Barbecue in Texas
Encyclopedia
Barbecue is a traditional style of preparing beef in Texas (United States) and is one of the many different varieties of barbecue
found around the world. Texas barbecue traditions can be divided into four general styles: East Texas
, Central Texas
, South Texas
, and West Texas
. The Central and East Texas varieties are generally the most well-known. Author Griffin Smith, Jr. in a 1973 Texas Monthly
article described the dividing line between the two styles as "a line running from Columbus
and Hearne
northward between Dallas and Fort Worth". Additionally, in deep South Texas and along the Rio Grande valley a Mexican style of meat preparation known as barbacoa
can be found. The word barbacoa in Spanish means barbecue though in English it is often used specifically to refer to Mexican varieties of preparation.
Generally speaking the different Texas barbecue styles are distinguished as follows. In the East Texas style the beef is slowly cooked to the point that it is "falling off the bone", typically over hickory wood, and marinated in a sweet, tomato-based sauce. In the Central Texas style the meat is rubbed with spices and cooked over indirect heat from pecan or oak wood. In the West Texas style the meat is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood giving it a somewhat bitter taste. The South Texas style features thick, molasses-like sauces that keep the meat very moist. The barbacoa tradition is somewhat different than all of these. Though beef may be used, goat or sheep meat are common as well (sometimes even the whole animal may be used). In its most traditional form barbacoa is prepared in a hole dug in the ground and covered with maguey leaves.
European meat smoking traditions were brought by German and Czech settlers in Central Texas during the mid 19th century. The original tradition was that butchers would smoke leftover meat that had not been sold so that it could be stored and saved. As these smoked leftovers became popular among the migrants in the area many of these former meat markets evolved to specialize in these smoked meats.
Texas had a history of slavery even when it was part of Mexico and slavery was technically illegal. However, its admission to the Union in the 1840s as a slave state brought many slave-owning cotton farmers from the Carolinas, Mississippi and other areas of the South establishing a large slave presence in the state. The subsequent emancipation of the slaves in 1865 gave birth to the East Texas barbecue tradition, which was largely a product of the African American community.
Many well-known barbecue establishments in Texas originated as butcher shops.
In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson
hosted a state dinner featuring barbecue for the Mexican president-elect in Johnson City
. It is generally considered the first barbecue state dinner in the history of the United States.
By 2000 in Texas many old-fashioned barbecue smokers had been replaced by gas-fired ovens due to pollution concerns and due to ease of use.
, Luling
, and Taylor
. These towns were established by Germans and other European groups. In their early periods, the towns had meat markets that served cooked meat on red butcher paper. The tradition continues in many central Texas towns to this day. Griffin Smith, Jr. of Texas Monthly
described the name "Central Texas barbecue" as underestimating the territorial extent of the cuisine type. Many barbecue events are held on Saturday, and many establishments are closed on Sunday. Noon is the time when many barbecues are held.
At a central Texas barbecue restaurant, the customer takes a tray. One staff member serves the customer the meat and often also carves it, while another server provides side dishes. Slices of packaged white bread are often included with the barbecue. Barbecue, sold by the pound, often includes beef ribs, brisket, chicken, pork ribs, and sausage. Some establishments serve clod (beef shoulder). The emphasis of the barbecue style is on the meat. If sauce is available, it usually is a side dip. Calvin Trillin of The New Yorker
said that people who discuss central Texas barbecue do not talk about the piquancy of the sauces or the tastes of side dishes such as beans; the discussions tend to center around the quality of the meat. In many restaurants barbecue sandwiches are not served. The customer may take a piece of bread and roll it around the meat or the customer may not use bread and instead use his or her fingers to eat the meat. Some orders may include saltine crackers, onions, jalapeños, and pickles.
Smith explained that a theory of how Central Texas barbecue formed is that the noon meat markets were dominated by the upper classes, who could choose among the highest quality cuts of meat. Because of this they did not have an interest in the sauces. Smith described many sauces in Central Texas barbecue as "bland" compared to the flavor of the meats themselves.
Central Texas was settled by German and Czech settlers in the mid 19th century, and they brought with them European-style meat markets, which would smoke leftover cuts of pork and beef, often with high heat, using primarily native oak and pecan. The European settlers did not think of this meat as barbecue, but the Anglo farm workers who bought it started calling it such, and the name stuck. This style is found in the Barbecue Belt southeast of Austin, with Lockhart
as its capital.
barbecue is usually chopped and not sliced. It may be made of either beef or pork, and it is usually served on a bun. Griffin Smith, Jr. of Texas Monthly
described East Texas barbecue as an "extension" of barbecue served in the Southern United States
and said that beef and pork appear equally in the cuisine. He also said that the "finest manifestations" of the East Texas style are found in restaurants operated by African-Americans. Unlike other versions of Southern barbecue, Texas barbecue does not include cole slaw
. Smith said that East Texas barbecue "is still basically a sandwich product heavy on hot sauce." Smith discussed a theory that circulated regarding how and why East Texas barbecue, which is heavily sauced and chopped, started. Smith explained that the theory stated that the barbecue was originally an African-American method for handling poor quality cuts of meat, as African-Americans were unable to receive higher quality cuts of meat. The hot sauce was emphasized in the cuisine, as it covered the flavor of some cuts of meat.
