Second Helpings: Regional Barbecue

Cooper’s BBQ

403 N. Mays, Round Rock, 255-5638

Tue-Sat, 11am-8pm

The second generation of a Hill Country BBQ legend, Gary Cooper has been serving his family’s style of barbecue in downtown Round Rock since 1985.

Louie Mueller Barbecue

The quality of meats served in this no-frills and famous downtown Taylor storefront has remained unchanged for more than 50 years. Unusual secret-recipe peppery meat jus is served with every order, and even the potato salad has a tangy bite.

Rudy Mikeska’s

www.mikeska.com

The Taylor store is the cradle of the “first family” of Texas barbecue where they serve great meats and nontraditional side dishes in a cafeteria-like setting.

Cross-Town Bar-B-Q

Look for this place off the beaten path if you prefer your brisket, pork ribs, mutton, and all-beef sausage down-home, greasy, and full of flavor, smoked over a slow oak fire.

Southside Market & Barbecue

This 100-plus-year-old sausage factory is one of the main reasons Elgin is known as the “sausage capital of Texas.” Great varieties of sausage and $2 per pound brisket trimmings are a real treat, too.

Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse

www.elginsmokehouse.citysearch.com

The current generation of sausage-making Meyer brothers expanded the successful family sausage business in 1988 to include a casual restaurant where they serve smoked pork ribs, turkey breast, and brisket.

Kreuz Market

www.kreuzmarket.com

Rick Schmidt carries on the family tradition in his big new building on Hwy. 183 S., where there’s plenty of room for tour buses and regular customers alike.

Black’s Barbecue

www.blacksbbq.com

Bragging rights in this longtime Lockhart mainstay are that Black’s is the oldest barbecue restaurant around continually operated by the same family. Nationwide shipping is available.

Smitty’s Market

This historic old building certainly qualifies as Texas barbecue hallowed ground, as it was home to the legendary Kreuz Market for years before Nina Schmidt Sells inherited it and opened her own store.

Luling City Market

One of City Market’s claims to fame is that they don’t have any forks in the restaurant. That’s because their brisket is so fall-apart tender you’ll want to feel how good it is. You buy all meats by the pound (or link) in the smokehouse in the back of the dining hall.

Fushak’s Pit BBQ

Meats here are smoked over hickory in a rotisserie pit and emerge ultra-moist and juicy. Traditional sides are available, plus homemade banana pudding and pecan pie.

The Salt Lick

Folks drive from all over Central Texas to relax among the picnic tables at the rustic outdoor pavilion and eat their barbecue family-style. Expect a wait most of the time.

R.O.’s Outpost

Complete barbecue menu is available here as well as chicken-fried steak and fried quail. No matter how much meat you eat, you must save room for the stellar pies.

Opie’s Barbecue

Choose pork chops, pork ribs, sausage, brisket, chicken, and sometimes cabrito from the 12-foot smoke pit, have it sauced, sit at the picnic tables and chow on down.

Inman’s Kitchen

The treasured family recipe for turkey sausage is what originally put Inman’s on the map, and it’s still as good as it ever was.

Cooper’s Old-Time Pit Barbecue

www.coopersbbq.com

Still the most famous of all the Cooper’s outlets, this joint is admired by hunters from all over the country who make an annual pilgrimage to Llano during deer season.

Cooper’s Pit Bar-B-Q

The original outlet founded by George T. Cooper is still smokin’ after all these years, successfully operated by Duard Dockal for nearly 20 years since the old man retired.

This article appears in March 15 • 2002.