When I made mention of Texas barbecue I overlooked the fact that the state of Texas covers a lot of territory. My experience at the 2015 Barbecue Festival in Austin featured only the Central Texas style of 'cue. The way it is done there is to first rub the meat with a combination of spices, followed by indirect cooking over pecan or oak wood. That differs from the falling off the bone style with a sweet tomato based marinade of East Texas, or the direct heat from mesquite wood found in West Texas barbecue and is far removed from the thick molasses-like sauces used in South Texas cooking.
The Central Texas style was developed by the German and Czek immigrants who inhabited the area in the 19th Century. Being a frugal lot they would smoke the left over meat that didn't sell to preserve it. That cooked meat could be sold later to customers, sold by the pound and wrapped in red butcher paper. In addition to beef cuts the butchers also cooked and smoked chicken, pork and sausage, a tradition that continues in the region to this very day. This style emphasizes the quality of the meat and its taste and flavor. Any sauce that might accompany the meat is always served on the side to be used at the patron's discretion.
Tomorrow I will begin the story of my introduction to Central Texas barbecue.
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