The style often uses cuts such as pork shoulder and pork ribs, indirectly slow smoked over primarily hickory wood. The sauce is tomato-based, sweet, and thick. This is also the most common urban barbecue in Texas, spread by African-Americans when they settled in big cities like Houston and Dallas.
barbecue, sometimes also called "cowboy style," uses a more direct heat method than other styles. The main wood used is mesquite, and in addition to beef, goat and mutton are also cooked.
The border area between the South Texas
Plains and Northern Mexico
, as well as its barbecue style, are mostly influenced by Mexican tastes. The area was the birthplace of the Texas ranching tradition, and the Mexican farmhands were often partially paid for their work in less desirable cuts of meat, such as the diaphragm, from which fajitas are made, and the cow's head. It is the cow's head which defines South Texas barbecue, called barbacoa. The head would be wrapped in wet maguey leaves, buried in a pit with hot coals for several hours, and then the meat for barbacoa tacos would be pulled off. The tongue would also be used to make lengua tacos. Today, barbacoa is mostly cooked in an oven in a bain-marie
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
found around the world. Texas barbecue traditions can be divided into four general styles: East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
, Central Texas
Central Texas
Central Texas , is a region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is roughly bordered by San Marcos to Fredericksburg to Waco, and to Brenham, and includes the Austin–Round Rock, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Bryan-College Station, and Waco metropolitan areas...
, South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
, and West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
. The Central and East Texas varieties are generally the most well-known. Author Griffin Smith, Jr. in a 1973 Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
article described the dividing line between the two styles as "a line running from Columbus
Columbus, Texas
Columbus is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States, west of Houston along Interstate 10, on the Colorado River. In 1890, 2,199 people lived in Columbus, Texas; in 1900, there were 1,824 residents. The population was 3,916 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Colorado County...
and Hearne
Hearne, Texas
Hearne is a city in Robertson County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,690 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area...
northward between Dallas and Fort Worth". Additionally, in deep South Texas and along the Rio Grande valley a Mexican style of meat preparation known as barbacoa
Barbacoa
Barbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico it generally refers to meats or a whole sheep slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with...
can be found. The word barbacoa in Spanish means barbecue though in English it is often used specifically to refer to Mexican varieties of preparation.
Generally speaking the different Texas barbecue styles are distinguished as follows. In the East Texas style the beef is slowly cooked to the point that it is "falling off the bone", typically over hickory wood, and marinated in a sweet, tomato-based sauce. In the Central Texas style the meat is rubbed with spices and cooked over indirect heat from pecan or oak wood. In the West Texas style the meat is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood giving it a somewhat bitter taste. The South Texas style features thick, molasses-like sauces that keep the meat very moist. The barbacoa tradition is somewhat different than all of these. Though beef may be used, goat or sheep meat are common as well (sometimes even the whole animal may be used). In its most traditional form barbacoa is prepared in a hole dug in the ground and covered with maguey leaves.
History
In the U.S. barbecue traditions are believed to have originated when Caribbean slaves were brought to the Carolinas in the 17th century. Indeed the English word barbecue came from the Arawak-Carib word barbracot (via the Spanish word barbacoa). This Caribbean style of slow cooking meat formed the basis of the Southern barbecue tradition that influenced Texas when some of its first American settlers arrived.European meat smoking traditions were brought by German and Czech settlers in Central Texas during the mid 19th century. The original tradition was that butchers would smoke leftover meat that had not been sold so that it could be stored and saved. As these smoked leftovers became popular among the migrants in the area many of these former meat markets evolved to specialize in these smoked meats.
Texas had a history of slavery even when it was part of Mexico and slavery was technically illegal. However, its admission to the Union in the 1840s as a slave state brought many slave-owning cotton farmers from the Carolinas, Mississippi and other areas of the South establishing a large slave presence in the state. The subsequent emancipation of the slaves in 1865 gave birth to the East Texas barbecue tradition, which was largely a product of the African American community.
Many well-known barbecue establishments in Texas originated as butcher shops.
In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
hosted a state dinner featuring barbecue for the Mexican president-elect in Johnson City
Johnson City, Texas
Johnson City is a city in Blanco County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Blanco County. It was the hometown of President Lyndon Johnson and was founded by James Polk Johnson, nephew of Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., cousin to President Johnson....
. It is generally considered the first barbecue state dinner in the history of the United States.
