Schmidt Family Barbecue Austin,TX

Located at the corner of Bee Cave Rd. and HWY 71

Schmidt Family Barbecue opened in October of this year and has brought Lockhart, TX barbecue to Austin.  The Schmidts of Lockhart own both Kreuz Market and Smitty's Market and although the one side of the family who owns Smitty's and the other owning Kreuz have had a rivalry going on for years seem to finally agreed on something, bring Lockhart barbecue to Austin.  This truly is a family affair because even the family (Jill Bergus) who owns Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas is also involved in the operation or at least represented on the walls.  Pictures of Smitty's, Kreuz, and Lockhart Smokehouse adorn the walls of Schmidt Family Barbecue.  The existence of this place is kind of a big deal in the Central Texas barbecue world because it represents a "burying of the hatchet" so to speak.  (BTW, I've heard rumors that Black's Barbecue in Lockhart is also opening a satellite store in Austin).  Well, on to my visit to Schmidt Family Barbecue.

Cold and rain didn't keep people away the day we went

 So I go down to Austin the weekend before Thanksgiving to visit family and hit Stiles Switch BBQ on Lamar and the newly opened Schmidt Family Barbecue.  So my aunt and my cousin's six month old baby girl head out to Schmidt Family Barbecue on a very cold and rainy Monday.  The weather didn't keep many people away because the parking lot was almost full when we got there. We got a bit of everything and of course ribs, sausage, and brisket.  Burnt ends were on special so I had to get some of them

Holy Trinity and Burnt Ends

In addition to the meat we got beans, coleslaw, mac-n-cheese w/ ham, and some banana pudding to "balance" out the meal but enough of all of that...let's talk about the meat.
The ribs were a bit over-done and dry but still tasty.  I'll give them another chance on those on a future trip back.  The brisket was dead-on good.  Salt and pepper rub, great bark and fat rendering, and it had a well pronounced smoke ring, it was a perfect representation of what Central Texas brisket should be, moist and delicious.  The sausage I ordered was the jalapeno cheese variety and they serve Kreuz sausage as does Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas.  I've always liked Kreuz sausage but this stuff was far above the average Kreuz sausage.  Not sure what they did but they did it right.  It comes to them from Lockhart so of course it's consistent with the same grind, meat mixture, and snappy casing but maybe it was how they smoked it there that took it up a notch.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Burnt Ends (dry) the only way you should order them

The burnt ends - meat candy!  They were crazy awesome, sweet and salty, tender, smoky, and they'll make your eyes roll back into your head. I caught a candid shot of my aunt eating one and got the facial expression below:










The only "beef" I have with how the burnt ends are served is you get a choice of "dry" (no sauce) or "wet" (dipped in sauce).  Order them "dry" the way they should be, don't ruin them with the sauce.  This goes against what the Schmidt family preaches in Lockhart which is no sauce.  In fact they don't even offer sauce at Kreuz and you have to ask for it (hidden behind the counter) at Smitty's.  Barbecue should stand on it's own with no sauce . Sauce just masks sub-par meat like when you refrigerate a poor quality red wine to mask the flavor. Why mask a perfectly good piece of meat with sauce you ask? Because "city-folk" don't get it, they have to have sauce.  Case in point Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas opened with no sauce and after numerous complaints from Dallasites the culinary guys there whipped up some sauce and it's now a staple there.  In fact I think it's the same sauce now found at Schmidt Family Barbecue.

Too young for BBQ

Kreuz Sausage

So folks if you live in or are visiting Austin hit up Schmidt Family Barbecue.  It can save you a trip to Lockhart,TX but I still recommend you plan a trip down there as well.

Smitty's Market

Lockhart Smokehouse

Kreuz Market

Schmidt Family Barbecue

Phone 512-263-4060

12532 FM 2244

Bee Cave, TX 78738

Mon-Sat 11 AM - 9 PM

Sun 11 AM - 8 PM

http://schmidtfamilybarbecue.com/

Below are links to the other Schmidt Family joints I've already posted about:

Lockhart Smokehouse - Dallas, TX

http://www.lockhartsmokehouse.com/

Smitty's Market - Lockhart, TX

http://www.smittysmarket.com/

Kreuz Market - Lockhart, TX

https://kreuzmarket.com/

Taking some time off the blog for the holidays, see y'all next year! 

Mike Anderson's BBQ Dallas, TX

Mike Anderson's is located in Dallas, TX right across the street from Parkland Hospital, first opened its doors in 1981. They have an extensive selection of meats, stuffed baked potatoes, sides, and desserts.  They also will ship their barbecue anywhere in the country. I have driven right by it many times over the years not giving it much thought. However, I came across an article in the local Observer, a dining and entertainment publication, about the best barbecue joint "sides" in Dallas.  Kind of an oxymoron when it comes to barbecue when it's really about the meat and not the sides. (Lockhart Smokehouse was also included in the article.  So the famous sides are fried okra and the Cheezy Corn Bake with Poblano and Onion and I thought I'd go try them and maybe get myself some barbecue as well.

I arrived around 11:30 AM and a line had already begun to form. I ordered ribs, sausage, and brisket along with my fried okra and the cheezy corn bake with poblano and onion. The brisket was actually a bit dry and fairly lean with very little fat content.  It was really no better than what one would find at any of the Metroplex barbecue chains (Sonny's, Dickey's, Spring Creek).  The sausage had a good smokey flavor and had a coarser grind than I usually prefer but over all it was above average.  The ribs were the highlight of the barbecue, tender, smoked well, and very moist. They were dead-on good. On to the sides, can't believe I just wrote that!

Cheezy Corn Bake with Poblano

Well, the sides were pretty good.  The fried okra was actually pretty average.  In the Observer article the author describes the fried okra as being "light", "airy", and the best they ever had.  Honestly, it has the consistence and quality of the okra in any public school cafeteria in Texas. That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad but it's very average.  On to the cheezy corn bake with poblano which was actually really good.  Think of taking spicy cornbread dressing and adding corn and cheese.  It was sweet, a bit spicy, and gooey from the cheese.  Other than the ribs it was the other highlight of the trip to Mike Anderson's.  If you happen to be visiting someone in one of the area hospitals near Mike Anderson's then it's not a bad place to try but if you have a hunger for good barbecue then hit the original Sonny Bryan's on Inwood.

Mike Anderson's BBQ House

5410 Harry Hines Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75235

Phone:214-630-0735

Open Mon-Sat 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Closed Sundays

http://www.mikeandersonsbbq.com/