Cowboy's BBQ, Salado, Texas

sampled 8/21/10
around 1:30 pm

My buddy Scott has a warning. Never eat highway BBQ. I ain't skeered. If it says BBQ I'll try it. However this place just gave him more ammunition. I've seen this joint for several years off I-35 next to the Robertson's Ham Sandwich place in Salado, but I can now cross it off my list. Permanently. Every item suffered from holding time issues. The rib was partly dry as was the brisket and sausage. There was no smoke flavor in anything. There was little flavor at all in either the brisket or rib. A couple of bites was all I needed and I was done. Sausage was from Meyers in Elgin but had definitely been in the warmer too long.

One different thing they do here, not that it's worth stopping for, is sell you the meat by the pound, then the sides are included over on a sidebar. After you pay for your meat and drink, you just help yourself to the sides.

Perez Bar-B-Que, Bartlett, Texas

Sampled 8/21/10
around 1 pm

This is a joint we had passed many times before on our forays south to the BBQ grounds. Unfortunately, we always passed by during the week when they were closed. Finally we managed to get the timing right! Daniel from Full Gospel preceeded us by a few hours and we found his comments to be spot on, as usual. I opted for brisket and a sausage link. The brisket had been kept in a tub of tomatoe-y sauce and for all the world tasted like crockpot BBQ. I know it wasn't, there were good smokers out front, yet there was nary a hint of smoke flavor. In fact what you mostly got was the flavor of the sauce. Think roast beef sloppy joe and you just about have it. The sausage was much nicer. A good snappy casing with a medium grind low spice beef sausage inside. It was excellent hot off the pit. I doubt it could rival Kreuz or even Louie Mueller's sausage, but it was way better than most. One link would probably make a meal for most folks. As we were on a quest for quantity this day, I skipped the ribs and sides but I think if we get back that way on a weekend we shall investigate further.

There was a pretty good game of dominoes going on out by the pits and by the time we left there were more cars rolling up for lunch. It seems to be the happening spot in Bartlett.

I packed mine away for later and the photo below is after some cooling and travel.

Taylor Cafe, Taylor, Texas

Sampled 8/21/01
around 12:15 pm

Vencil Mares' Taylor Cafe is a regular stop for us in Taylor. In fact this funky little spot under the bridge by the railroad tracks is the site of our true "brisket nirvana", the best smoked brisket either Scott or I have ever had. While Louie Mueller's is the hangout for the tourists, Vencil's is the regular spot for many locals. On this visit they were very busy, more than the couple of wait staff could handle, and it took us over 30 minutes to get our food to go. Yup, good things come to those who wait. While this was not "brisket nirvana", it was still easily the best brisket I had this whole trip. The smoke flavor was deep and penetrating and the fat was rendered perfectly. The meat was beautifully moist and practically melted in my mouth. It was so good that the half pound I had planned to take back home to share with the wife was soon down to two little pieces before I had a chance to take a picture. Where did it go? Oh, right....

I also got a piece of his signature turkey sausage and enjoyed it as always.

Every time I walk in that joint and see Mr Mares sitting in his usual spot I know all is right with the world.

Taylor International BBQ Cookoff, Taylor, Texas

visited 8/21/10
around noon

After saying our goodbyes to the folks at Louie Muellers and icing down my sausage purchases, we wandered over to the BBQ Cookoff at Murphy Park. For $6 you could wander the grounds observing all the wild and crazy antics of competition BBQ cookers, just before their first turn-in was due. Beer and smoke were everywhere. The rigs ranged from the simple to the outrageous. Some had sponsors and elaborate set-ups. Others had bare tables, basic smokers, and were just concentrating on the meats. As much fun as it was to watch folks make BBQ, we decided we'd much rather be eating it so we cut our visit short.

Before we left we ran into Drew from the Man Up BBQ blog under the nicely shaded pavilion. It was great to finally meet him in person and tell him how much we enjoyed their work. He was kind enough to fix us up with some Man Up goodies and we took him our DP sauce and some of the dreaded BBQ sauce ice cream.

Louie Muellers BBQ, Taylor, Texas

sampled about 11 am
8/21/10

Daniel over at Full Custom Gospel BBQ invited us down to a BBQ bloggers "meating" at Louie Muellers in conjunction with the annual Taylor International BBQ Cookoff. Knowing full well this was a most excellent excuse for a full day BBQ road trip, Scott and I headed south at the un-Godly hour of 7 am. I know that will shock some, who know I seldom rise before the crack of noon, but right there is the proof that the prospects of enough smoked meats can drive a man to do almost anything.

