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Texas Barbecue refers to methods of preparation for barbecue unique to Texan cuisine. Beef brisket, pork ribs, and sausage are among the most commonly known dishes. The term can also include side dishes that are traditionally served alongside the smoked meats. [1]
Native Americans had been slow cooking meat before European settlement. People began this tradition of barbecue in North America before the 1500s, long before Central Europeans arrived in central Texas. European meat-smoking traditions were brought to Central Texas by German and Czech settlers during the mid-19th century. Traditionally, before refrigeration, butchers would smoke meat that had not been sold, allowing it to be stored longer without spoiling. As these leftovers became popular among the migrants in the area, multiple meat markets began to specialize in smoked meats.[ citation needed ]
According to Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor at Texas Monthly , Southside Market & Barbeque, opened in 1886, is the oldest barbecue restaurant in Texas still in operation. [2]
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson hosted the first barbecue state dinner in the history of the United States for the Mexican president-elect in Johnson City, Texas. [3]
In 2019, J. C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle wrote that pulled pork barbecue was becoming common in Texas despite having originated elsewhere. [4]
Texas barbecue traditions differ geographically and culturally: East Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas each have their own unique barbecue styles, of which the Central and East Texas varieties are considered to be the best-known. [5] [6]
The different kinds of Texas barbecue can be distinguished as follows: [5]
Another style of barbecue, barbacoa , is characteristic of South Texas and the Rio Grande valley near the Mexico–United States border. Barbacoa is a traditional Mexican form of barbecue that typically uses goat, lamb, or sheep meat, although beef is also sometimes used. [8] In its most authentic form, barbacoa is prepared in a hole dug in the ground and covered in maguey ( Agave americana) leaves. [3]
East Texas barbecue is usually chopped rather than sliced. It may be made of either beef or pork. It is usually served on a bun. [9]
In "Texas Barbecue in Black and White," Robb Walsh writes that African-American varieties of barbecue in East Texas favored beef rather than pork due to its prevalence in the region. Walsh quotes an artist, Bert Long, who states that African-American varieties are heavily smoked. [10]
According to Reid, the presence of pork ribs in East Texas barbecue originated from elsewhere in the South. [4] According to Walsh, the origins date back to when barbecues were held for slaves. [11] Many Black restaurant owners in 1910 struggled as food-safety regulations passed throughout Texas restricted the operation of their restaurants. Later on, the widespread implementation of the new cinder block pit allowed Black restaurateurs to serve Black customers. [12]
In a 1973 Texas Monthly article, Griffin Smith, Jr. describes East Texas barbecue as an "extension" of barbecue served in the Southern United States and says that beef and pork appear equally in the cuisine. [9] According to Smith, the style's emphasis on sauces and spices originated from a time when African-Americans received poor-quality cuts of meat that needed flavoring. [6] According to Smith, the "finest manifestations" of this style were found in African-American-operated restaurants. [9] Smith further describes East Texas barbecue as "...a chopped pork sandwich with hot sauce..." [6]
The Central Texas pit-style barbecue was established in the 19th century along the Chisholm Trail in the towns of Lockhart, Luling, and Taylor. European immigrants who owned meat-packing plants opened retail meat markets serving cooked meats wrapped in red butcher paper, a tradition that persists in many Central Texas towns. This barbecue style has spread considerably around the world, especially to Southern California, New York City, Britain, and Australia.[ citation needed ]
At a typical Central Texas pit-style barbecue restaurant, customers take a cafeteria-style tray and are served by a butcher who carves the meat to sell by weight. Side dishes and desserts including slices of white bread, crinkle-cut dill pickle chips, sliced onion, jalapeño, and corn bread are picked up along the line.
This style of barbecue emphasizes the meat, so if sauce is available, it is usually for dipping. [6] Calvin Trillin, writing in The New Yorker , said that discussions of Central Texas pit barbecue do not concern the piquancy of the sauces or common side dishes and desserts—the main consideration is the quality of the cooking of the meats. [13]
Smith argues that the lack of focus on sauces is due to noon meat markets once being dominated by well-off purchasers who could choose from the highest quality cuts of meat and had little interest in sauces.
He also says that many sauces in Central Texas pit barbecue are intentionally made "bland" in comparison to the flavor of the meats themselves. [6] The sauce is typically thinner, lightly spiced and unsweetened, as opposed to the Kansas City and Memphis styles, which rely heavily on molasses or sugar to provide thickness and sweetness.
