Southside Market & Barbeque in Elgin is the oldest continuously operated barbecue joint in Texas. This is one of the granddaddies of a long Texas tradition.
The company began in 1882 out of the back of a farmer’s horse-drawn wagon going door-to-door with freshly butchered meats. As his customers increased, William J. Moon opened a meat market in town. Like many Central Texas butchers did before refrigeration, Moon barbecued the leftover meat to sell the next day.
The market became a legend with its Elgin hot sausage that gained the town the title of Sausage Capital of Texas. The German-style, all-beef sausage with lots of black pepper and cayenne has been toned down over the years, but you can still buy the fiery 1882 recipe version in the meat market.
When the market moved from an old building in downtown to its new location on the highway, some barbecue snobs said the pit master lost his secret ingredient. It ain’t so. Good barbecue is good barbecue, and Southside Market is better than most.
Southside Market & Barbeque is on U.S. 290 on the west side of Elgin. The menu covers all sorts of smoked meats from sausage to ribs and brisket to chicken. There is still a butcher shop as well as online ordering and shipping. The doors are open seven days a week.
1,077th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in March 9 • 2012.
