Been loving the info on this thread. And, I too have watched all of Aaron Franklin's videos. I also consider myself as somewhat of a brisket fanatic, if not a snob. I do a pretty good brisket myself, as I think most Texans probably do. And, as much as I'd like to try Franklin's brisket, I'm not standing in line 4 hours for anybody's brisket...and I absolutely love brisket...once again, as I think most Texans do. In Texas, beef is king...brisket, plate short ribs, chuck short ribs, and beef clod...as well as sausage. And, who could turn down a good 1 1/2" thick medium-rare Ribeye? Beef is king! And, when you say the word "barbecue" in Texas, it's about the meat...not some ungodly sauce. We only put sauce on crappy barbecue. Good barbecue requires none...just as a good steak requires no steak sauce.
IMO, anybody can do pork...and I mean anybody. If the joint has a moniker with BBQ, Barbecue, or Bar-BQ in it, they better know how to do pork...as pork is just easy. And, even if your pork butt doesn't turn out well...say it's a little dry...just drown it in barbecue sauce and nobody will know the difference. And, I think my pork ribs are better than any joint I've ever eaten them in. We actually have a couple of very good joints in Texarkana, TX/AR now...after not having a decent barbecue joint in the entire NE Texas/SW Arkansas area in forever. Naaman's Championship Barbecue and Fantasy Barbecue. Both have great brisket, and Naaman's even has some Louie Mueller-worthy beef plate ribs on Fridays and Saturdays. I mean, good stuff. And, I had a couple of friends try Naaman's when they first opened. I asked what they thought of it, and they both said, "so-so". So, I asked them what they ordered...and they both said pulled pork sandwiches. So, I'm like...GET OUT OF TOWN...I ASKED WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE BARBECUE! If you want pulled pork, run on down to Sam's and get a frozen bucket, take it home, thaw it out, and drench it in barbecue sauce. No more than you know about barbecue, that would be good enough for you! LOL!
So, what I'm trying to say is it takes real brisket snobs to know good brisket, or bad brisket for that matter. I've eaten at a ton of barbecue joints in my lifetime, and I have smoked a ton of it as well. I have to say that most barbecue joints in the world DO NOT know how to smoke a brisket...especially once you get out of Texas. And, some of the worst brisket I've ever eaten has been at some of the famous Memphis barbecue joints. They're all about pork...and just can't comprehend brisket. It's a little better up in Kansas City...but still not Texas-good.
Two places on my list to eat at now are Snow's in Lexington...as "The Smokewagon" mentioned. And, Pecan Lodge in Dallas...as "Aggie94" mentioned. Actually, my son-in-law lives in College Station and works for the 12th Man Foundation. He is a barbecue connoisseur, same as me, and has eaten at Franklin's. He said he likes Pecan Lodge and Snow's even better. So, my next trip down there, we are going to Snow's.
And, now that we are talking about other joints, let me put my two-cents-worth in for Louie Mueller's in Taylor. Once again, simple is better, and Wayne Mueller loves pepper as much as I do. His beef rub, he says, is 9 parts pepper to one part salt. I really doubt it's that much, but you get the idea. I have to say, his brisket and of course beef ribs are the best for me of any barbecue joint that I've tried. However, my wife doesn't like so much pepper...so, to each his own, and that's why there will always be debates about who has the best barbecue. But, I think the best joints in Texas do put a lot of pepper on their brisket and beef ribs.
A couple of other places that I think are excellent is La Barbecue and Stiles Switch...both in Austin. The reason...at Stiles Switch, pitmaster Lance Kirkpatrick once worked for Louie Mueller's, and La Barbecue, which was once JMueller BBQ, is owned by Wayne and John Mueller's sister, Leann. And, pitmaster John Lewis once worked at Franklin's. And, then there's John Mueller Meat Company, with brother John back in business in Austin...once again, excellent. And, Aaron Franklin used to work for John Mueller. So, you have all these outstanding barbecue joints that all trace their lineage back to Louie Mueller's. And, I have to say at one barbecue fest I went to this year, Stiles Switch actually had better beef ribs than Louie Mueller's did on that particular day...and that's saying something. Shane Stiles is a great guy, and when I told him their beef ribs were better than Wayne's that day, he introduced me to Lance and said Lance worked for Wayne for 10 years before he stole him away. Some more outstanding beef ribs and brisket can be found at Freedmen's Bar in Austin. So, there are some outstanding barbecue joints in Austin today, without having to stand in line at Franklin's for 3-4 hours.
And, then there's the whole Schmidt clan...and all of their joints are excellent as well. First, you've got Smitty's Market...right downtown
Lockhart and where Kreuz Market was located forever. When Rick Schmidt built the new huge Kreuz Market just out of town in 1999, his sister Nina took over the original place and named it Smitty's after their father. Keith Schmidt took over at Kreuz Market in 2011 when Rick retired. Both are great...and as always, no sauce and no forks. The Schmidt family has also opened Schmidt Family Barbecue in Bee Cave, as well as
Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas. All serve high quality brisket and beef ribs. And, I haven't even mentioned Black's in
Lockhart, since they're not in the Schmidt family, but they are also outstanding....what a barbecue town.
Lockhart, the barbecue capital of the world.
And, the thing I like most about all these joints is the owners and pitmasters are all such great people, who enjoy showing you their pits and talking about barbecue. Well, except John Mueller...he's a little different. :-)