One thing about Austin I was anxious to check out was their world-famous Texas barbecue. Having grown up in West Tennessee near Memphis, I have been spoiled with great barbecue my entire life. Thus, most places I go outside that small area have disappointed me with their pathetic excuse for barbecue. For instance, I won’t even bother with barbecue in Nashville. Although the Carolinas are very proud of their ‘cue, it’s just not my style. I learned while living in New Orleans that they have a great food culture, but their heritage with barbecue is somewhat spotty. There was only one barbecue place there I would go to, called The Joint, but it was distinctly Memphis-style barbecue so maybe that’s why I enjoyed it. My goal with this series is not to join the debate about which region produces the best barbecue (Memphis will clearly win that one) but simply to find out if Texas barbecue is in the same league, whether as a rival or partner.

The differences between Memphis-style and Texas-style barbecue are many. Texas barbecue has its own style, and can even be classified differently depending on what part of the state you are in. For this series, I will be discussing Central Texas barbecue. The main difference I noticed initially is that Texas barbecue is mostly beef, while other Southeast US barbecues are typically pork. The pulled-pork sandwich is one of the main staples of Memphis barbecue, but it is less prevalent in the Texas style. The Central Texas style in particular is more focused on the quality of the meat and less emphasis on the sauce. This is a stark comparison to what I am used to, which is all about the sweet barbecue sauce.

I have heard a lot about some specific places to try out: Salt Lick, Franklin, La Barbecue, and Rudy’s to name a few. Hopefully I will be able to get to all of them while I am in Austin to make a proper judgment of Texas barbecue and  it will live up to my standards as everyone has assured me it will. The next article in this series will be about my first Texas barbecue experience, and it is sure to make your mouth water if this one hasn’t done the trick already.