but one joint I've visited on many of occasions makes it's own.  Cooper's in Llano uses and makes charcoal to fire their pits on somewhat of a grand scale. If you like, check out the wiki link on charcoal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

Charcoal stacks @ Cooper's

Cooper's wood pallets in Llano

The BBQ Joint

Kreuz Market in Lockhart

There are some characteristics that should be taken into consideration when trying a BBQ place for the first time.  Whether you're planning a trip or want to make an unplanned stop for lunch you should look for these characteristics - word of mouth, a line, a wood pile, beer?,soda selection, and atmosphere.

Signed poster by Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives @ Louie Muller BBQ

Word of Mouth

The best and cheapest form of advertising for a restaurant is "word of mouth".  Of course word of mouth can now also mean cable travel and food shows. It was shows like these that peaked my interest in starting to take BBQ road trips. Just enter "BBQ" in your DVR and you should have multiple programs to choose . The Travel Channel has multiple series that cover BBQ and Texas is almost always included in each show.

The line at Cooper's in Llano

The Line

Don't let a line scare you away.  It's a great indicator for how  good a place is. The line usually moves pretty fast and you can also pass the time by enjoying a frosty beer in those municipalities that allow that sort of thing.  Some places will even sell beer in the line. If you can't enjoy a beer you can kill some time by talking to your fellow BBQ parishioners about what else, BBQ! My all-time longest wait time in a line was two and a half hours at Franklin BBQ in Austin.  Was the wait worth it you might ask? Yes, yes it was.

Wood stacks at Rudy's

The Wood Pile

Check outside and sometimes inside for the wood pile.  It ain't BBQ if it ain't smoked with wood.  The larger establishments will keep their wood outside due to the sheer volume they do. 

The father of the Bock

Enjoying one in line at JMueller's - Austin

Sunkist @ Louie Mueller in Taylor

 Beer?

Most places will have beer and the usual selection of domestics, but...the authentic Texas BBQ joints will have more than just one kind of Texas beer as part of their line-up.  Shiner Premium, Lone Star, and maybe even a local Micro-brew should be available. Beer goes oh so well with good BBQ!

Dr Pepper @ City Market in Luling

Soda Selection

Adding to the authentic Texas BBQ experience, places that carry Dr Pepper products make for a good choice for your BBQ enjoyment.  As far as sodas go you can't get more Texas than Dr Pepper. Products to look for: Dr Pepper, RC Cola, Sunkist, Big Red, and 7-Up.

One Thought on Iced Tea

Working in the restaurant industry myself I'd like to give a tip on iced tea.  I love me some iced tea but depending on how big the town is you might be taking your chances if you drink the tea.  The smaller municipalities don't always have the strictest health codes and you can risk getting yourself sick from old tea.  If you have any doubt just grab a soda or better yet an ice cold beer.

Atmosphere

Who cares,

You're there to eat BBQ, not enjoy the ambiance!

Dining room @ Stanley's in Tyler

Line & dining room at Louie Mueller BBQ, Taylor

Next week I'll be covering the Holy Trinity of Texas BBQ!

Until next week BBQ fans!

Oops! and The Steve Mayberry Memorial Cook-off

Well BBQ fans I done messed up the post for this week.  I had a nice post all set up as a draft and being a bit new to this I deleted the post for this week. So I decided to let you in on a great BBQ cook-off coming up on September 6th and 7th.  If you are in the Dallas area on these dates you should really check it out.  It's the Steve Mayberry Memorial Cook-off. I'll be missing it because I will be in Coleman, TX dove hunting.

Next week I will be blogging about...the pit, the wood, and what characteristics to look for in a good BBQ joint.  Look for my posts each week on Friday.

Until then...

A Very Brief History of Texas BBQ

Line at Franklin BBQ in Austin

Well a little bit of history on Texas BBQ. Let's start with the meat source. Other parts of the country have "their" BBQ, and the meat of choice depends on what part of the country you live.  The Carolinas have the pig, Memphis has pig too, St.Louis is known for pig and some beef (it is on a rail-head where cattle  from Texas were on their way to the meat packing plants of Chicago so some of those cattle got dropped off). But we are in Texas where cattle is king so beef is where it's at as far as Texas BBQ goes. So in that respect I will now refer to Texas BBQ as just BBQ.
Now not to leave out the Vaqueros of South Texas with their barbacoa, or the BBQ of the old cotton plantations of East Texas, or even the cowboys of West Texas, I will be talking about Central Texas BBQ. Central Texas BBQ originated from German immigrants who brought their skills of butchering meat, making sausage, and most importantly...frugalness.  I'll talk about frugalness and its importance a bit later.

