brisket

Linkdown: 12/2/15

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– Yahoo Travel goes on the hunt for barbecue in South Carolina

– The Infatuation’s list of best barbecue in New York

– The latest reviews from Marie, Let’s Eat!: Barbecue Kitchen, Mickey Pigg’s BBQ, and Tomlin’s BBQ

– Stubb’s Bottled Barbecue Sauce is suing Stubb’s Bar-B-Q

– TMBBQ explores the many briskets of Texas

– Attention Rudy: Eater’s got a map of where to get the best pulled pork in Austin

– Grayson Currin of The Independent says that Calvin Trillin’s recent New Yorker piece missed out on the best eastern NC “barbecue” in the form of  soy recreated to mimic the dish; I can’t say that I disagree with Calvin Trillin not trying it out while in NC

In fact, to my mind, he missed some of the best barbecue in the state, even if it’s not barbecue at all: soy, smoked low and slow, pulled apart by hand and drenched with a vinegar-based sauce. It is a regional delicacy, reinvented for reasons beyond upscale dining.

Southside Market & Barbeque – Elgin, TX

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Name: Southside Market & Barbeque
Date: 10/24/15
Address: 1212 Hwy 290 E, Elgin, TX 78621
Order: Southside Combo Plate (Brisket & Sausage with Slaw and Mac & Cheese), 1 Slammer, Drink (link to menu)
Price: $17.00

The calendar said it was October and the car seat in the back said I was a dad, so I was required to take the obligatory trip to a pumpkin patch. Mrs. Rudy said buying a pumpkin at the grocery store was completely out of the question and that we must drive out to the country to get one. However she sold me with the idea of being able to go to Southside Market & Barbeque in Elgin, which is right outside of Austin.  

Southside markets themselves as the oldest barbecue joint in Texas. It has a tremendous amount of history and has a great reputation. They ship sausages and other meats all over the country, so I was excited to try their barbecue. In my opinion, the reputation far exceeded what I actually experienced.

When you walk in, it feels very much like they are trying to get as many people through as possible. While that may mean more profit and more people eat their food, it also probably means that they do not have a huge focus on quality. There are two lines for barbecue and two enormous dining rooms for eating.  Southside also feels very commercialized, with lots of options to buy their shirts, hats, sauces, rubs, and really anything you want with “Southside Market & Barbeque” printed on it. The two positives for their atmosphere, and why I rated it highly, was because of pallets of wood outside (showing that they are cooking over wood) and they have a very nice meat market/butcher there where you can go and get your own meat to cook at home. If I were wanting to cook my own brisket, ribs, or sausage, this is absolutely the place that I would go.

I ordered the Southside Combo Plate, which came with brisket and sausage, plus 2 sides. The brisket had almost no seasoning, there was a little bit of a smoke ring, but no bark and no flavor. The fat was not well rendered, which led me to believe it had been cooked much earlier and had just been sitting there staying warm for a while. Very disappointing. The sausage was better, but not by much. I believe they make their sausage in house, so there are some points for that. It had flavor from the meat, but was nothing great.  

As far as sides, I got the slaw (non-mayo based for Speedy) and mac and cheese. They were probably the best part of the meal, but it was an easy hurdle to cover. I thought the mac and cheese was the best, but it’s hard to mess that up.  

The last thing I tried was a special that they were advertising on the menu called “the Slammer”. It was a sausage, stuffed with cheese and a jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and smoked. They clearly had my attention. When it came, it was much like the brisket – room temperature and uninspiring. The cheese was hard and not melted while the bacon was not crisp at all, as if it had been cooked many hours earlier and left to sit. I am shocked that someone could mess up something that’s only ingredients are bacon, sausage, cheese, and jalapeno, but Southside Market managed to do just that.  

I was completely looking forward to getting out to Elgin and trying Southside Market & Barbeque, however when you eat barbecue and the pumpkin patch is the highlight of the day, that’s not a good sign for the barbecue joint. Overall I’m glad I tried it and can mark it off the list, but I’m more happy that I didn’t make a special trip out just for it.

