Hey, I got your barbecue right here
By Mike Leggett
Tell I’m me old-fashioned. Tell me I’m stupid and hard-headed and a chauvinistic Texan BUT don’t tell me there’s a list of the 10 best barbecue joints in the country that doesn’t include at least one Texas spot.
No Cooper’s or Kreuz’s, not even a Daddy Sam’s.
And don’t tell me the Austin American-Statesman ran such a list in Sunday’s paper and didn’t qualify it in some way. Just a random filler on the Travel page.
No Louie Mueller, no Hard Eight, not even a Salt Lick.
Say it ain’t so, guys.
But it is so, at least according to Bon Appetit magazine.
Often it’s best not to dignify stupidity by pointing out the stupidity but a list of the best barbecue joints in the country that has no Texas spot on it is just blasphemous. And four of the five places are Yankee hellholes; two of those from Michigan alone.
One of the places on the list, Rolling Bone BBQ in Atlanta I’ve actually visited and it was pretty good. But it was that southern stuff, slathered in sauce. Those guys think they know pork but I would venture to say that I could lay out a smoked pork butt for pulled pork sandwiches or tacos that would be just as good as theirs, even better because it would have a hint of mesquite smoke layered under the hickory.
I know I haven’t eaten at every barbecue place in Texas but I’ve been to a bunch of them. Some weren’t so great some were really special.
I tend to stop at places that are on my way to other places or that are convenient to where we live. And if I like one, I go back there as often as I can. I’ll alter my trip slightly to get to them, even if it’s just a couple of slices of pork loin or a sausage wrap I can eat in the truck.
So, here’s my list of the best places the get barbecue around Texas. It’s by no means definitive. It’s by no means inclusive because there are so many places I haven’t visited because they just aren’t on my way.
This is the Leggett Barbecue list based on the roads I travel. If I haven’t been there more than once, it won’t be on the list. They are mentioned in the order in which they jumped in to my head. Hey, it works for Bon Appetit.
1) Cooper’s in Llano: First because it’s closest to my house. Yes, it’s expensive and yes the lines can be long in a hot summer sun but the cabrito and the ribs - pork and beef are great. I like the beef ribs because they’re meaty and tender. The pork ribs haven’t been cooked off the bone. They still have some bite to them. And the cabrito is melt-in-your-mouth perfect.
2) Daddy Sam’s in Carthage: Second because it’s closest to the house I grew up in. Dennis LaGrone grew up down the road from us and he does hickory-smoked barbecue that brings back special memories of East Texas. Try to chopped beef sandwich: sweet sauce, chunks of smoked brisket, fresh bun. Throw in a glass of sweet tea and you’re in heaven.
3) Kreuz Market in Lockhart: Third because Rick Schmidt is a friend of mine. Classic Central Texas barbecue that’s best because it’s dressed down to its simplest form: meat and bread, or crackers. Try a link of sausage with your ribs. Or better yet, buy a 10-pound box to take home.
4) Hard Eight in Stephenville: This place is modeled after Cooper’s. Mesquite smoke, buy off the grill, pay by the pound. But at Hard Eight, they have a bacon-wrapped chicken chunk that’s pretty darn good and a sirloin kabob that’s wonderful. They dip it in a butter sauce before they throw it on the plate. Really good.
5) Salt Lick in Dripping Springs: I wasn’t a fan after my first visit. Don’t know why. Every time I’ve been back since, the food was great. Love the big pit. Love the sausage. Like the pork ribs, again because they don’t get cooked off the bone.
6) Louie Mueller in Taylor: This is an institution and not without reason. Big old, smoke-stained building, no air conditioning, order at the counter, pay by the weight. And they always give you a pepper-loaded chunk of brisket to gnaw on while you’re waiting for your order. Try the beef ribs. Huge and smoked in a different way than Cooper’s. Pork loin is good, too. Don’t go here if you don’t like black pepper.
7) The Little Place on the Highway in South Texas: I swear I can’t remember the name of this place but I think it’s on Highway 281 down close to the Valley south of Falfurrias. They did a beef rib plate that was amazing. Huge, fatty but still with plenty of meat on them. I ate there once and couldn’t for the life of me tell you the name. Stop if you go by, though.
8) Luling City Market in Luling: Best place in the world after a long float down the San Marcos River. I’d just go finger foods - ribs and sliced brisket — and lots of sweet tea. 9) Cattle Call in Amarillo: I looked this up on the Internet because it used to be called Sutphen’s and I heard Sutphen’s went out of business. There’s still a Sutphen’s in Borger. If it’s the same guys operating the Cattle Call, the family style, all you can eat barbecue would be a wise choice. Get the onion rings.
10) County Line in Austin: I like beef ribs so this works for me. Other things tend to get a little commercial. They had one in Colorado Springs for a while that was a welcome stop on a long trip to the mountains to hunt but it’s closed now. Texas ‘cue doesn’t play in the Rockies, I guess.
And finally, I’ve been blessed to eat from the pits of some of the best smokers and grillers in Texas, whether it’s a cowhand on the King Ranch or a guy on a deer lease in Shackelford County. I’m willing to bet Bon Appetit never tasted those or they’d have to revise their list.
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