Brisket

I am about six months behind reading my Texas Monthly magazines. The July issue's main lead was "The Top Fifty BBQ joints in Texas." For those of us who love bbq brisket--this article brought out the taste buds.

Warning: the following descriptions of brisket will cause you to jump in the car and drive to find the nearest good brisket (very few places exist in Nashville, unfortunately); here are some of the descripions of the meat the committee found:"swoon-inducing", "perfectly balanced bite of meat, fat, smoke and fire", "flavorful and savory", "delectable hickory-smoked","served in a broth of beef juices and spicy sauce","tender, salty, fall-off-the bone succulent", "perfectly crispy, yet moist", "the fat melted and the tender slices could be cut with the fork edge", "the marbled edges were as soft as warm butter", " a char that crunches slightly", etc. This is definitely not pulled pork.

There were also odes to white bread, potato salad, slaw and peach cobbler. By the way, they selected as the best Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Harold's in Abilene was highly rated, as well. It is almost blasphemous to say this, but I really do not like Harold's--too dry and the sauce is too sweet. Joe Allen's is not even mentioned. I think Joe's ex-wife's BBQ place has pushed his aside.

Hey, let's take a road trip to Texas!