Smitty's Market
208 South Commerce
Lockhart, Texas 78644
http://www.smittysmarket.com/
There's a lot of good barbecue in Lockhart, TX, and Smitty's Market is consistently named one of the best. It's ranked by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the top five best joints in the Lone Star State.
Much has already been written about Smitty's Market and its history and the family fued that splintered the original Kruez Market into Smitty's Market (at the old Kruez Market location) and a new Kruez Market at a new location about a half mile down the street. You can read a lot more about this online, if you're interested.
I came to try the barbecue, but was going to make stops at Black's Barbecue and Kruez Market that afternoon, too, so I had to limit myself in terms of what I ordered and how much I ate.
The smoky history of the place washed over me as I passed through the back door off the parking lot and was hit in the face by the heat of the smoke room. I could see puffs of smoke wafting around the edge of the doorway in front of me as I waited in line. I finally entered the smoke room and was blasted by the heat of an open fire on the floor in front of me. I couldn't believe my eyes, I couldn't believe how the fire was burning on the ground outside the pit and the heat was carried into the end of the pit from that fire.
Looking around, the walls were black and in many places covered with thick soot. The whole smoke room itself was literally barbecued to perfection. But my next thought was...I wonder how healthy a place this could be to work, with all those open fires burning and all the smoke.
I finally got to the counter and placed my order. A sheriff in line in front of me recommended the pork chop if available, so I ordered one of those. Also, a hot sausage link and a slice of lean beef shoulder. My order was cut at the butcher block table, weighed, and placed on butcher paper on my tray. I got a plastic knife but no fork--they're not provided, just eat with your fingers. I paid and then entered the dining room, where you order sides, drinks, and dessert. I got a chunk of cheddar cheese (seemed like everyone was eating cheese with their barbecue, so when in Rome...) and a drink. I skipped the sides so I could focus on just the meat, but did pickup some little cups of thin barbecue sauce.
Each of the three meats was delicous. The sausage had amazing flavor, with a snappy casing and little chucks of cracked pepper visible throughout and a wide smoke ring. The pork chop was moist and flavorful. The lean beef shoulder was salty and peppery and the sauce really complimented the meat.
Someday, I'd like to go back to Smitty's and try some of their other meats, especially the prime rib. I'd like to enjoy a full-on, complete meal. But on this day, I had to restrain myself as I had other stops to make on this Barbecue Crawl.
Facebook photo album of Smitty's Market
Regards,
Chris
208 South Commerce
Lockhart, Texas 78644
http://www.smittysmarket.com/
There's a lot of good barbecue in Lockhart, TX, and Smitty's Market is consistently named one of the best. It's ranked by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the top five best joints in the Lone Star State.
Much has already been written about Smitty's Market and its history and the family fued that splintered the original Kruez Market into Smitty's Market (at the old Kruez Market location) and a new Kruez Market at a new location about a half mile down the street. You can read a lot more about this online, if you're interested.
I came to try the barbecue, but was going to make stops at Black's Barbecue and Kruez Market that afternoon, too, so I had to limit myself in terms of what I ordered and how much I ate.
The smoky history of the place washed over me as I passed through the back door off the parking lot and was hit in the face by the heat of the smoke room. I could see puffs of smoke wafting around the edge of the doorway in front of me as I waited in line. I finally entered the smoke room and was blasted by the heat of an open fire on the floor in front of me. I couldn't believe my eyes, I couldn't believe how the fire was burning on the ground outside the pit and the heat was carried into the end of the pit from that fire.
Looking around, the walls were black and in many places covered with thick soot. The whole smoke room itself was literally barbecued to perfection. But my next thought was...I wonder how healthy a place this could be to work, with all those open fires burning and all the smoke.
I finally got to the counter and placed my order. A sheriff in line in front of me recommended the pork chop if available, so I ordered one of those. Also, a hot sausage link and a slice of lean beef shoulder. My order was cut at the butcher block table, weighed, and placed on butcher paper on my tray. I got a plastic knife but no fork--they're not provided, just eat with your fingers. I paid and then entered the dining room, where you order sides, drinks, and dessert. I got a chunk of cheddar cheese (seemed like everyone was eating cheese with their barbecue, so when in Rome...) and a drink. I skipped the sides so I could focus on just the meat, but did pickup some little cups of thin barbecue sauce.
Each of the three meats was delicous. The sausage had amazing flavor, with a snappy casing and little chucks of cracked pepper visible throughout and a wide smoke ring. The pork chop was moist and flavorful. The lean beef shoulder was salty and peppery and the sauce really complimented the meat.
Someday, I'd like to go back to Smitty's and try some of their other meats, especially the prime rib. I'd like to enjoy a full-on, complete meal. But on this day, I had to restrain myself as I had other stops to make on this Barbecue Crawl.
Facebook photo album of Smitty's Market
Regards,
Chris
