Barbecue Travelogue Austin Day 3

Im definitely feeling like I have over indulged in this whole bbq trip.  I dont have the stomach of a 20 year old who can absorb all the food that Ive been eating.  This was no more apparent than after the next spot that I went to today.  Austin has a bustling food truck scene.  Aaron Franklin started qith a food truck in the early going.  Micklethwait is a food truck thats a few blocks down from Franklin.  Along the way there was a spot where a number of trucks uad gathered.  I didnt stop in.  Im brisketed out and couldnt order round.  There are other options and landed on the beef short rib.  The problem is they sell these behemoths by the bone.  Each bone can be easily 1 pound or more.  This one is 1.33 pounds.  For some variety I had a side of grits with jalapeno and cheese.  The grits were outstanding.  The creamyiness of the grits were cmbined with a mix of blue cheddar and cream cheese.  The first couple hits of the rib were tender and smokey.  You could haved gummed this.  The bark gets over powring with the salt and pepper after a while so I had to scrape it off.  I plowed through the rest of it but I compounded the problem a bit later.

I drive over to downtown and past the capital building as I turn on Congress Ave.  I head south to SoCo(South Congress Ave).   A collection of boutiques shops and restaruants line either side.  I read about Big Top Candy.  Its one of those candy shops that have old time or hard to find candies that appeals to kids and adults.  Its been 90plus degrees the past few days.  The have a ice cream/soda fountain featuring Blue Bell ice cream.  I couldnt help but getting an ice cream soda.  It was nice and cold but added to the feeling of being bloated.  I pucked up a few things before leaving.

I bailed on bbq tpnight.  Thought about hitting Black's in Austin for another massive beef rib.  Some people cam handle this much meat but it does not look like I can be counted as one of them.  Sadly I went and got a little something at a fast food place. 

Barbecue Travelogue Austin Day 1

(Pictures to follow at a later time)

I had kicked around the idea of heading out to Texas to have some barbecue.  They are known privarily for using beef since the state is cattle rich.  Some may say this is a pilgramige.  This is nothing of a holy experience.  Its just me gettin some cue.  Of that cue, Austin and parts nearby are known for beef brisket as well as beef ribs and sausage.  The joint with probably the longest line is the one with the most accolades.  Franklin Barbecue has been lauded with acclaim in regard to their smoked brisket.  Like many other places, it has a simple rub of sald and pepper.  The slab is smoked for at least 10+ hours before its served.  Some places us butcher paper while others use aluminum foil during the cooking process. I figure this would be the best place to start.

Franklin has a show on PBS called BBQ with Franklin.  He covers many topics on his  11(?) episode show that premiered in 2015 and can be found in reruns.  What impressed me most was that this guy welds his own smokers.  In one of the episodes, he hauls out a 250 gallon propane tank and cuts it up then welds things on to create a smoker.  The man has skills!  Skills outside of what you would normally expect.

Its already 80 degreesby the time I reach the restaurant.  About 9 parties are ahead of me.  Might be worse on the weekend.  A small coffee stand prvoides morning beverages if you didnt have time to get some earlier.  An employee will come by selling water and beers.  The hour draws ckose when they start going dowb the line to gauge how much peole are going to order to warn the late commers if there will be anything left for them.

Once the doors open, patient queuers are warmly invited.  I order a half pound of brisket.  I oredered spme lean and some fatty but I think I got all lean slices with lean burnt ends.  In addition there was a link of sausage and a pork rib.  About a pound of meat in total and a cup of diet Pepsi.  I didnt see the fuss iver the brisket.  If I had some of the fatty,the experience may be different.  The lean was too dry for my taste. The sausage was okay but the coarse grind and  tough skin turned me off.  The highlight was the pork rib.  Very tender and falling off the bone withgreataamokey flavor.  A flavor that I thought was missing from the longer smoked brisket.

