Franklin brisket for the freezer!

Once again through stealth, slight of hand, cunning, and $17 a pound, my buddy Dave managed to hornswaggle us several whole Franklin briskets.  I managed to keep one for myself and sliced it up tonight for the freezer.  Man we've got some good eating in the weeks ahead!  There is nothing better than fresh brisket right off the smoker, but warmed up out of the fridge will do in a pinch!!  Plus the line is much shorter. 

Black's BBQ, Lockhart, Texas 4/22/12

After a slightly disappointing visit to Luling the day before I had high hopes Black's would leave a better impression with my Mrs.  They did, but not as I expected!  I got my usual, half a pound of brisket, a couple of spare ribs, and a jalapeno cheese ring along with mac and cheese and spanish rice.  Everything was awesome, as always, but the only thing my wife kept talking about was the black eyed peas!  She said they tasted like her grandmother's and those alone were worth the trip.  All that awesome brisket and she's impressed by a cowpea.  Honey, your Okie is showing.  Oh well, I got her leftovers.  More Black's brisket for me!  Yay!

City Market, Luling, Texas 4/21/12

The Mrs finally got her chance to tag along on a BBQ and blues trip and our first stop was City Market.  We arrived about 5:10 pm and I was sad to hear they were OUT OF BRISKET!! Oh no!  One of my favorite things about City Market and they were out.  Not to worry, said the pit man, the last one was due out at 5:30 pm.  We got a stack of ribs and a ring and enjoyed those while we waited for the brisket.  My Mrs said they were the best ribs she ever had.  I thought they were very good and on a par with North Main.  You had to keep a napkin handy to keep the juice from dribbling off your chin.  The ring was perfect, as always.

Finally the brisket was done so I went back into the pit room to get a half a pound off the fresh brisket.  Unfortunately, for the first time ever, the brisket at City Market did not shine.  It was a bit under done, it did not have the tenderness I expected, the fat was not fully rendered, and except for the ends, there was little smoke flavor.  I'm guessing they rushed that last brisket a bit after they ran out earlier than expected.  Dang it.  Timing is everything.

 

 They finally have some t-shirts for sale however not in my ample size.  Otherwise I would have bought one for sure.  They need to visit the souvenir emporium at Black's and steal a few ideas!

 

Campaigning for "Thump Queen" is well under way in Luling and we saw more signs for that than for the regular politicians.  

More home brisket

Smoked up another excellent home brisket on April 3rd.  Albertson's had USDA choice on sale for $1.99/lb and we could not resist.  The smallest they had was 14 pounds so we had to cut it in half as usual.  We took the small end off after about 10 hours and it was a little bit chewy so we let the big end go another 5 hours.  The big end came off buttery tender with deep smoke flavor and lots of moisture.  My Mrs did most of the work and it sure came out nice!