On the way down, we started picking out various places we had not visited before and started to plan a full day of smoked animal ingestion. By the time we arrived in Taylor, we had a list of 8 spots we hoped to hit in a single day.

At Louie Muellers I soon spotted Daniel in the parking lot. He is undoubtedly the Grand Poobah of all the BBQ bloggers and it was a great pleasure to finally meet the man who inspires us all. His lovely wife and daughter were also in attendance and I can testify that both have halos over their heads and wings on their backs. Daniel also introduced us to Chris and Gary from the Dallas Morning News who were in town for the Cookoff. We waited our turns in line and I somehow missed out on the usual bite of brisket while waiting. I made up for it by ordering a dozen chipolte rings and a dozen jalapeno rings to go, knowing the line was likely to be much longer when we were ready to roll out. That proved to be a wise decision.

Knowing we were in for a long day of consuming tasty animals, I opted for a light start with a couple of slices of brisket, one jalapeno link, and one rib. The brisket was a little dry and not much smoke flavor but plenty tender with their usual dynamite pepper rub. I had been standing in line a long time while they wrapped my sausage so a little dryness was no big deal. The jalapeno link was awesome. A little on the wet side but awesome flavor and bite. Last time I had visited Louie's I had promised to bring back sausage in quantity and that link confirmed my determination to do so. I have some good eatin' in the weeks ahead. The rib was curiously without their usual thick pepper rub but it was perfectly tender and cooked to perfection. There was not much smoke flavor but it was packed with juicy pork goodness. If we hadn't had a bunch of additional places to go that day I would have gotten back in the lengthening line for some more of those ribs.

Daniel fronted me a piece of smoked ribeye that was wonderfully tender, but honestly, it just didn't taste like BBQ to me. It was more of a nice grilled steak in need of a good rub. I know he was just experimenting after having eaten at Louie's so many times before, but I was glad I stuck with more standard Q items.

Much photography, and meat talk ensued around the table but eventually we whipped out Scott's special surprise, some Dr Pepper BBQ sauce ice cream he had specially made for the event. More photography followed and a general consensus developed that, while they were glad to try it, Bluebell is safe for the forseeable future. One honest soul from the Houston group stepped up to admit if he was left alone in the house with it, he'd probably eat it. Scott took it like a man and I managed to formulate an even more dangerous concoction which I shall produce and consume later this week! All in the name of BBQ science, of course.

Hawg's BBQ, Emory, Texas

sampled 8/5/10 about 11 am
location: just east of Emory on TX 515

I passed by this little joint once before on one of my fishing trips, but not during the three days they are open, Thurs- Sat. I planned a little better this trip and caught them just after opening on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the proprietor told me he would not have any ribs ready til later in the day as he sold few on Thursday and they are mostly a Friday/Saturday item. Darn. I made due with a generous 2 meat plate which was only $7.75.

I probably got the first slices off a fresh brisket and they were mighty tasty. Perfect tenderness and moistness, definitely plastic fork tender. There was a decent smoke ring but just a hint of smoke flavor. Great meat flavor, though. Certainly enough smoke to qualify as good Q. The sausage was excellent. Sort of a medium grind with nice flavor but not at all spicy. A wonderful change from the "store bought" most little Q joints (and some bigger ones) seem to serve. The casing was an easy chew and the slight coarseness of the grind really brought out the flavor. I enjoyed the sausage, even though I usually like it spicy. I need to ask them about that sausage on my next trip and I for sure need to sample some ribs.

The sides were nice and different from those you get most spots. The potato salad was chunky with mayo base and a sprinkling of fresh chives and bacon. The pinto beans had a touch of spice and smoke with bits of brisket crumbled within. Both were way better than your average sides.

The sauce was super thick tomato base with a touch of spice and lots of smoke flavor. I liked it, too.

Overall, I think this place is a find and someplace I look forward to sampling again, when they have ribs!!

Missed opportunity

Location: at the intersection of TX 154 and TX 515 south of Yantis

I passed this cool little BBQ shack just south of Yantis, Texas near Lake Fork. I assume it is a weekend only location but unfortunately I passed by on a Thursday. No signs or anything to indicate when they are open. I loved the artwork. Now I wonder about the food!!.