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Mail order for Real Texas BBQ

NewYorkTexan

By NewYorkTexan
in Kitchen Consumer

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NewYorkTexan

NewYorkTexan

Posted
Posted

As a follow up to a post on Plotnicki’s outstanding year in review thread on the NYC board, I wanted to list a few alternatives for “real” Texas BBQ. The options are limited since many of the best BBQ joints do not even have web sites. Let’s be serious, for some of these places indoor plumbing is considered high-tech but they sure know how to smoke their meat.

The Salt Lick is fun, but not exactly worthy of being a benchmark. Their sausage lacks real flavor and the brisket never achieves greatness. I do like their sauce. You can even find a Salt Lick outlet at the Austin airport. In terms of airport dining options, they are incredible.

For authentic and great BBQ places that ship, here are two options:

Coopers in Llano

Coopers is my personal favorite. Their brisket is great, really great and the pork chops are succulent. Their sauce is only average, with meat this good the sauce is irrelevant.

Black's in Lockhart

Excellent sausage and brisket. I do not think the ship their smoked ham but that also is very good.

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Steve Plotnicki

Steve Plotnicki

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Posted

What about the ribs? Actually the way I came to The Salt Lick was through a piece on the Today Show about barbecue ribs. They had guys on from a half dozen places making ribs in their own unique, idiosyncratic style. The ones that looked the best by far were from The Salt Lick. So we ordered ribs for Memorial Day 2001 and cooked them up (they ship them smoked and partially cooked but you have to grill them for 20 minutes or so.) In general the reviews were that they were a superior product to what BBQ joints usually ship because they were meaty and lean and they weren't heavily smoked. Not particularly greasy either. I've had ribs flown in from Arthur Bryants, Sonny Bryan's and The Rendevous among other places and they are never as good at home and the next day as they would be onsight. Plus the grease quotient is amazingly high. We in the northeast like our BBQ refined :wink:. But I will try one or both of the ones you posted. I also seem to remember Fat Guy being in Austin and having a kind word or two for the SL.

So where does Dubya eat Q? Does he think they are nukular?

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Simon Majumdar

Simon Majumdar

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The ribs at Kreuz in Lockhart were the best I have ever had. The Salt lick was fine, but my fave thing there was the chicken ( the one thing on the menu you had to pay extra for refills for )

By far the worst BBQ I have EVER had was at The Iron Works in Austin. Bodeans in London last week was a 1000 x better

S

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NewYorkTexan

NewYorkTexan

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In Texas, brisket and sausage are king. When comparing BBQ joints, brisket is the common measuring stick. I am sure there are folks who can talk with more authority about ribs since I almost never order ribs. It is almost impossible to find good beef ribs and I have had better pork ribs in NC that anywhere I have tried in Texas.

I’ll let Shaw talk for himself about the SL, but I was there with him.

That is an interesting point about some BBQ re-heating better than others. Hopefully I will never have to experience that :laugh:

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NewYorkTexan

NewYorkTexan

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I liked Blacks a lot ( the links in particular ) But I did not think their brisket was a patch on Smittys

I think the highlight of my whole Texas trip was the pork chop/prime rib plate at Smittys

S

I am also a big fan of Smitty's, but I do not believe they ship.

Many of the great ones like Smitty's, Kruez and Meyers in Elgin do not ship.

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CathyL

CathyL

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I had an opportunity to taste Cooper's and Black's mail-order brisket side by side last year; in both cases, I sampled the leaner flat and the fattier point. The Black's was far superior. Cooper's looked and tasted like a mass-produced commercial product: dry, stringy, minimal smoke flavor. Black's was succulent and perfectly smoked.

I haven't been to Cooper's, but the friend who shared the samples has; he says the brisket they ship is a pale shadow of what they serve at the restaurant, probably because of the way it's processed.

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Simon Majumdar

Simon Majumdar

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I liked Blacks a lot ( the links in particular ) But I did not think their brisket was a patch on Smittys

I think the highlight of my whole Texas trip was the pork chop/prime rib plate at Smittys

S

I am also a big fan of Smitty's, but I do not believe they ship.

Many of the great ones like Smitty's, Kruez and Meyers in Elgin do not ship.

I think Kruez do ship now don't they? I thought they started doing this when they moved to the new site

I am, of course, totally capable of being completely wrong

S

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Jaymes

Jaymes

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So where does Dubya eat Q? Does he think they are nukular?

W has his Q catered out on the ranch....

My son who lives in San Jose loves central Texas BBQ, and I overnight it to him from time to time for special occasions, because he tried all of the "companies that ship" options, but it was never anywhere nearly so good.