By 2000 in Texas many old-fashioned barbecue smokers had been replaced by gas-fired ovens due to pollution concerns and due to ease of use.
Central Texas
Central Texas barbecue became established in the 19th century in central Texas towns such as LockhartLockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
, Luling
Luling, Texas
Luling is a city in Caldwell County, Texas, United States, along the San Marcos River. The population was 5,080 at the 2000 census. There is some debate as to how Luling got its name. Some say it was named for a Chinese railroad worker, others for a judge named Luling, or that it was the maiden...
, and Taylor
Taylor, Texas
Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 in the 2010 census estimate. Taylors largest employers include the Electric Reliability Council of Texas , Durcon Inc, and the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, an immigration...
. These towns were established by Germans and other European groups. In their early periods, the towns had meat markets that served cooked meat on red butcher paper. The tradition continues in many central Texas towns to this day. Griffin Smith, Jr. of Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
described the name "Central Texas barbecue" as underestimating the territorial extent of the cuisine type. Many barbecue events are held on Saturday, and many establishments are closed on Sunday. Noon is the time when many barbecues are held.
At a central Texas barbecue restaurant, the customer takes a tray. One staff member serves the customer the meat and often also carves it, while another server provides side dishes. Slices of packaged white bread are often included with the barbecue. Barbecue, sold by the pound, often includes beef ribs, brisket, chicken, pork ribs, and sausage. Some establishments serve clod (beef shoulder). The emphasis of the barbecue style is on the meat. If sauce is available, it usually is a side dip. Calvin Trillin of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
said that people who discuss central Texas barbecue do not talk about the piquancy of the sauces or the tastes of side dishes such as beans; the discussions tend to center around the quality of the meat. In many restaurants barbecue sandwiches are not served. The customer may take a piece of bread and roll it around the meat or the customer may not use bread and instead use his or her fingers to eat the meat. Some orders may include saltine crackers, onions, jalapeños, and pickles.
Smith explained that a theory of how Central Texas barbecue formed is that the noon meat markets were dominated by the upper classes, who could choose among the highest quality cuts of meat. Because of this they did not have an interest in the sauces. Smith described many sauces in Central Texas barbecue as "bland" compared to the flavor of the meats themselves.
Central Texas was settled by German and Czech settlers in the mid 19th century, and they brought with them European-style meat markets, which would smoke leftover cuts of pork and beef, often with high heat, using primarily native oak and pecan. The European settlers did not think of this meat as barbecue, but the Anglo farm workers who bought it started calling it such, and the name stuck. This style is found in the Barbecue Belt southeast of Austin, with Lockhart
Lockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
as its capital.
East Texas
East TexasEast Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
barbecue is usually chopped and not sliced. It may be made of either beef or pork, and it is usually served on a bun. Griffin Smith, Jr. of Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
described East Texas barbecue as an "extension" of barbecue served in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and said that beef and pork appear equally in the cuisine. He also said that the "finest manifestations" of the East Texas style are found in restaurants operated by African-Americans. Unlike other versions of Southern barbecue, Texas barbecue does not include cole slaw
Cole Slaw
Cole Slaw is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Argo label in 1964 and performed by Donaldson with Herman Foster, Earl May, Bruno Carr, and Ray Barretto.The album was awarded 3 stars in an Allmusic review....
. Smith said that East Texas barbecue "is still basically a sandwich product heavy on hot sauce." Smith discussed a theory that circulated regarding how and why East Texas barbecue, which is heavily sauced and chopped, started. Smith explained that the theory stated that the barbecue was originally an African-American method for handling poor quality cuts of meat, as African-Americans were unable to receive higher quality cuts of meat. The hot sauce was emphasized in the cuisine, as it covered the flavor of some cuts of meat.
The style often uses cuts such as pork shoulder and pork ribs, indirectly slow smoked over primarily hickory wood. The sauce is tomato-based, sweet, and thick. This is also the most common urban barbecue in Texas, spread by African-Americans when they settled in big cities like Houston and Dallas.
Other styles
West TexasWest Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
barbecue, sometimes also called "cowboy style," uses a more direct heat method than other styles. The main wood used is mesquite, and in addition to beef, goat and mutton are also cooked.
The border area between the South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
Plains and Northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, as well as its barbecue style, are mostly influenced by Mexican tastes. The area was the birthplace of the Texas ranching tradition, and the Mexican farmhands were often partially paid for their work in less desirable cuts of meat, such as the diaphragm, from which fajitas are made, and the cow's head. It is the cow's head which defines South Texas barbecue, called barbacoa. The head would be wrapped in wet maguey leaves, buried in a pit with hot coals for several hours, and then the meat for barbacoa tacos would be pulled off. The tongue would also be used to make lengua tacos. Today, barbacoa is mostly cooked in an oven in a bain-marie
Bain-marie
A bain-marie is a French term for a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently and gradually to fixed temperatures, or to keep materials warm over a period of time.- Description :...