Texas Monthly Crowns a New BBQ King!

And it's an "upset"!

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-06-01/feature5.php

Has anyone here ever visited this place? I searched "Snow's Lexington" on Roadfood and came up empty.

According to the article Snow's is open only on Saturdays from 8 AM until the meat runs out (noonish). I have a feeling that this will change!

The best part about Snow's is their unique pit boss; I want her autograph!

Whoa! I gotta go there and see for myself! Bushie, your closer. How about giving it a try and writing a short report?

Someone I know from Austin told me about this place a couple weeks ago and said it was outstanding.

My goodness, a video too!

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-06-01/multimedia3.php

What a hoot! Not only does it visit Snow's it captures perfectly the place brisket holds in Texans' lives.

quote:

Originally posted by MetroplexJim

My goodness, a video too!

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-06-01/multimedia3.php

What a hoot! Not only does it visit Snow's it captures perfectly the place brisket holds in Texans' lives.

Very cute video. I suppose now, none of us will ever get in because they are, "on the map" now.

Thank you, Jim for bringing to our attention, not only the report on, "Snow's Lexington" BBQ, but what I believe after watching the video in your first post above, the definitive essence of Texas BBQ. In particular, the essence of "Central Texas" BBQ. Arguably, the very best in the world!
I hope ya'll are reading this from Kansas,Tennessee and the Carolina's.

quote:

Very cute video. I suppose now, none of us will ever get in because they are, "on the map" now.

From an interview with their pit boss:

"So who was the genius behind this fantastic meat? The answer added yet another layer of improbability. It turns out that the pitmaster is a petite, energetic 73-year-old woman named Tootsie Tomanetz [/red]who works during the week as a custodian in the Giddings school district. I visited with her while she tended her fires and meats, and it quickly became obvious that Snow’s was no mistake. Tootsie knows meat. She’s been smoking since 1967, when she ran the pits at City Meat Market, in Giddings. She and her husband, White, owned a combination meat market, butcher shop, and barbecue joint in Lexington for twenty years. When Snow’s opened five years ago, she helped owner Kerry Bexley design the pits. Every Saturday she arrives at three a.m. and builds the fires. She starts the meat smoking at four and wraps the brisket in butcher paper around six or seven. When I asked her why Snow’s wasn’t open more than one day a week, she said matter-of-factly: "There’s no market for it.”

I think they are planning to expand their hours; they started a website promising "Complete Website Coming Soon"! http://www.snowsbbq.com/

quote:

Originally posted by twinwillow

Thank you, Jim for bringing to our attention, not only the report on, "Snow's Lexington" BBQ, but what I believe after watching the video in your first post above, the definitive essence of Texas BBQ. In particular, the essence of "Central Texas" BBQ. Arguably, the very best in the world!
I hope ya'll are reading this from Kansas,Tennessee and the Carolina's.

In your justifiable enthusiasm I know you meant no disrespect to the wonderous Wilber Shirley of Goldsboro, NC. In fact, for our first two years "down here" I'd take a bottle of Scott's Sauce (Eastern Carolina vinegar & red pepper) to Spring Creek, Dickies, etc. to put on their pulled pork while Mrs. Metro (a Saudi) enjoyed the brisket.

I never had had "the real deal" brisket until we visited Tom & Bingos Hickory Pit while on a business trip to Lubbock a year ago. WOW! We'll be "doing Austin" soon and my "business" will be brisket!

BTW: when I teach the demand function in economics my example for "tastes & preferences" is: "Thank God for differences in tastes - otherwise there would only be two happy individuals on earth: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.!".

Right. I meant no disrespect to those other "hallowed halls" of great American BBQ. Be they in, Kansas, Tennessee, or the Carolina's. They are all, in their own way, a patch in our great, American BBQ quilt.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you going to make the trip be warned. I went Saturday, got there about 9:45 and they were already sold out except for about 5 links. They said since the article came out only those that called in orders ahead of time got anything. I'll have to try again later.

joe

I think this means a Texas road trip stop!!! Looks AWESOME!!

In the article Tootsie said she wrapped the brisket in butcher paper after 2-3 hours. I've heard of this method mentioned ONCE back in the 90's never to hear it discussed again. Does anyone have any knowledge of wrapping a brisket in butcher paper after a couple hours?

quote:

Originally posted by BR

In the article Tootsie said she wrapped the brisket in butcher paper after 2-3 hours. I've heard of this method mentioned ONCE back in the 90's never to hear it discussed again. Does anyone have any knowledge of wrapping a brisket in butcher paper after a couple hours?

It's equivalent to saying, "She cooked the meat, put it on plates, and served it to her customers," butcher paper being the standard "plate" in the Texas bbq house, not some mysterious hick papillote.

The real food question (also missed by the geniuses at the Texas Monthly): How does this pitmistress produce such superior brisket with only a couple hours work, short of running down to the City Market in Luling? It hardly seems possible to complete the cooking process in 2-3 hours, when the average brisket at a top place needs half-a-day or more in the pit to reach the proper smoky, tender, crusty, and juicy state required by the Texas Constitution. Perplexing, unless them Truthers has lied to us all these years.

