denverbri69
Newbie
I have enjoyed reading this topic/thread. My wife is a UT Austin alum and she took me to Austin to see a part of her history. We did a BBQ tour of the great epitomes in and around the area. We hit Kreuz's, Smitty's, The Salt Lick, Black's and some other small places in Lueling and Lockhart areas. My first impression was that a Yankee such as myself (I live in Denver now) should have familiarized myself with the local BBQ lexicon. These are high volume places and the people taking your order are none to please to slow down and answer questions about the difference between moist and super moist, candy or burnt ends. It was very muck like the SNL skirt: Cheesebooger, cheesebooger, coke no pepsi, NEXT. By the second place on our BBQ tour I was able to place an order without cowering. LOL!
As we would sit with our butcher papers (we ordered enough food for 8+ people and it was just the two of us) in front of us, I couldn't help but to think that something in the taste profile was 'strange'. It wasn't until we got to the our 3rd place that I asked if I could take some pictures of their pits. Since lunchtime was winding down they let me into the back. While taking pics and striking up a chat with the pit master I learned that all of the joints in this part of Texas used post oak. I am not an export on woods and I don't know the difference between post oak from red oak, but it dawned on me the 'strange' flavor must have been the post oak. I mean everything about each place was perfect except for the 'strange' flavor. As a CBJ I have never tasted that flavor since that tour. I assume if you grew up with smoking over post oak you appreciate the flavor, but as for me, I would have to say it's not my preference in flavors. Now this is not to say, you should not go to Austin and replicate my tour. Contrarily, I would highly recommend it. It was a blast, the food was perfectly rubbed and prepared and the folks in the dining room were a great selection of local color. An unforgettable experience.
As we would sit with our butcher papers (we ordered enough food for 8+ people and it was just the two of us) in front of us, I couldn't help but to think that something in the taste profile was 'strange'. It wasn't until we got to the our 3rd place that I asked if I could take some pictures of their pits. Since lunchtime was winding down they let me into the back. While taking pics and striking up a chat with the pit master I learned that all of the joints in this part of Texas used post oak. I am not an export on woods and I don't know the difference between post oak from red oak, but it dawned on me the 'strange' flavor must have been the post oak. I mean everything about each place was perfect except for the 'strange' flavor. As a CBJ I have never tasted that flavor since that tour. I assume if you grew up with smoking over post oak you appreciate the flavor, but as for me, I would have to say it's not my preference in flavors. Now this is not to say, you should not go to Austin and replicate my tour. Contrarily, I would highly recommend it. It was a blast, the food was perfectly rubbed and prepared and the folks in the dining room were a great selection of local color. An unforgettable experience.