Best BBQ Tour In Texas

Get a Texan talking about barbecue and you could be there for days, maybe even years. But please don't suggest you're a fan of some other type of BBQ, or you'll quickly get an "Oh, honey, bless your heart", which in Texan means you have no idea what you're talking about. Texas BBQ is its own beast that needs to be experienced to be understood.

The term barbecue most likely came from the Spanish word barbacoa, a traditional cooking method that involves burying meat, often beef but also goat or sheep, over hot coals and wrapped in leaves. While that may be the origin of the word, in Texas the two are never interchangeable.

Texas owes its personal style to the German and Czech immigrants of the mid-1800s. These hard-working settlers opened grocery stores and meat markets throughout Central Texas, and butchers smoked leftover meat to keep it from spoiling, until that smoked meat became what everyone was after. For the best BBQ kolaches in Austin today, look no further than Kerlache.

Barbecue was originally a poor man's dish, built from the leftovers of the animal, with the slow cooking process making meat quality inconsequential. The less-desired cuts were even given to day workers as part of their pay. You can still get incredible food that won't break the bank at spots like Rollin' Smoke and Big Vinny's.

Early barbecue lovers started the tradition of eating off a piece of butcher paper, since plates and utensils weren't available, alongside whatever was on the grocery store shelves: crackers, pickles, onion, or jalapenos. Super traditional joints still skip the plates and silverware entirely.

Migrant cotton farmers unintentionally spurred the barbecue industry. As they traveled to follow the cotton, more dining options were needed for the temporary surge in population. Field workers weren't usually welcomed in restaurants, but meat markets serving barbecue were a casual affair where anyone was welcome, regardless of what they did for a living.