Noboundaries, that's a great observation. You just made me miss living in south-central Texas. Being an old Texas boy who spent 20 years in the military all over the world, my story is just about the opposite. It took me quite a while before I could eat BBQ anywhere else, after growing up in Texas. And, I never could duplicate what the BBQ joints put out back in those days. I think I can now, but definitely not back then. For one thing, when I was younger, I didn't want to take the time to do it.
I learned to appreciate a lot of different BBQ styles from different places all over the world though. One thing I found that I do not like at all though is the mutton that they do in Kentucky, and a few other places. And, I'm not a big fan of some of the vinegar-based BBQ sauces on the east coast. But, for the most part, I just like BBQ.
I think somebody does pulled pork just about everywhere. Actually, I'm not a big fan, as most of the meat taste is lost in the sauce. And, a lot of places even do a pulled beef, using brisket...which to me is a total waste of brisket. Chicken, to me, is about the same anywhere...and something I can tolerate. And, I love a lot of sausages in different areas. A different story, but I like brisket, I believe the best sausage is also in all the little towns in south-central Texas.
I grew up eating beef ribs in Texas...as in Texas, beef is king. But, I do like spare and baby back pork ribs. And, I learned to like the dry-rubbed spare ribs like they do in Memphis...and even did mine that way for a while. But, when I moved back to Texas, and started smoking mine the sweet Johnny Trigg-style, I just don't care for the dry-rubbed much anymore, even when visiting Memphis. I do like to go to Corky's or Rendezvous for their ribs...but I think the event is more what it's about than the ribs. So, I decided it's more what you're used to eating than anything else. And, I'm used to eating the tender, juicy, sweet, lightly sauced, smoked ribs done low and slow...so, naturally I like them a lot better than the dry-rubbed hot and fast ribs, like they do in Memphis.
But, one thing I learned is nobody can do brisket like it's done in Texas. It is my favorite thing to BBQ, and my favorite meat to eat when I go to a BBQ joint. And, most joints in Texas do a great brisket. If they don't, they don't stay in business long. I even tried the brisket at Tops BBQ in Memphis on my last visit...as Tops is consistently rated at the top of Memphis BBQ. I have to say it was awful...I couldn't even finish my plate. It was dry and tasteless, as it seems to me to be in most parts of the country. I guess brisket is the Holy Grail of Texas, and you just have to eat it in Texas to appreciate it. And, a lot of the old places, Kreuz Market in
Lockhart for one, still serve it on butcher paper with no utensils, and no sauce...and rightfully so. Good brisket doesn't need sauce to hide the taste, or make it moist. It's like putting steak sauce on a steak to me, if that steak is good I sure don't want to ruin with steak sauce.
I was stationed at Bergstrom AFB in Austin back in the late 80's-early 90's. And, me and several friends used to jump in my Jeep, with no top and an ice chest, on a lot of weekends, and drive to the small towns around that part of the country in search of good meat markets, looking for the best sausages. Every small town in that part of Texas has their own sausage recipe...and it was a lot of fun searching for the best. I actually found Kreuz Market on one of these sausage-hunting trips. And, that first day we ate at another famous Texas BBQ joint in
Lockhart, named Black's...and I loved Black's. So, we saw Kreuz’s while we were there, and went back a couple weeks later and tried Kreuz's...and loved it. I always ate the brisket and sausage Kreuz's. Don't think they even had pork ribs...seems like just beef ribs. But, back then, living in Austin, I loved to venture out to all the area BBQ joints and meat markets. Simple, cheap, and fun! Hard to beat great BBQ, and a couple of Shiners. There was Southside Market in Elgin…it was always great. And, it's where I ended up getting most of my sausages. And, I lived in Del Valle, so I'd cut through to Elgin on the way to Taylor and Louie Mueller's. Now, I will say theirs were about the best beef ribs I ever tasted. They were so good, that I'd usually get brisket, sausage, and a beef rib there.
And, you're right...I wouldn't stand in line for hours for anybody's brisket either. Especially when you can just go to another joint in the area. I'd just head on over to see John Lewis a La Barbeque, who used to be Aaron Franklin's pit master anyway...and probably nobody could tell the difference in the briskets with a blind taste test.
In two weeks, in Tyler, we're having the Red Dirt BBQ and Music Fest. 15 of the best BBQ joints in Texas will be there, and we get to sample each of their BBQ for the price of admission. I'm really looking forward to that. The joints that will be there are: Black’s Barbecue –
Lockhart, Buzzie’s BBQ – Kerrville, Country Tavern –Kilgore, Cousin’s BBQ – Ft Worth, Hutchins BBQ – McKinney, La Barbecue – Austin,
Lockhart Smokehouse – Dallas, Louie Mueller Barbecue – Taylor, Micklethwait Craft Meats – Austin, Opie’s BBQ – Spicewood, Riverport Bar-B-Que – Jefferson, Schmidt Family Barbecue – Bee Cave, The Slow Bone – Dallas, Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q – Tyler, and Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew – Austin. WoooHooo!!
I'm glad to see folks such as yourself that takes that Texas-style brisket to other parts of the country. Keep up the good work, my friend.