Texas > Dripping Springs: The Switch


 

Dustin Dorsey

TVWBB Hall of Fame
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I was down visiting some relatives in Blanco, Tx which is in the Hill Country west of Austin. I was looking for a good place to eat barbecue because after all, Central Texas is the land of great barbecue. I saw a tweet that The Switch had opened up friday and I had to check it out. I caught it on the 3rd day it opened. The Switch owned by the same people that own Stile's Switch in which is a very famous Top 50 joint in Austin. They cook on gorgeous 1000 gallon offset pits made by Moberg Smokers fired with post oak. These smokers are know for amazing draw and build quality.
https://mobergsmokers.com/.

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The Switch is in Dripping Springs, TX which home to some very good Vodka distilleries. When we walked in we were greeted by the owner's wife who wore a shirt saying "Barbecue Wife." I later made some totally ridiculous dad joke saying it should be "Barbecue Widow" because of the intense hours that barbecue owners have to put in on a day to day basis. That went over like a lead balloon and I inwardly cringed. She seemed to take it in stride. It turns out she runs this website:

http://www.barbecuewife.com/

She sells mixer's for bloody marys and the like which is incredible appropriate for the Dripping Springs area.

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At The Switch, you place your order and then they cut it and bring it out to your table. I find this works much more efficiently than the counter service most traditional places employ. This place has a heavy cajun influence. I ordered the standard brisket, sausage, spare ribs. I also go this fantastic sausage called the "Mamou" that had shrimp, crawfish, and a tabasco mash that was fairly similar to a boudin. It was phenomenal.

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In fitting the cajun them, the servers brought out these awesome hush puppies.

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My tray. The brisket was phenomenal with gorgeous smoke ring and crust. I got some fatty slices and they did not disappoint. The brisket was easily on a par with anything in the Austin area and believe me, that is high praise. The ribs were perfectly tender with a sweet with heat flavor profile but seriously on the spicy side. They were perfect for me, but they might want to take the edge off that for the average joe. The Mamou sausage was similarly spicy but I was ready for it (the Tabasco hash in the description is your first clue) . The medium sausage juicy with a clean smoke flavor and snappy casing, very similar to my own recipe.

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My son approved of the sausage. Here he is trying to dig it out of the casing with a spoon.

I cannot say enough about this place. It is fantastic if you want that great taste of Austin BBQ but don't want to stand outside in the heat in line. Of course, that may all change once this place picks up in business. I adore Cajun food and barbecue so this place is right up my alley. They also have much more standard Cajun fare on the menu that I can't wait to go back for.
 
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Another interesting tidbit. The pitmaster from Franklin Barbecue just moved to the original Stiles Switch location.
 

 

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