Barbecue in Texas facts for kids
Texas Barbecue is a special way of cooking barbecue that is unique to Texan cuisine in the United States. It's famous for dishes like beef brisket, pork ribs, and sausage. When people talk about Texas barbecue, they also mean the tasty side dishes that usually come with the smoked meats, like potato salad.
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History of Texas Barbecue
The idea of smoking meat came to Central Texas in the mid-1800s. German and Czech settlers brought their traditions with them. Back then, butchers would smoke any meat they didn't sell. This helped the meat last longer without going bad. People in the area loved these smoked leftovers so much that many meat markets started specializing in them.
A big moment for Texas barbecue happened in 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson hosted a special dinner for the Mexican president-elect in Johnson City, Texas. This was the first time barbecue was served at a state dinner in U.S. history!
More recently, in 2019, a writer named J. C. Reid noted that pulled pork barbecue was becoming popular in Texas. Even though pulled pork started in other regions, Texans were starting to enjoy it too.
Different Styles of Texas Barbecue
Texas is a big state, and its barbecue traditions change depending on where you are. There are four main styles: East Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas. Each one has its own special way of cooking. Central and East Texas styles are the most well-known.
Here's how the different kinds of Texas barbecue are usually made:
- East Texas style—The meat is cooked very slowly until it's super tender and "falling off the bone." It's often cooked over hickory wood and soaked in a sweet, tomato-based sauce.
- Central Texas style—The meat is usually rubbed with just salt and black pepper. Sometimes other spices are used. It's cooked over indirect heat from pecan, oak, or mesquite wood. Sauce is often served on the side, but many people think the meat is delicious enough on its own.
- West Texas style—The meat is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood. This is a lot like grilling.
- South Texas style—The meat is marinated in thick, molasses-like sauces. These sauces help keep the meat moist and flavorful after it's cooked.
Another unique style, called barbacoa, is popular in South Texas and near the Mexico–United States border.
Barbacoa is a traditional Mexican way of making barbecue. It usually uses goat, lamb, or sheep meat, but sometimes beef too. The most traditional way to make barbacoa is to cook the meat in a hole dug in the ground. It's covered with maguey (Agave americana) leaves.
East Texas Barbecue Details
East Texas barbecue is often chopped instead of sliced. It can be made from either beef or pork. It's usually served on a bun, like a sandwich.
Historically, African-American communities in East Texas often preferred beef barbecue. This was because beef was more common in the area. Their barbecue was known for being very smoky.
Over time, new cooking methods, like using cinder block pits, helped Black restaurant owners continue to serve their communities. This style of barbecue is often seen as an extension of barbecue from the wider Southern United States. Both beef and pork are common. The focus on sauces and spices in East Texas barbecue came from a time when people might have received tougher cuts of meat that needed extra flavor.
Central Texas Barbecue Details
The Central Texas pit-style barbecue started in the 1800s along the Chisholm Trail. Towns like Lockhart, Luling, and Taylor became famous for it. European immigrants who owned meat-packing businesses opened shops that sold cooked meats. These meats were often wrapped in red butcher paper, a tradition that continues today. This style has become very popular around the world, even in places like Southern California, New York City, Britain, and Australia.
At a typical Central Texas barbecue restaurant, you might get your food cafeteria-style. A butcher carves the meat for you, and it's usually sold by the pound.
After getting your meat, you can pick up side dishes. These often include slices of white bread, dill pickle chips, sliced onion, jalapeño, and corn bread.
This style of barbecue really focuses on the meat itself. If sauce is offered, it's usually on the side for dipping. Many people believe that the quality of the meat cooking is the most important thing. Some sauces in Central Texas barbecue are made to be mild so they don't overpower the flavor of the meat. These sauces are often thinner and not sweet, unlike the thicker, sweeter sauces found in Kansas City or Memphis barbecue.
In 2010, the "Texas Barbecue Trail" was highlighted. This trail is a loop east of Austin that includes towns like Elgin, Lockhart, Luling, and Taylor. Famous barbecue spots like Louie Mueller Barbecue are found along this trail, all within about an hour of Austin.
Other Texas Barbecue Styles
West Texas barbecue is sometimes called "cowboy style." It uses a more direct heating method than other styles. The food is usually cooked over mesquite wood. This gives the meat a very distinct, smoky flavor that's different from other wood-smoked styles.
South Texas barbecue is heavily influenced by Mexican cuisine, especially in the border area near Northern Mexico. This region was where Texas ranching first began. Historically, Mexican farmhands were sometimes paid with less popular cuts of meat, like the diaphragm or the cow's head. The cow's head is key to South Texas barbecue, known as barbacoa. Traditionally, the head would be wrapped in wet maguey leaves and buried in a pit with hot coals for several hours. After cooking, the meat would be pulled off to make barbacoa tacos. The tongue was also used for lengua tacos. Today, barbacoa is often cooked in an oven using a bain-marie.
