Did something I hadn't done in a long time this weekend, I went to one
of the many parties/fairs/celebration/national pride things we have
here in Texas, usually about two month.

This was the meeting of the Czechs/Germans/Mexican cultures, and this
particular event has been going on for about 30 years, so as far as
these things go, not too long. Apparently it is a revival of an old
tradition that was started up again in the 70s.

There was a bbq competition (non sanctioned), a chili cookoff, a pie
judging (top pie went for $1000!!), lots of sausage, beer and curly
potatoes. And with the Shiner brewery about 40 miles from the
shindig, there was a lot of cold Shiner. They even had an Elvis
impersonator there, too! The town of Flatonia is literally shut down,
the main streets blocked off, and the affair is flanked by the main
street buildings that are maked by their owners names, with dates like
"1876" and "1884". All proceeds for the event go to the High School
as they don't have enough folks there in the city to generate the
taxes they need to stay afloat.

It was a step back in time as there was so much bullshit flying
around, and it was obvious most of the folks there knew each other, at
least in passing. There were about 35 entrants on the chili, and
almost 50 on the barbecue. There were some barbecue team names I
recognized as well as many of their sponsors. Quite a few competed
regionally and were from as far away as Florida.

I don't want to start any crap here or have a call to arms to defend
anyone's personal preference on how they cook their meats. It isn't
and editorial, just observations from a step back in time.

This was a traditional Texas BBQ, and I noticed several things that
took me back 30 - 35 years when I started burning stuff on the grill.
Long smokes came later, but in my younger years I just didn't have the
patience for large pieces of meat to sit for hours on the pit.

The first thing I noticed was NO charcoal. No one was using it. Not
a soul. I did see the old traditional burn pits where we used to
preburn the wood to get coals and shovel them into the pit as needed.
Not too many of those either though, as most now have large pits with
an end made for 24" logs, but most just had really large fire boxes.
I saw the biggest pits have ever seen in my life there, and some of
the ugliest, too, but no one even spoke of charcoal or had a charcoal
burner going.

Second thing, was no sauce. One of the sponsors there had a booth
(and a great pit and pitmaster) that was showing taste testing the
sauce, but he didn't put any on his meats. I haven't put sauce on
beef since I can remember, but it was nice to find fellow smokers
that don't put it on anything. And very little rub was used, some
just with a basic salt/pepper/garlic powder mix. That's it. Some had
their favorites to be sure, but most powedered with some storebought
stuff, or something they bought from one of their friends on the
circuit.

Third - this is Texas. Brisket is king, here. I went to every single
pit, and not one had anything but brisket. Nothing went to the judges
table except brisket. They held back and put on some chicken and
sausage for themselves, but that was only a few. Most smoked
briskets, made egg/sausage tacos off the side in the morning, and
threw chicken on after the briskets were done and resting.

But no pork at all, no ribs, butts... nuthin'. Just Texas brisket.
When I was a kid growing up in the 60s early 70s, I actually didn't
know there was anything else but brisket and sausage, and the only way
we ate chicken was grilled (rarely) or fried (mostly). Guess these
small towns didn't get the memo. I admitted that I sure liked a good
rack of spares while enjoying a cold one with some of the pitmasters,
and they allowed that they did to. But as they said, "there ain't no
place for that stuff here at a barbecue competition."

And maybe it's a Texas thing. Not one person foiled, timed, rested,
wrapped in towels, or used remote thermometers. About half had therms
on their pits, but NO ONE had them in the meat while cooking. They
weren't stupid, they all had 12" instant read therms with them, they
just didn't fuss or fidget like so many do these days. They learned
the way I learned, know your pit, know your fire, enjoy cooking and
drinking beer.

Here's the best part, though. I am not sure why they would do this,
but apparently it is another tradition. Many of the teams that show
up do 3 -5 (some more!) briskets, the optimal size being 12 - 15
pounds. They cooked up sausage for themselves, and if they are in the
competition chili as well. They eat that stuff all day, washing it
down with a cold one when thirsty so they are literally eating all
day. So at the end of the day after they have turned in their
competition brisket, they have tons of beef left, as they only turn in
a few slices off the best brisket. Them good old boys are full of
beer and good times, and want to get rid of all the brisket they can
so they can sit down and do some serious drinking and wait for the
dance to start. They slice up whole briskets (and whatever else they
may have) and put out the pieces with toothpicks and paper towels for
everyone to try.

So... I must have eaten a pound and a half of samples. Some of just
OK, but some of it defies any description it was so good. And the
variety was incredible; there were briskets with almost no bark at
all, but an excellent, mild, penetrating oak tang to the meat. It was
sliceable, but still fork tender. Then there were the big taste guys,
lots of bark, heavy smoke, and just a tiny bit of heat. The meat was
a little more chewy, but still quite tender.

I guess I am posting this to remind folks to have a good time when
barbecueing. What could be better than a some well smoked meats, a
cooler full of iced beer (or a pitcher of margaritas) and having all
your friends over to enjoy the day?

I think too many (I fall into this category myself to some extent)
worry too much about temp gauges, the perfect rub, the perfect lump,
foiling/no foiling, and on and on. All kinds of fiddly little
things. I saw so many out there this last weekend that did nothing to
conform to the group's collective wisdom it was hilarious.

And after this last weekend, I will probably snicker when I read about
how much some obsess with making sure that they conform to the group's
expectations or guidelines ("I wanted to pull the meat at 187.65
degrees, but it got away from me so I pulled it off at 188.326
degrees, so I am wondering if I should eat it or pitch it" type
thing. I have to smile now when I think of those guys out there
cooking away to the sound of their own drummer, doing as they please
without a second thought. And turning out some outstanding product
along the way, too.

As far as I am concerned, I think a lot of folks have probably missed
one of the best parts of the traditional barbecue, and that is the fun
of it all. I think this style of cooking is supposed to be fun,
shared with others, and when I was out there this last weekend I
remembered WHY I actually started barbecueing.

Smoked meats, ice cold beer, good friends. No particular order.

This was actually my 0.04.

Robert