Perhaps each of you that would like some shipped to you should pick a Texan to suck up to. :biggrin:

(Just a thought.)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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haunted_chef

haunted_chef

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i thank god for the fact I live in Texas, Heck I even have a mom and pop BBQ joint around the corner from me. There is nothing like a chopped beef sandwich with jalapenos, onions and pickles as a late night snack..... john

JTL

Is a Member of PETA..."People Eating Tasty Animals"

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Jaymes

Jaymes

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Posted (edited)

Perhaps each of you that would like some shipped to you should pick a Texan to suck up to.   :biggrin:

Excellent idea, Jaymes. I pick you. Please advise. :laugh:

Okay, everyone... I'm taken.

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

(Cathy: I'll be in touch.)

:biggrin:

Edited by Jaymes (log)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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Bux

Bux

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Posted
Okay, everyone...  I'm taken.

:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

(Cathy:  I'll be in touch.)

:biggrin:

What no bidding? No wining and dining? You're easy. :laugh:

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted (edited)
Okay, everyone...  I'm taken.

:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

(Cathy:  I'll be in touch.)

:biggrin:

What no bidding? No wining and dining? You're easy. :laugh:

Yes.

And I was VERY popular in high school.

:biggrin:

Edited by Jaymes (log)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...
Sweet Willie

Sweet Willie

Posted
Posted
For authentic and great BBQ places that ship, here are two options:

Coopers in Llano

Coopers is my personal favorite.  Their brisket is great, really great and the pork chops are succulent.  Their sauce is only average, with meat this good the sauce is irrelevant. 

Black's in Lockhart

Excellent sausage and brisket.  I do not think the ship their smoked ham but that also is very good.

I agree w/your opinions on Salt Lick.

Any other BBQ order websites? Also looking for Carolina pulled pork.

"I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be"
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Jaymes

Jaymes

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Posted (edited)

You're not going to find better mail order than Blacks'. I think Cooper's may be going out of the mail order business. The word around these parts is that the mail order business was hurting their "come-in-and-set-a-spell bidness," and they were considering ending it.

For the Carolina mail order, you probably should start a thread over in the Southeast board.

That'd be a good idea, I think. I don't recall ever having seen one.

Edited by Jaymes (log)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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  • 7 months later...
Sweet Willie

Sweet Willie

Posted
Posted
Black's in Lockhart

Excellent sausage and brisket. I do not think the ship their smoked ham but that also is very good.

just ordered from Black's, needed a fix as I'm not traveling to TX anytime soon.

Also ordered BBQ slaw from RO's BBQ http://www.rosbbq.com

"I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be"
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ElfWorks

ElfWorks

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i would like to enter my vote here for ARTZ RIB HOUSE on s. lamar in austin. good music great food and art has been known to ship the q to more than one soul stuck in some god-forsaken bbq-free locale.

xo

"Animal crackers and cocoa to drink

That is the finest of suppers, I think

When I'm grown up and can have what I please,

I think I shall always insist upon these"

*Christopher Morley

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Dana

Dana

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David Rosengarten recently (last fall?) ordered Texas BBQ from several places, and the winner was Willy Ray's BBQ here in Beaumont!!! (www.willyraysbbq.com, I'm too tired to figure out how to make a link.) While I've never used their mail order - I live about 6 blocks from the place - I can vouch that it's terrific. Check it out....

Stop Family Violence

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  • 3 weeks later...
Robb Walsh

Robb Walsh

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Posted

Seems like Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook had something to say about that "Beef is King in Texas" baloney. And I've heard many people say the pork ribs in Texas blow away anything you'll find in Memphis.

Anyway, New Yorkers looking for great barbecue from Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and all points south of the Garden State Parkway--mark June 12 and 13 on your calendar.

Check out this pitmaster list:

http://www.bluesmoke.com/blue/secondary/events.html

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  • 4 years later...
jaymer

jaymer

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being a native texan, i never had pulled pork or saw a hog til I moved to Marietta GA when I was 25. I was surprised over thanksgiving when i returned to the Austin area to hear my Brother talk about how big pork ribs were.

we use flavorful dry rubs at my restaurant - most there used salt & pepper... which has a nice taste and it peaked my interest and i want to try slabs that way. but one place i visited grilled their ribs 2 hrs then left them on the heating pit. they were dry. i just wasn't impressed compared to smoking my spares for 4-4.5 hrs.

and i had beef ribs at Kruez' and County Line, and neither were good. I'm spoiled by mine that cook for 7 hrs. CL is reheating their ribs on their grill. They give you a big portion, as they cut "one bone" out of 3 bones (cutting on the inside of the two adjacent bones).

I ordered AIR RIBS years ago - for a birthday, and used to frequent there when in town, but was disappointed big time at County Line in person on my last trip.

Seems like Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook had something to say about that "Beef is King in Texas" baloney. And I've heard many people say the pork ribs in Texas blow away anything you'll find in Memphis.

Jaymer-Q BBQ - Tampa Bay

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