One of the things I like to do is hit up the local Costco.  Regional stores will have food items lcal to thar region like black pudding and haggis in London.  Unfortunatley there is very little difference between this and the ones back home.  Even the food court held nothing interesting like poutin in Vancouver.

Dinnertime!!  Alt of the bbq food trucks close by 6pm.  I went a bit out of the way towards the north to Stiles Switch.  My smartphone froze when providing directions via Goggle Maps.  After I realized this, i pulled onto a parking lot to reboot.  I was puzzled when I couldnt find the saved location for Stiles.  Turns out I just happened to pull into the right parking lot.  I ordered the 2 meat plate of fatty brisket and jalapeno and cheddar sausage.  The 2 sides I chose were potato salad and cole slaw.  The potato salad was good and the slaw had a bit of citrus tinge to it.  The link was a bit hotter than expectedwith a similar texture to Franklin.  From this point no more sausage cause its notreally doing anything for me.   I did enjoy the fatty brisket.  The slices were not cut against the grain but the strands of fat kept the meat moist and tender.  I like this the best so far however I will srill need some fatty from Franklin.  Blue Bell seems to be the epitome of ice cream brands in these parts and thats how icaed off the meal.  Although,the choclate banana pudding sounded inviting but the house was full.

Barbecue Travelogue Austin Day 2

What I found out after a first day of barbecue.  Dont bother with lean brisket and Ive already hadenough sausage.  Today, Im taking a drive south of Austin to Lockhart.  It is the self proclaimed "barbecue capital of Texas".  There are 4 main establishments to help promote this proclamation: Kreuz, Smitty's, Black's and Chisholm Trail.  What kind of bbq roadtrip would this be if Ididnt at least try 2 of the 4.  Kreuz started as a meat market run by a german family.  Such is the origin of many joints alike.  They sold smoked and bbq'ed meats to get rid of old stock.  After a while, family strife caused them to move to a new location.  The original location then became Smittys.  This, too, is another thread that runs in the business.  Terry Black's in Austin was started by relatives of the original owners of Black's in Lockhart.  Barred from using the same name, the relatives named their place after their father. 

Kreuz was the closest but not by much.  This place is huuuge with a huge parking lot.  Just off to the north are cords and cords of oak they wll usefor their smokers.  Its still early as I order a quarter pound of fatty brisket.  I also wanted some smoked prime rib but that would be another 30 minutes.  I carried my meat and knife, wrapped around 2 layers of btcher paper, to a table in the air conditioned portion of the dining room.  Coincidetally the same room where you order your sides and drinks.  Oddly enough the brisket had dried out by the time I ripped off a piece.  Dissappointed, the whole thing lost all it mpisture and juices.  This really knocks them down in the rankings.  I didnt bother with the prime rib

A quick drive down the street gets me to Smittys.  Too quick as the brisket had not had time to digest.  Luckily the most photographed building in the city was nearby.  I took a stroll around the Caldwell County Courthouse.  It was the building that I took the most pics of.  Shops and eateries surround the square with cafes, restaurants, candy/toy store, arcade, bank, etc.

The front entrance lets 9ou into the amin dinig area counter for sides drinks and dessert.  Enter from the back on Colorado and you will pass the wood pile and the smokers.  Here you order your smoked meats.  Quarter pound of fatty brsket and quarter pound of smoked prime rib.  Sound familiar?  Forget the brisket, the prime rib was great.  The smokey flavor and thin cut make for a nice piece of smoked meat.  Never dried out and a dash of sauce would only benefit the taste.  The brisket was good and currently ranls second after Stiles from the previous night.  Good flavor and texture but nowhere as juicey.

I could be on the verge of a carnivorous breakdown.  Im so full of barebecue, I dont have the heart or stomach to try Blacks.  But, I can always have the beef short rib at a number of other places in Austin.  I had no appetite at dnner either.  Maybe Im backed up and a good constitutional tomorrow morning wull clear it