I went on a Texas bbq binge. How does North Carolina compare?

Let’s get this out of the way: I live in North Carolina. I’ve had some excellent barbecue here, both pork and beef. I also had great barbecue in Alabama when I lived there, and in Missouri before that. So, if you’re looking for a my-place-is-the-best-place-for-cue thing today, this isn’t it. I mean, we like what we like, right? If some combination of salt and pepper and maybe nostalgia gets your barbecue heart thumping, good on you no matter where you live.

Except for South Carolina. That mustard-sauced stuff is just self-punishment.

Then there is Texas, which is something altogether different. For people who love and attempt to make good barbecue, it’s our smoked shangri-La. Last month, before and after a visit with the fine Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion team, I went on a barbecue binge. I drove to nine restaurants and food trucks in under three days, including four of Texas Monthly’s Top 10 barbecue joints, two more in the Top 50 and at least two others that will surely make it onto the next list. (I was sad to miss Goldee’s near Fort Worth — No. 1 on the Texas Monthly list, but not open during my visit.)

My barbecue journey included a glorious diversity of smoked meats — lots of brisket, of course, along with pork and poultry and something called a pastrami beef rib. I also saw global influences that are bringing a cool new cultural depth to ‘cue.

And the sides. OMG the sides.

What follows is by no means a comprehensive best-of list. I didn’t have the time or cholesterol level to handle that kind of endeavor. But I did have favorites:

Best breakfast

Yes, breakfast. Valentina’s Tex Mex barbecue, just south of Austin, offers its full menu at breakfast. The breakfast tacos are solid. Better-than-solid is the carnitas taco on a homemade flour tortilla with not-too-hot-too-early tomatillo habanero salsa.

The breakfast winner — and one of the best things I had the entire trip — was the brisket and jelly biscuit at Briscuits in southwest Austin. The thick-sliced, peppery brisket and smoked strawberry jelly were an unlikely but wonderful match. I laughed out loud on my first bite. A must try.

Best pork

After almost 25 years in North Carolina, I’m snooty about pork barbecue. It has to be moist but barky. It has to have good smoke. It can’t have the sauce upstaging the meat. All of that — not just some of that — is necessary for great pork ‘cue.

In Texas, the best pork I had wasn’t part of my plan. It was a Thursday pork steak special at Burnt Bean Company in Seguin north of San Antonio. My neighbors in line insisted that I pivot from a brisket-heavy order, and they were right.

The bone-in pork steak hit all the marks — smoky, crusty and tender, an item that would rise to the top of any NC barbecue menu.

Best poultry

So many unique choices. At Austin’s Interstellar, the Tipsy Turkey was brined in Hefeweizen for a distinct and sweet profile. At Arlington’s Smoke ‘N Ash, the doro wat — a spicy chicken stew — was a rich and smoky comfort dish.

At Austin’s Distant Relatives, the smoked chicken quarter arrived with expertly crisped skin and a killer vinegar chili dip that had me questioning my fidelity to NC vinegar sauces.

But the turkey I would serve to my annual three-family Thanksgiving gathering? The peppered and perfectly juicy turkey breast — both striking and classic — from Fort Worth’s Panther City barbecue.

Best sides

NC joints are, for the most part, just beginning to transition from standard to adventurous accompaniments. In Texas, they’re all in, from silky street corn pudding at Burnt Bean to black-eyed peas and burnt ends at Distant Relatives to so many others.

The best: Interstellar BBQ’s parmesan scalloped potatoes, smoked in garlic and cream. It’s a spectacular savory dish that could stand on its own for a meal.

Best new school barbecue

An excellent New York Times article earlier this year explored how a new generation of Texas pitmasters are bringing dynamic flavors from Hispanic, Black and Asian cuisines. Valentina’s in Buda pioneered the movement a decade ago when it paired house-made salsas and smoked meats across its menu. Now, barbacoa dots barbecue menus across the state, and new joints feature brisket ramen, brisket shawarma and African-influenced pulled pork with tamarind molasses sauce.

My favorite: The Ethiopian and Texas fusion at Arlington’s Smoke‘N Ash. The Tex-Ethiopian platters are a must, with missir wat (mildly spiced lentils) and beefy collard greens mingling with succulent awaze pork ribs, brisket, doro wat and salty, fiery rib tips.

And finally, best brisket

I’m cheating a little on this one.

The brisket bench is deep in Texas — no news there — and my trip was topped by lean, moist and nicely peppered briskets at Burnt Bean and Interstellar. (Honorable mention to the smoked and seared ground brisket L&L burger at Leroy & Lewis, a southwest Austin food truck .)

But: The best Texas brisket I’ve had is from Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor. I visited there four years ago on a college scouting trip (“It’s just a little out of the way,” I told my family before taking a 90-minute detour.) I still remember the heavy pepper sharpening the beef and rendered fat. I also remember standing with my two sons at the counter, where a lovely woman cut off a sample for each of us. We smiled and sighed at that first bite. It was something new and amazing.

Maybe that memory is part of what makes Mueller’s my favorite, still. Our favorite meals are often about more than just the food — although in Texas, the food from the smoker does just fine on its own.

This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 7:54 AM with the headline "I went on a Texas bbq binge. How does North Carolina compare?."