Lockhart Taste Test Gone Wrong


 
J Hasselberger

J Hasselberger

TVWBB All-Star
We're out here in Hill Country looking for a place to live and took a break to head over to Lockhart with a plan to do a taste test of meats from the Big Three over there -- Kreutz, Smitty's and Black's. The idea was to get a take-out order of the same sample from each -- some brisket flat, some point, couple of ribs, a sausage and some sides. Then we planned to hustle back to the guest house we're staying at in San Marcos, and have a taste-test feast with some cold Shiner's.

First stop was Black's. As soon as we walked in the door, I took a deep breath ... and went brain dead. By the time we got to the meat station I was ordering a huge pile of brisket ribs and sausage and grabbing a Lone Star. Resistance to temptation was futile. There was no way I was going to wait out the 17-mile drive to San Marcos before chowing this down. The bark on the brisket was deeply smoky, without a hint of bitterness. The fat was perfectly rendered. The flat was a bit overdone, but when mixed in with the point, it didn't matter. The original recipe sausage is dead simple and delicious with a perfect texture and perfectly smoked. The ribs were a bit of a disappointment -- tasty, but hammy and dry. The house sauce is a thin ketchup/brown sugar/vinegar/S&P/maybe a little paprika potion that supports the meat well, although the meat really doesn't need sauce to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Looks like I'll just have to go back to Lockhart later in the week and finish up the test.

Jeff
 
Busy week house hunting, but made it back to Lockhart this afternoon. Flipped a coin to see if we'd try Smitty's or Kreuz Market first. Heads, Smitty's. The atmosphere is great -- a long dark corridor back to the pits, where the order line is so close to the fire that your own fat starts to render. Ordered up some brisket ribs and sausage and the deft cashier slapped it all on about 6 layers of butcher paper with 6 slices of white bread and some crackers, then scrunched up the corners to make a little boat of bounty for you to carry into the eatin' room (where you also order your sides and drinks). The sausage link was a work of art -- not too densely packed into a tender casing and as juicy as you've ever had. Again, dead simple, but wonderful. The ribs were porky perfection, with a sweet glaze that complemented the meat perfectly. There was not a hint of over-seasoning or hammy-ness, just lovely firm rib meat. The brisket was a major disappointment -- dry, tough and just average smokiness. It was so awful that I only ate half of the portion. It was near 6pm closing, so maybe that had something to do with it, but a barbecue institution should never put something like that on paper and slide it across the counter to a paying customer.

I bucked up and head over to Kreuz to hope for a better outcome, only to be told at the order counter that they were out of brisket. Bummer. The drive back to our casita in San Marcos was somber.

On the bright side, we will be moving to Way South Austin in just over a month and we intend to open the yellow pages (do they have them any more?) to "BBQ" and start at the top and work our way through. Can't wait to get to "F".

Jeff
 
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