Aftermath of the line at Franklin BBQ

So Germans settled in Texas in the 1800s  in Central Texas. These towns can take you as far west as Llano,  Fredericksburg, and Kerrville and then to the east in towns like Taylor, Elgin, and Lexington and then to the south to towns like Lockhart, Luling, and Gonzales.  Of course you also have to consider towns around San Antonio like Seguin and New Braunfels and a little place called Leon Springs.
The German meat market, it's a special place because it's where Central Texas BBQ was conceived. Although just about any German meat market turns out good meat and sausage the ones west and southwest of Austin developed into good BBQ joints.  It's really about geography.  You see there are great BBQ places in the Texas hill country (Llano, Fredericksburg, Kerrville, etc) but the land is rugged and not great for ranching. Not a lot of room for open grazing, in fact you can drive through Llano and especially Fredericksburg and still see short stone walls that market lad and plots just like in the old country of Germany (barbed wire came a bit later).  The good ranch land for cattle is east of Austin so your towns like Lockhart, Elgin, Taylor, and Luling had a better beef source. The German meat market supplied different cuts of meat to the town folk similar to the meat counter at a modern day grocery store.  So in the meat market as the day progressed people bought the choice cuts of meat leaving the butcher at the end of the day with the lesser cuts of meat . These cuts being brisket, ribs, and "scraps" and that German butcher being the frugal or just smart businessman smoked the brisket, ribs, and made sausage from the "scraps".  Well word got around and your ranchers, farmers, and hard working men would come in for lunch the next day after the meats were smoked overnight. So they weren't BBQ joints just yet.  These men would come in and order some of the smoked meats and the proprietor would sell them a loaf of bread or crackers, and maybe some cheese.  Since these markets weren't set up as eating establishments they didn't offer plates or utensils.  But every man back in those days had a personal knife that worked just fine for cutting those smoked meats or cheese. They would just take a slice of bread and pinch a piece of meat with it and enjoyed some of the first Texas BBQ. This is why if you go to Smitty's or Kreuz Market in Lockhart you can't find a fork anywhere to be seen.  You gotta love Texans who keep with tradition! If you really want to experience the German meat market that evolved into a great BBQ place go to Smitty's in Lockhart. I'm sure I left a lot out of the history but if you want to do some further reading you can click on the Wiki link. Here's to you BBQ fans!           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Barbecue

Smitty's Market in Lockhart

Planning a Trip

Before we start talking BBQ, I'd like to give you a couple of pointers on planning a BBQ trip.  First, google the places you want to hit.  Ask yourself these questions: What's the address?, What are the hours of operation?, What days are they open?, and Do they sell out?.  Not all BBQ spots are open everyday and many only prepare so much meat and on many days if not everyday "sell out". Second, if you plan to visit more than one place in a day (my personal best is four) don't stuff yourself.  Don't eat sides, "It's about the meat stupid!" and just get a little.  Kind of hard to do but for example: 1/4 lb of sausage (usually one link or half "ring"), 1/4 lb of brisket, and one rib.  Of course if you can't control yourself eat till you're sick and plan 3-4 hours between "feedings".

Texas wildflowers outside of Goldthwaite

A Bit About Me

My aunt, cousin, and the kids outside of Cooper's in llano

So a little bit about me. Born and raised in Dallas, TX and still live there. I've worked in and managed restaurants for a little over 20 years so you could say food is an interest. I have an uncle who owned and operated BBQ joints for 25+ years and is now retired but still smokes meats in his pit at his lake house. To this day he still tries new things with his BBQ and in turn the food evolves. This could be where my passion for the stuff started but I'd have to say food shows on the Travel Channel made me think about hitting the road to try BBQ places outside of the Dallas area. So I started these trips about three years ago.

Off We Go!

The spread at Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas

This blog is about all things Texas BBQ.  I love the stuff and over the years have taken many BBQ trips throughout the state.  When friends plan road trips they occasionally ask me where to go for BBQ.  I've eaten my fair share of smoked meats so I'm always happy to oblige and give them suggestions. A friend of mine thought it might be a good idea to start a blog and share my passion for, and experience with, Texas BBQ. So...off we go!

I will tend to focus a lot of time talking about Central Texas BBQ.  This type comes from German immigrants who settled in Texas in the 1800s.  I have a lot of family down in Austin so I like to use Austin as my hub for BBQ trips radiating out to places like Lockhart, Llano, Taylor, Luling, etc.