Texas Barbecue

Texas is a big state with several barbecue traditions, but to most of the world, Texas barbecue means one thing: brisket, seasoned with salt and pepper, smoked over oak, and sliced to order. Here is a guide to the central Texas style and its neighbors.

Beef country

Texas is cattle country, so it is no surprise that beef sits at the center of its barbecue. Brisket is the star, joined by beef ribs, sausage, and often pork ribs, turkey and other meats. The emphasis is on the meat and the smoke, with seasoning kept simple and sauce treated as optional.

Central Texas

The central Texas style grew out of the meat markets of the region, where butchers smoked unsold cuts and sausage and sold them by the pound. Many of those habits survive in the way central Texas barbecue is served today:

  • By the pound, sliced to order at a counter.
  • On butcher paper instead of plates, often with a stack of white bread or saltines.
  • With pickles, raw onion and jalapeños on the side.
  • Sauce optional, and sometimes not offered at all.

The rub is often just coarse black pepper and salt, sometimes with garlic. The traditional wood is post oak, which burns clean and gives a mild, steady smoke well suited to long brisket cooks. Briskets are cooked in offset or brick pits with indirect heat. See offset smokers.

The central Texas tray

  • Brisket, "lean" (from the flat) or "moist"/"fatty" (from the point)
  • Beef ribs, huge and peppery
  • Sausage, often a coarse beef or beef-and-pork link, a legacy of the region's German and Czech heritage
  • Pork ribs and turkey breast
  • Sides such as beans, potato salad and coleslaw

East Texas

East Texas barbecue has more in common with the Deep South. Meat is often cooked longer until it is very tender, and chopped beef sandwiches with a sweet, tomato-based sauce are a classic. Pork ribs and hickory smoke are common.

South Texas barbacoa

In South Texas, barbacoa traditionally means a cow's head cooked slowly, historically wrapped and buried in a pit, and served in tacos, often as a weekend breakfast. Today it is usually steamed or cooked in an oven. See in-ground pit cooking.

West Texas cowboy style

West Texas is known for direct-heat cooking over mesquite coals, a style often called "cowboy" barbecue. Meats such as steaks, chicken, cabrito (young goat) and sausage are cooked hotter and faster than in central Texas.

Cooking Texas brisket at home

  1. Start with a whole packer brisket, such as a Nebraska Angus brisket.
  2. Trim the fat cap and shape the brisket.
  3. Season with equal parts coarse black pepper and kosher salt.
  4. Smoke with oak at a steady temperature. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends keeping smoker air between 225 and 300 °F.
  5. Push through the stall, wrapping in butcher paper if you like.
  6. Cook until probe tender, rest, and slice across the grain.

The full process is in our brisket guide. FSIS lists 145 °F with a three-minute rest as the safe minimum internal temperature for whole cuts of beef; brisket is cooked far beyond that for tenderness.

Butcher paper vs. foil

Many Texas cooks wrap brisket in unwaxed pink or peach butcher paper partway through the cook. Paper holds in some moisture while letting steam escape, helping to protect the bark. Foil holds in more moisture and speeds the cook, but can soften the crust. See the glossary under "Texas crutch."

Serving Texas style

Slice brisket to order, across the grain, about the thickness of a pencil. Serve on butcher paper with white bread, pickles, onions and jalapeños, and let everyone decide about sauce. If you do want sauce, a thin, savory one suits the beef better than a thick, sweet one.

Compare with Kansas City, Carolina and Memphis, or read about oak and other woods.

Frequently asked

Lean or moist?

"Lean" comes from the flat, "moist" or "fatty" from the point. Many people order some of each.

Can I use hickory instead of oak?

Yes. It gives a stronger smoke. Oak is traditional in central Texas, but great brisket is cooked over many hardwoods.

Beyond brisket

A Texas-style spread at home does not have to stop at brisket. Beef ribs, cut from the plate or chuck, cook much like brisket and are seasoned the same way. Smoked sausage links need only to be heated through if they are pre-cooked, or cooked to 160 °F if made from raw ground meat, the FSIS minimum for ground meats. Turkey breast takes smoke well and must reach 165 °F. Add pickles, onions and white bread, and you have a central Texas tray.

Sources

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