In 2010, Jayne Clark of USA Today described the "Texas Barbecue Trail", an East-of-Austin "semi-loop" including Elgin, Lockhart, Luling, and Taylor. Barbecue eateries in this semi-loop, such as Louie Mueller Barbecue, are within an hour from Austin, running from northeast to the southeast. [14]
West Texas barbecue, sometimes called "cowboy style," traditionally uses more direct heating than other styles. Food is generally cooked over mesquite, giving it a distinct, smoky flavor different from other wood-smoked styles. [15]
Barbecue in the border area between the South Texas Plains and Northern Mexico is mostly influenced by Mexican cuisine. Historically, this area was the birthplace of the Texas ranching tradition. Often, Mexican farmhands were partially paid for their work with less-desirable cuts of meat, such as the diaphragm and the cow's head. It is the cow's head that defines South Texas barbecue (called barbacoa). The head would be wrapped in wet maguey leaves and buried in a pit with hot coals for several hours, after which the meat would be pulled off for barbacoa tacos. Lengua (beef tongue) tacos were also made. Today, this barbecue is mostly cooked in an oven in a bain-marie. [16]
The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including cuisine of Southeastern Native American tribes, Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American cuisine and Floribbean, Spanish, French, British, and German cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.
Barbecue or barbeque is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to cook the food. The term is also generally applied to the devices associated with those methods, the broader cuisines that these methods produce, and the meals or gatherings at which this style of food is cooked and served. The cooking methods associated with barbecuing vary significantly but most involve outdoor and indoor cooking.
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat and vegetables quickly. Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill, using a cast iron/frying pan, or a grill pan.
Chili con carne is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers, meat, tomatoes, and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin.
Barbacoa or Asado en Barbacoa in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground, and covered with agave (maguey) leaves, although the interpretation is loose, and in the present day may refer to meat steamed until tender. This meat is known for its high fat content and strong flavor, often accompanied with onions and cilantro. Because this method of cooking was used throughout different regions by different ethnic groups or tribes in Mexico, each had their own name for it; for the Nahuatl it was called nakakoyonki; for the Mayan it was called píib; for the Otomi it was called thumngö.
The cuisine of Kentucky mostly resembles and is a part of traditional Southern cuisine. Some common dinner dishes are fried catfish and hushpuppies, fried chicken and country fried steak. These are usually served with vegetables such as green beans, greens, pinto beans slow-cooked with pork as seasoning and served with cornbread. Other popular items include fried green tomatoes, cheese grits, corn pudding, fried okra, and chicken and dumplings, which can be found across the commonwealth.
Barbecue varies by the type of meat, sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, the point in barbecuing at which they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time.
Spare ribs are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. Meat and fat cover the bones. Spare ribs (pork) are distinguished from short ribs, which are beef. Spareribs are typically cooked low and slow, either smoked, grilled, or braised.
Barbecue sauce is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork, beef, and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern United States and is used on many other foods as well.
Barbecue is a tradition often considered a quintessential part of American culture, especially the Southern United States.
Korean barbecue is a popular method in Korean cuisine of grilling meat, typically beef, pork or chicken. Such dishes are often prepared on gas or charcoal grills built into the dining table itself, though some restaurants provide customers with portable stoves for diners to use at their tables. Alternatively, a chef uses a centrally displayed grill to prepare dishes that are made to order.
Texan cuisine is the food associated with the Southern U.S. state of Texas, including its native Southwestern cuisine–influenced Tex-Mex foods. Texas is a large state, and its cuisine has been influenced by a wide range of cultures, including Tejano/Mexican, Native American, Creole/Cajun, African-American, German, Czech, Southern and other European American groups. The cuisine of neighboring states also influences Texan cuisine, such as New Mexican cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine. This can be seen in the widespread usage of New Mexico chiles, Cayenne peppers, and Tabasco sauce in Texan cooking.
A barbecue sandwich is a sandwich that is typically prepared with barbecued meats. Several types of meats are used to prepare barbecue sandwiches. Some varieties use cooked meats that are not barbecued, but include barbecue sauce. Many variations, including regional variations, exist, along with diverse types of cooking styles, preparations and ingredients.
A barbecue restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in barbecue-style cuisine and dishes. Barbecue restaurants may open relatively early compared to other restaurants, in part to optimize sales while barbecued foods being slow-cooked by the process of smoking are being tended to by restaurant personnel on premises. In some instances, this can enable the sales of barbecued meats that began being smoked the night before the next business day. Per these logistics, a significant portion of their sales may occur during lunchtime. Additionally, high lunch turnover at barbecue restaurants may occur per the foods being cooked and sold in large batches. Popular food items may sell out earlier compared to others, which may encourage customers to arrive earlier. In January 2015, the U.S. National Restaurant Association forecast "barbecue, Italian food and fried chicken" to be "top perennial menu favorites in 2015".
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant chain based in Llano, Texas. Cooper's is best known for its two-inch-thick pork chop known as the "Big Chop", and for being President George W. Bush's favorite barbecue restaurant.
South Carolina is home to several distinct styles of barbecue characterized by different cuts of meat, types of barbecue sauce and preparation. It is particularly well known for the heavy emphasis on pork and the popularity of a mustard-based barbecue sauce in the central part of the state.
Southside Market & Barbeque is a historic barbecue restaurant and meat market in Elgin, Texas. It has since expanded into a chain restaurant.
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