What makes Texas BBQ so special???

Many years ago I used to go to a place outside of Commerce, TX on the route to Greenville. They had a fantastic brisket bbq, Pit smoked. The floor was saw dust and lots of western/cowboy decor. The beef brisket platter and salad bar trip was really great and very filling.

Back in 76 I went with my Dad to a BBQ place in Tyler, Texas. This was right before my enlist in the USAF. They had pretty good BBQ and the decor was great. It was understood that you wanted Iced Tea with your meal and the food really was pretty good. I really dont know if they are still around or if they are the quality is still there ?

It'all going to come down to your oppinion, but I'd have to say that Texas does have the best BBQ in the world period. I was born in Houston, but have lived most of my life in Louisiana, and I've been all over the world and anyone who I've fired up the pit for have came running back for more. There are people that come from abroad specifically for my BBQ, and since I live in Louisiana they do want some crawfish, red beans and rice, and gumbo too, but only after they've had some of my award winning BBQ. So anyone one out there looking for a great BBQ experience give Louisiana a try, and trust me New Orleans is not the place, for the best Louisiana have to offer in food it's going to be in southwest Louisiana from Lafayette, through Lake Charles to the Texas/Louisiana border.

What makes Texas BBQ so special???

Not.sure,.but.if.I.had.to.guess,.I'd.say.it's.because.it's.usually.tough,.chewy,.dry,.with.a.bland.sauce.
Don't.even.consider.ribs.in.Texas.

Texas is in tthe top five places for bbq but in fifth place. KC, Memphis and Ky are all ahead of Texas. NC is head and shoulders above all the rest.

quote:

Originally posted by Grillmeister

A few of you are getting warmer on the reasons for the superiority of Texas BBQ, but you're not quite there yet. First, everyone is concentrating on commercial establishments. OK, but the best is done by hand, slowly, and in the backyard of an experienced cook. Yes, the best pitmasters, never open restaurants....you just have to be lucky enough to know one (and be invited). They cook in competitions, for local charities, for...fun!
Second, it's more than technique or raw materials...it's enculturation. Only in Texas do high school metal shop students make smokers for their semester projects in such great numbers! In my hometown, there are as many great BEEF bbq stands on the landscape as there are taquilleras. And that's in NORTH Texas! I'm not against pork, it's just that beef has more character.

I agree with the best bbq is found at the competitions in south texas and if you have friends(and i do ) that are apart of that your a lucky person to be invited to eat.Most will give out samples for free. theres also great beans and chili made in Texas. Nuttin like bbq and beer in Texas.

V960, I'm sorry, but there is no possible way i could get behing your list. Perhaps you don't like beef. The best hands down is Texas. So many top places, so good that no sauce is needed. KC and Memphis are urban bbq based on the region around them. KC is just a modified Texas bbq. NC bbq is ok, but c'mon.

Hmmm. I always though it was the aroma of the beer being consumed that made TX BBQ brisket so tender!

I really get tired of the constant arguing about which BBQ is BEST.
I sincerely believe that there is good BBQ in every region of the country, with probably more 'good' or even excellent BBQ in some regions. What to use as the main 'meat' seems to be a personal preference of the person making the claim to 'Best' or sometimes a regional point of 'Honor' to lay claim the the 'Best'
I like Pork Que, Beef Que, Mutton Que, Seafood Que and to a lessor degree Poultry Que. I like a lot of the subsets of all of these groups like the California Tri-Tip and Baja Lobster and all the various Critters RIBS.
Some places do a wonderful job of fixing these great dishes. Others are only fair and some do indeed ruin the dish completely. There is NO consistent data that I know of to list all of the 'Good' places AND all of the Terrible Places in a region that would allow us to make a Universal Claim to "the Best" (Statisically) for any area.

My personal preference is to have chunks of BBQ, be it Beef or Pork (or Mutton) in pieces big enough to pick up with one's fingers and dip it in a sauce now and then for added flavor. I do not like to have the meat chopped up fine and immersed in sauce and dumped on bread or a bun to eat.(Ice Cream Scoops should NOT be used in serving BBQ). Slaw if available should be in a bowl or side dish..NOT mixed with the meat.
I have found wonderful Beef in Texas, AND very good Pork there too, And Hot Links of both meats also. Louis Muellers stands out to me as a place where I can enjoy the type of BBQ I like. However there are a number of places that offer BBQ of similiar variety and quality as does Louis's
I have enjoyed great Pork and Beef in Kansas City and the area around it. We really like the Two Brother's BBQ that we visited in May in Wichita, KS. I am sure there are a number of places that would keep everyone happy in that area also.
In the Tennessee 'region' Pork seems to be the more popular meat of choice and I would have to put Dennis Hay's place in Lexington, TN at the top of my list. I don't do that to put down the other places at all...I just like Mr Hays and I like his Whole-Hog BBQ that comes totally sauce-less until I put it on at my table. I like the idea that I can choose meat from the 'middle, or the outer edges of 'crisper' or the inner soft meat that is full of the smokie BBQ flavor rather than meat that is rubbed/soaked/baptized/spiced etc in sauce before it even sees the cooker, and usually again after cooking before it comes to me.
I will say that the Carolina and Georgia BBQ that I have tasted so far is as good as those already described....if they will serve it without mincing the meat and drowning it in sauce. Not all places will serve the meat bare, and in finger food sized pieces (pulled pork)

Add to all of these the Church Dinners of BBQ'd Chicken and the Shrimp and Salmon and other seafood that does well over an open fire and you have a great variety of SUPER food. Who needs the stupid debate over "My BBQ is better than Your BBQ". Find the good everywhere and enjoy!