Moving from food to sociology, last month Austin American-Statesman columnist John Kelso reported the incredible impact of the Texas Monthly article on Snow's and noted that "if business gets to be too much, [the] owner says he'll shut it down." Let's hope -- and here I'm thinking of general principles, not just this problem -- that the Great Undeserving (i.e., everyone but us) jump in their Beamers and Priuses and dirty old Datsuns and rush to the Next New Thing. I hear that someone in New York City is serving hot dogs with mustard, also on a paper plate!

sbritchky.... I could be wrong but I don't think that's the case. I understand about the serving on butcher paper... Texas isn't the only place that does that. Maybe she is intentionally misleading with that statement,(ie. leaving out the Texas crutch part) but she ain't cookin brisket to mouth watering goodness in 2-3 hours. I have heard of cooking brisket wrapped in butcher paper back in the early 90's. Maybe that was before they discovered aluminum foil. A pre-foil crutch if you will.

There is no way a full cut briskit will be tender in 2-3 hours, what am I missing here?

quote:

Originally posted by chewingthefat

There is no way a full cut briskit will be tender in 2-3 hours, what am I missing here?

You are missing nothing as it is impossible to make a brisket that large tender at any temp in just a few hours. It only works low and slow.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

Maybe there're using a giant pressure cooker

I don't do fast but I've seen Myron Mixon do a brisket in about that time and I certainly wouldn't question his credentials. Maybe some of the comp cooks can chime in on this. I think Tom-FL has discussed this on another forum.

I'm betting, like many great BBQ cooks, she's keeping a few hidden cards. The cooking grate-to-plate timeline seems pretty abbreviated. I call shenanigans!

My favorite BBQ brisket is made by Sadler's Smokehouse in Henderson Texas. It's their whole unsliced brisket that I am talking about. It is now only sold to the food service industry, but can also be found at some of the wholesale clubs. Just slow heat till some juice runs out. Now slice as you serve it. I am lucky to have a Brookshires grocery near me here in N. Texas that cooks it up. On sale it's $6.99 a lb.

They also make something called Tender Sliced. Some groceries sell this. Hey, it's better that many BBQ places serve, but not as good as the whole briskets. I like to fry those slices, in no oil, till they get kinda crispy. Now offer some sauce for dipping. It makes a great snack.

Anyone else here know about this stuff?

And NO, I don't work for Sadler's! Hmmm.... maybe I should? :~)

Edit; I post this mostly for folks who live in areas where it's real hard to find good smoked brisket.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by Larry - RibRater - Jay

I don't do fast but I've seen Myron Mixon do a brisket in about that time and I certainly wouldn't question his credentials. Maybe some of the comp cooks can chime in on this. I think Tom-FL has discussed this on another forum.

You're right Larry and he's not the only one.

Smoke penetration only happens up to a certain temperature, I believe about 140 degrees. After this, you could finish in your home oven (at a low temperature like 325 but not as low as 225) and it wouldn't matter. The Myron Mixon method mentioned above is something like smoking it at 325 degrees until meat is 160 internal then wrap and heat until 190 or so internal. You're actually better off poking it with a fork to test the texture to judge doneness.

OMG! What a great story! Brought tears to my eyes.

Birding and BBQ - the two reasons I want to visit Texas.

Cathy

quote:

Originally posted by amini1

Smoke penetration only happens up to a certain temperature, I believe about 140 degrees. After this, you could finish in your home oven (at a low temperature like 325 but not as low as 225) and it wouldn't matter. The Myron Mixon method mentioned above is something like smoking it at 325 degrees until meat is 160 internal then wrap and heat until 190 or so internal. You're actually better off poking it with a fork to test the texture to judge doneness.

That's a piece of truth more people need to know - the chemical reaction that binds an iron molecule from myoglobin to a carbon monoxide molecule. Once you pass that temp (give or take) this binding stops. I'd differ with you on checking it with a fork - works great on pork, though. In all my cooks I am a temperature man, and employ a number of remote thermometers to make sure each brisket is pulled at the right temp.

"Keep on smokin'!"

Mark

Snow's has updated their web-site. http://www.snowsbbq.com/index.html

Mrs. Metro and I are going to drive down from Dallas sometime in the spring.

I just saw this thread.

I tried this place about a month after the article came out. Had never heard of it, and I don't know anyone who had ever heard of it.

They open at 8:00, and when I parked, I glanced at the clock in my truck; 8:11. As I approached the building, I realized there was a long line already. I counted 33 people in front of me, and that was just to the door. Luckily, once you get to the door, the counter is right there, so there were about 6 people ahead of me at that point.

I got the brisket and sausage plate. Their homemade sausage is really good (but still doesn't approach Smitty's), and the brisket really was tender and tasty. The only disappointment in the brisket was that they were only serving the lean portion. (I guess they save the "moist" part for regulars ???)

Most people were getting pounds of meat to go. I ate my plate at one of the inside tables, so I would be close to the ice tea for refills.

This will sound strange, but my favorite part of the meal was the potato salad. Possibly the best I've ever had in my life. It's made using the recipe of a local woman, and it's fantastic.

Definitely worth the trip, but not something I would do on a regular basis unless I lived near there.

Now to clear up a couple of things:

1) She wraps the brisket in butcher paper and puts in back in the pit to keep it moist. I've seen other pitmasters do that (in fact, Bobby Mueller did that, too). The guy who said it means "to serve it on butcher paper" is wrong.

2) I didn't think it was physically possible to make a brisket tender in 2-3 hours, but she does it. I have no idea how. The original article I read said she was a butcher by trade, and that she KNOWS meat. She only picks the best meat to start with, so that probably counts for part of it.