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.