The Best BBQ Joint on the Planet

Lockhart is the undisputed Mecca of BBQ in Texas — which makes it the best BBQ anywhere in the world.

Four restaurants vie for your carnivorous appetites in this small town of 11K people — the newest being Smitty’s Market.

Of course to call Smitty’s Market a “new” ‘q joint isn’t quite accurate. Does this pit room look new to you?

The Joint

BBQ has been served in this same red brick building since the turn of the last century, and by the same family for more than 50 years. However, back in 1998 a sibling feud resulted in a split — the brother kept the family business but moved it down the road into a new building and kept the family Kruez Market name.

The sister, Nina Schmidt Sells, kept the building and re-named it Smitty’s Market, after their father Edgar A. “Smitty” Schmidt.

Here’s the backside of Smitty’s:

And the old store front:

I’ve eaten at both Kruez Market and Smitty’s Market more times than I can count. Without a doubt they are both two of the best ‘q joints in the State.

But I must admit that I have a slight preference for Smitty’s.

In fact, in a toss up with Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-b-que in Llano — this is probably the best BBQ on the planet (Southside Market in Elgin is a distant third…I’ll get around to that review eventually).

A big part of my preference comes from the atmosphere at Smitty’s — it hasn’t changed much (if at all) in over 60 years. Meats are slow smoked on pits that have been seasoned for decades by people that have been doing it for just as long.

The Meat

Here’s what a food reviewer for DallasFood.org had to say:

For those who have never been to Lockhart, here’s a rough translation: what you see spread on butcher paper above is the very telos of beef, the result of an alchemical transformation of smoke and cow into purest protein gold, a revelatory encounter that would turn (like Paul on the road to Damascus) your hairy-legged vegan girlfriend into a full-fledged, card-carrying carnivore.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I found ourselves out for a ride and ended up at Smitty’s Market — we ordered a lb of fatty brisket, a lb of ribs, and a hot link:

Beans, onion, white bread, and a Big Red soda rounded out the meal of course.

The brisket was top notch — well smoked throughout and just fatty enough. Not the best brisket I’d ever eaten, but better than 98% of the others. The red vinegar sauce on the tables was subtle but good and complimented the brisket nicely.

The real winner at Smitty’s though, and to me what really sets them apart from other ‘q joints are their pork spare ribs.

I’m salivating like Pavlov’s dog right now thinking about them.

Not only are the ribs exceptionally meaty and well smoked — but they have a very subtle sweet glaze that gives them a distinct but magnificent flavor. Really unlike the ribs you can get anywhere else in Lockhart.

But I know that barbecue is finicky. Judgments on great joints have to be formed over time. A one-meal data set won’t do it.

So I went back this weekend to give the brisket another try (and I had to have some more of those ribs…).

I ordered my standard fare — 1/2 lb of fatty brisket and 4 large ribs. I passed on the beans this time, and stuck to just the meat. I didn’t want anything to interfere with my judgment or enjoyment of The Standard in smoked meats.

The brisket was cut in thick (1/2″) slices, and the dark pink smoke rink around the edges let me know that this was a well smoked piece of meat.

As soon as I took the first bite of brisket, I knew I was about to experience something special: I nearly cried from pure bliss with each bite. It was perfect. Absolutely the best smoked meat I had ever eaten in my life. The ribs were as outstanding as I remembered from my last visit — but on this day they took a back seat to the perfect brisket.

As the food writer from the Austin Chronicle wrote about Smitty’s brisket:

Had I been suckered in by an old building that held so many memories?” I wondered. Then I tried a second bite and a third bite, and I swear that angels sang, for I had found the near-perfect smoked beef. I don’t know how, whether it was the charm of the old building or an expertise passed down through the Schmidt genes, but Smitty’s barbecue is great.

If I could only eat BBQ from one joint the rest of my life — I’d probably pick Cooper’s in Llano because they usually have a little more variety of meat’s than Smitty’s. But if I could only eat brisket and ribs from one joint for the rest of my life? Smitty’s Market. Hands down.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Friday, December 21st, 2007 | Trackback |