Texas Barbecue Redux

In an earlier post we covered Black's Barbecue, in Lockhart, Texas. In transit to Austin we found a way to stop in Lockhart for another of the venerable institutions of barbecue, Smitty's. Side by side with the market, Smitty's Barbecue is down-home goodness.

At Smitty's you get a bit better view of the process, as you order and pick up your meat right by the smokers. The room has no AC; in fact, two open fires channel smoke and heat into the smokers while the place is operating.

The meat comes right out of the smokers and onto a big chopping block. Then it goes right back in for more smoky goodness.

After you pay for your meat, you go inside and pay for your fixin's. The sides are okish, but the focus here is obviously on the meat.

Then you can sit down at a long trestle table and get down to work. The brisket is terrific here, with a small layer of fat left on the meat for flavor and basting. The pork ribs are really good, too. I thought the sausage was a bit mealy, though it had a really good snap from the casing. Smoke flavor and crust were good on everything.

With Smitty's and Black's down, we have one more of the big three to try out, Kreuz Market. Then we can try out lesser contenders like Chisholm Trail.