TEXAS BBQ HISTORY

The Central Texas barbecue can be accredited to the main settlers of the region during the "great move west", and to the Spanish natives of that region. In that time of "the great move west" many Czech and German settlers moved west for the hope of a better tomorrow in a place we now call central Texas. In 1810 one German immigrant owned all of what we think of as Austin, Texas, and as more and more people settled into the region, he continued to sell off his land until it became a large community living there. Once settled they set up shop... literally.  They used their skills and knowledge of food from their homeland to get into the food and meat business. They worked with the local cattle farmers in the region to open butcher shops and making other various edibles.  

After a long day in the butcher shop, you most likely find many owners smoking the leftover cuts meat that didn't sell or the "undesirable cuts" that were just too tough to cook hot and fast (like brisket) which at that time made them unpopular. They did this practice for two reasons: to preserve the meat for more shelf life and to help their bottom line. Most started doing a way to help cut back on loss, but it opened a whole new style of cooking that others where not used to and became super popular even to this day. Typically, next to the butcher shop or in it you would often find the smoked meats and sausages available to take home as well.

You can still see some examples of this in Texas such as Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, Texas. It would eventually become more popular for most shops to sell the smoked meats, and sausages then what they could do in the butcher shop. A lot of those shops eventually grew to become some of the biggest barbecue hotspots we love today in central Texas and in the US. 

Back then and even today you found basic seasonings such as Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Paprika, Chile powder and other simple spices of the region or culture. The history of beef brisket, turkey, chicken, sausage, and various pork products all grew to be considered the staple of what BBQ is in that region. Still to this day in Texas “Beef is King”. In fact, you can’t say "Let's have a Barbecue" in Texas without expecting the star of that cook to be beef, and that beef done low and slow.