Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If the butcher paper ain’t transparent by the end of the meal, your ‘cue probably didn’t taste that good
My original plan was to go to Lockhart, Texas and eat at Smitty’s, Kruez and Blacks. However when we got there on Monday, they Smitty’s and Kruez were both closed. Their coals maybe continuously burning, but they were not serving barbecue that day. I was a bit disheartened (actually probably for the best, because I would have ended up leaving Lockhart with gout) but thankfully, the one place that I really wanted to visit, Black’s was open as it should, claiming to be open 8 days a week. The town of Lockhart is fun for a person that grew up in suburban New Jersey. Cliché as it sounds, it looks like a place stuck in time, like when you see old Cold War reels of Reds invading American town, Lockhart is the town they are talking about. Black’s Barbecue has been in operation since 1932 and boasts are being one of one of the oldest, same family ran operation. Kent Black, the current Black runs it and was kind enough to indulge my inner nerd and gave me a tour of their pits and gave me a whole run down of the operation. Oak, aged for a year, pits run about 225 and they do not do no Texas Crutching here. Which, I would expect from a place in business since 1932.
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| Rat Cheese-love it |
This is the type of atmosphere and aurora that I was chasing for during my trip. You grab a plate and indulge on the cafeteria style spread of sides and desserts and then you order your meat. I loved the fact that they had the little packets of rat cheese and how nice the whole staff was and patient with those that could not decide on what they wanted. Here we got the standard fare, brisket, beef rib and sausage, got the jalapeno cheese and their original. First the sausage, I am a fan of the medium grid sausages, I like the texture. The original sausage unfortunately was that great, neutral tasting and did not pop with any flavor. Thankfully, their sauce is quite good, peppery and acid, it solved the monotonous sausage. The Jalapeno and cheese fared better, slightly spicy and chunks of cheese present it was good. Meat after the jump!