Texas BBQ is just ok in my book. In the top five unless you include Korea and then they move to sixth. BBQ capital of the world is Lexington, NC. As to liking beef...love the stuff but not as Q. I'm Irish...brisket should be corned.

Alot of this depends on where you were raised. Never ate BBQ anything except pork, swan and duck until I was in my mid twenties. Here in NC we actually have two styles of Q. The meat is pork and cuts are shoulder (not that little picnic thing but a 25# bbq shoulder) or whole hog (tenderloin cut out as a cook's treat).

We southern boys are generally hunters and a huge Tundra Swan drapped in blanched bacon slow cooked is wonderful. Ninety five percent of Tundra Swans winter at Lake Mattamuskeet in eastern NC. Huge thing (the lake)but you can walk across it in most places. Swans have six to seven foot wingspans and look like a 747 coming in.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Texas BBQ is just ok in my book. In the top five unless you include Korea and then they move to sixth. BBQ capital of the world is Lexington, NC.

Are you going to keep reminding us of this every other day? [|)]

nebguy,
Your addition the the thread was? [|)]
NC bbq is wonderful at its best and horrible at its worst. Flip's in Wilmington, NC is just plain terrible. Allen and Sons outside of Raleigh reminds me of Ott's in Houston in that if you don't know how and what to order you walk out shaking your head wondering what all the hoop la is about. Goode and Sons in Houston has great duck but their pork is dry. Their slaw is probably 30% mayo by weight and needs a bottle of hot sauce to make it edible.

Corkey's in Memphis has iMHO some of the best dry rub ribs around. Interstate in Memphios has a bbq balonga sandwich which is great.

You've gotta try Baker's Ribs while you're there... best brisket and pork ribs... great sides and COLD and CHEAP longnecks... SAUCE ON THE SIDE!!!...

The East Texas Hot Links' home is Pittsburg, TX... don't order a sandwich... the locals eat them with mustard and saltine crackers and they are very, very good this way even cold the next day...

If you make it to Pittsburg make sure you check out the motorized flying machine in one of the restaurants there (can't remember the name)... supposedly it flew before the Wright Brothers' plane did... it kind of looks like a hang glider with two hay mowers in the front... It's called the "Ezekiel" I think... worth checking out...

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

I really get tired of the constant arguing about which BBQ is BEST.
I sincerely believe that there is good BBQ in every region of the country, with probably more 'good' or even excellent BBQ in some regions. What to use as the main 'meat' seems to be a personal preference of the person making the claim to 'Best' or sometimes a regional point of 'Honor' to lay claim the the 'Best'
I like Pork Que, Beef Que, Mutton Que, Seafood Que and to a lessor degree Poultry Que. I like a lot of the subsets of all of these groups like the California Tri-Tip and Baja Lobster and all the various Critters RIBS.
Some places do a wonderful job of fixing these great dishes. Others are only fair and some do indeed ruin the dish completely. There is NO consistent data that I know of to list all of the 'Good' places AND all of the Terrible Places in a region that would allow us to make a Universal Claim to "the Best" (Statisically) for any area.

My personal preference is to have chunks of BBQ, be it Beef or Pork (or Mutton) in pieces big enough to pick up with one's fingers and dip it in a sauce now and then for added flavor. I do not like to have the meat chopped up fine and immersed in sauce and dumped on bread or a bun to eat.(Ice Cream Scoops should NOT be used in serving BBQ). Slaw if available should be in a bowl or side dish..NOT mixed with the meat.
I have found wonderful Beef in Texas, AND very good Pork there too, And Hot Links of both meats also. Louis Muellers stands out to me as a place where I can enjoy the type of BBQ I like. However there are a number of places that offer BBQ of similiar variety and quality as does Louis's
I have enjoyed great Pork and Beef in Kansas City and the area around it. We really like the Two Brother's BBQ that we visited in May in Wichita, KS. I am sure there are a number of places that would keep everyone happy in that area also.
In the Tennessee 'region' Pork seems to be the more popular meat of choice and I would have to put Dennis Hay's place in Lexington, TN at the top of my list. I don't do that to put down the other places at all...I just like Mr Hays and I like his Whole-Hog BBQ that comes totally sauce-less until I put it on at my table. I like the idea that I can choose meat from the 'middle, or the outer edges of 'crisper' or the inner soft meat that is full of the smokie BBQ flavor rather than meat that is rubbed/soaked/baptized/spiced etc in sauce before it even sees the cooker, and usually again after cooking before it comes to me.
I will say that the Carolina and Georgia BBQ that I have tasted so far is as good as those already described....if they will serve it without mincing the meat and drowning it in sauce. Not all places will serve the meat bare, and in finger food sized pieces (pulled pork)

Add to all of these the Church Dinners of BBQ'd Chicken and the Shrimp and Salmon and other seafood that does well over an open fire and you have a great variety of SUPER food. Who needs the stupid debate over "My BBQ is better than Your BBQ". Find the good everywhere and enjoy!

I really enjoyed your rant Al. It does seem some folks' only reason for getting out of bed in the morning is to prove to themselves again how good they are at provoking people and starting arguments. I will have to say I enjoy a Memphis style pulled pork sandwich with slaw on it, but otherwise I like your style.

I love your line about the ice cream scoop . I'll have to use it on a friend of mine who insists on rating bbq joints by the chopped beef sandwich they serve. Now with some styles of bbq that's the best you're going to get and it can be very good, but I try to tell him going into a great Texas bbq joint like Kreutz or Louis Mueller's and ordering a chopped beef sandwich is like going to Morton's or Ruth's Chris and ordering a sloppy joe to see how well they do steak or going to K-Paul's and ordering fish sticks with a couple of packets of tartar sauce to see how well they do seafood.

To each his own, though.

so i heard the same thing about the texan bbq, never tasted it yet, but my friends make me drool over it