–Rudy

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Slammer – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs
Southside Market & Barbeque Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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The Smoke Pit – Concord, NC

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Name: The Smoke Pit
Date: 11/12/15
Address: 796 Concord Pkwy N, Concord, NC 28027
Order: Pork and brisket bbq combo with bbq slaw, mac and cheese, cornbread, and Sun Drop (link)
Price: $15.95

By far, one of the most suggested spots in the Charlotte-area was The Smoke Pit in Concord. Naturally, I added it to the list and gave the website a cursory look, figuring that it was a local favorite that might have a loyal following but pumped out average barbecue. Well, after finally making it there I can legitimately say that its a top 5 Charlotte-area joint that I’d really like to revisit with Speedy so he can check out as well. It’s legitimately that good.

First off, the barbecue restaurant is attached to a butcher shop (The Stock Market – also owned by the same folks), so obviously that’s a great sign. It was also packed at lunchtime, with people (like myself) having to spill out onto the patio on a brisk but sunny day. Finally, the dining room itself smelled of smoke. All very encouraging signs but ultimately it comes down to the meat…which I can happily report was extremely solid.

Tempted to go with a 3 meat combo, I instead opted for just pork and brisket after seeing the large portions of the trays of seated customers. As for the trays themselves, The Smoke Pit goes for a Texas-style presentation of the meats and sides on top of brown butcher paper. The pork was piled in a healthy portion and was smokey, had a nice bark, and was fairly moist even without the dashes of a thin, vinegar barbecue on top (which I believe was a Lexington-style sauce, or at least Lexington-ish). The large, maybe ¾ inch slices of brisket had some of the same qualities of the pork – good smoke, nice peppery bark, and mostly moist – cut from the point. I was quite impressed and one would hope that the other meats would be just as good.

I was pleased to see that they offered a barbecue slaw in addition to a mayo-based slaw, though I prefer mine chopped instead of shredded – a minor nitpick. The mac and cheese was a little dried out and could have used some reheating before being served. Each platter comes with a choice of either Texas toast or cornbread, and the cornbread was decent and of the sweeter variety that I like. While they don’t have Cheerwine they do have Sun Drop at the fountain.

I didn’t get a chance to investigate what kind of smoker they use but whatever the case the end result is very good. Like I mentioned above, I want to go back with Speedy and try more meats – they also have wings, ribs, sausage, and chicken on the menu. At The Smoke Pit the restaurant is nice and clean, the meat is smoky, and the portions are huge (I got another full lunch out of my order). Finally, I’ve found some very good barbecue in Concord that matches up favorably to the best in Charlotte. Will revisit again very soon.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 3.5
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
The Smoke Pit Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Friday Find: How to Build the Perfect Tray of Meat

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Eater brings you a video of La Barbecue building the quintessential Texas barbecue and sides tray against  a background of classical music.

Look no further than La Barbecue as a shiny example of Austin’s true love of barbecue. Helmed by pitmasters John Lewis, Francisco Saucedo, and Esaul Ramos, along with owner LeAnn Mueller (yes of the famous barbecue family), the barbecue trailer dishes out tasty smoked meats that are very worthy of the long customer lines. Here, La Barbecue was up for the challenge of creating its version of a “tasting menu,” which in 60 seconds turned into just every item of their current menu, artfully plated for your enjoyment.

La Barbecue’s Menu:
Moist brisket
1.5 lb Beef Rib
Pulled pork with house made tangy sauce
Pork Ribs
El Sancho Loco
House made Texas Hot Guts
Smoked Turkey
House pickled spicy pickles (middle below sandwich)
Red pickled peppers ( right and middle)
Pickled red onions (pink)
House pickled okra (bottom left)
Southwest Black Bean Salad
Chipotle Slaw
Potato Salad

If that makes you hungry and you want to know Rudy’s thoughts on La Barbecue, his #1 in Austin, read his review of it here.

–Monk