Howdy pardner, Jose Mier here. I know I jump from the simple foods to the sublime on this site, but really I love all food so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. In addition to hot dogs and hamburgers or apple pie there’s one really quintessential American food and that’s barbecue (or BBQ to save writing time!).
I love BBQ from ribs to pulled pork sandwiches and there are so many regional variations (St. Louis style, Carolina style, etc.). Like I said, I love them all. But today since I’m a Sun Valley, CA guy, and was thinking about some of my favorite local restaurants Texas BBQ came to mind. Yes, we have our own Texas BBQ joint here to bring a little of the Lone Star State to SoCal.
If there’s one thing about Texas style that makes it unique is their devotion to brisket. Texas barbecued brisket is in a league all it’s own. The fact that you can start out with not the most tender cut of meat and turn it into a masterpiece that people drool over to me is amazing.
What do I love about brisket Texas style? Everything. Well, to be more specific, I love the texture and flavor. Any pitmaster will tell you there’s an art to BBQ and to do brisket right you have to have a little artist in you.
The “secret” if you can call it that is slow cooking. For a big side of brisket (say 12 poinds) you’re looking at 12 to 16 hours of cooking over low, indirect heat (the BBQ). This is going to impart that great smoky flavor and soften the meat so it’s (almost) fork-tender.
The other part of the secret is the preparation. Many cooks will use a dry rub and salt which they’ll leave for several hours to sink into the meat. The amazingribs.com website lists their own “Big Bad Rub” on their site.
Once cooked and sliced, serve it up with some Texas style BBQ sauce drizzled over the meat.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
But I usually don’t have 16 hours to slow cook brisket so I’d rather go to a place like The Swingin’ Door Texas BBQ here near Sun Valley. It at 11018 Vanowen St. in North Hollywood (almost technically Sun Valley, but what the heck). When I’m there I can at least imagine I’m in Texas and I can get my fill of the delicious brisket that I love. Don’t get me started about “burnt ends” either. This post would be twice the length!