Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses (Paperback)

by Robb Walsh (Author) "THE PITMASTER SQUINTS INTO the smoke as he opens the giant steel door..." (more)
Key Phrases: smoker for indirect heat, mop sauce, starter chimney, East Texas, Kreuz Market, Jim Goode (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Not every cookbook would include a recipe that begins, Dig a pit 3-feet-deep, 4-feet-wide, and 40-feet-long. But this is Texas and, given 300 pounds of brisket, there is no more invigorating an experience than this kind of open pit barbecuing as championed by Walsh in his collection of barbecue memoirs, trivia and history. A newspaperman at heart, Walsh interviews the top pit bosses across the state and shares their secrets: Harley Goerlitz instructs beginners on a simple Pork Shoulder while Bubba Hodges offers Egypt Brisket with a mop sauce of vinegar, ranch dressing and Lone Star beer. For the politically astute, there are Barbecue Sauce offerings from both Lady Bird Johnson and Barbara Bush, not to mention Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway Rice Salad, a democratic blend of Texmati rice, chopped vegetables, yogurt, pecans and cilantro. Most interesting is the exploration of cultural influences across the prairie, including a surprising look at the German and Czech political radicals who landed in Texas in the mid-1800s, and the smoked meats they brought with them. For those who prefer motoring to grilling, Walsh includes a fine list of barbecue joints all along the Barbecue Belt, as well as different meat markets and a calendar of some of the major cook-offs held throughout the state.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...plenty of recipes, but the best part is the fascinating lore about the history and folkways of Texas barbecue." -- Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2002

"Walsh does his best -and that's pretty darned good - to cover the subject in all its diverse, smoky splendor." -- Saveur, August 15, 2002

It's summer, and that means a new crop of barbecue books. One that stands out is "Legends of Texas Barbecue Cook Book: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses" by Robb Walsh.

It includes plenty of recipes, but the best part is the fascinating lore about the history and folkways of Texas barbecue. The cliche about Texas barbecue is that it's about beef - open pit mesquite barbecue. Actually, Texas barbecue is a mixture of Southern, Midwestern and Southwestern elements.

So in east Texas, people make classic Southern pork barbecue, in the west, there's a lot of Mexican goat or cow head barbacoa, and this tradition has spread beyond the Latino population. As Walsh says, no matter how much cowboys like beef, it wasn't worth slaughtering a cow for a meal, but a single goat was about enough to feed four or five cowboys.

In the center of the state, there's a sizable colony of Germans and Czechs, who follow their own European tradition of smoking pork, though sometimes in Texanized form. The famous Elgin sausage (the "gin" pronounced as in "begin," not as in the liquor) is basically a smoked German garlic sausage with extra red pepper.

This has given a unique spin to Texas barbecue. The German and Czech places were originally markets that only sold their barbecue out their back doors. The reason was that their barbecue customers were migrant cotton pickers who went to the shops for something to eat because regular restaurants wouldn't serve them (or, to put it another way, because the cotton pickers wouldn't have to take off their dirty coveralls and dress up if they were just eating a handful of barbecue behind a butcher shop).

To go with their hot smoked meat, they'd buy a few things like crackers, pickles or canned peaches. In a few old barbecues, that's still all you get. Kreuz Market in Lockhart, one of the most revered barbecues in Texas, serves your order on a piece of butcher paper with nothing but bread and crackers - and not a drop of barbecue sauce, which barbecues in this tradition have only recently, and grudgingly, started serving.

This means that the recipe for Lockhart-style pork loin calls only for pork, salt and pepper. Most of the book's sauce, spice rub and side dish recipes are more elaborate, but there's still a classicism about the whole appraoch here. Two ongoing themes of the book are the growing interaction of those various barbecue traditions and the power of the state's love of 'cue. In San Antonio, for instance, Miller's Barbecue operated in violation of the city's zoning and health department regulations for decades, but it was such a beloved institution that inspectors never dared cite it. The clear moral is: Don't mess with Texas barbecue. -Los Angeles Time

This book is for the committed, the grown-up boys (and girls) who ogle barbecue rigs at cookoffs as though they were antique cars and swap lies about recipes and appetites. Like Griffith, Walsh is a Texas journalist, but instead of looking at the national scene, he stays home and picks at ribs and things with accomplished barbecuers as disparate as the late Dallas pit master Sonny Bryan and Lady Bird Johnson.

His legends comment on various aspects of cooking and consuming brisket, ribs, sausage and chicken. They talk about preparing pits and smokers, regional barbecue specialties within the state and give recipes for side dishes.

Nor is anyone pulling punches. "It's not hard to tell when meat has been oversmoked," Walsh writes, "it tastes like tar."

It's fun to read their commentary and a joy to look through the vintage photographs Walsh has collected. You'll need two copies of his bok, one pristine to read in bed and another - soon to become grease-stained - to cook with. -Chicago Tribune

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811829618
• ISBN-13: 978-0811829618
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,781 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRIBUTE TO TEXAS BARBECUE, March 2, 2005

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The Legends of Texas Barbecue is not so much a cook book as it is a reverent tribute to Texas-style barbecue and the legends who made it famous. As author Robb Walsh notes in his introduction, "Southern barbecue is a proud thoroughbred whose bloodlines are easily traced while Texas barbecue is a feisty mutt with a whole lot of crazy relatives." There are few things that Texans argue over more often than barbecue. The book traces the diverse lineage of Texas barbecue and introduces us to the pit bosses and restaurant owners who have grown to mythical status in Texas. Throughout, archival photographs highlight these men from as early as the start of the 1900's.

Walter Jetton is perhaps the most influential pit boss in Texas barbecue history, once holding the record for feeding 12,000 people at a single event. He was also a favorite of President Lyndon Johnson. The early part of this book focuses on men such as Jetton and others, and gives a fascinating history of cooking methods and equipment these pioneering men used.

The book then provides indispensable advice on achieving a Texas-style Barbecue at home including suggestions on the best equipment to use, fuels, and cook methods. Forget the gas grill, even the use of smoke boxes will never achieve that true, smoky taste. Utensils are also covered in detail including the one thing every good barbecuer needs...a basting mop.

Moving to chapter two, the Legends of Texas Barbecue covers the "sport" of competitive cook-offs and masters such as Harley Goerlitz, holder of over 300 trophies including numerous championships. These men provide some of their award winning recipes and sure-fire tips to making the best barbecue. Even if you never plan to enter a cook-off, you'll find expert tips from these men that you can use at home.

Rather than being sectioned like most cookbooks into type of foods, this book is sectioned off into regions. East Texas, West Texas, Southern Texas, as well as the very notable influence of German immigrants of the 1800's and the black urban influence that began when Harvey Miller opened his barbecue joint in 1941. Each section provides a sampling of recipes from these influences and it's interesting to note the differences in preparation, cooking, and spices in each. Among the most interesting chapters from a historical perspective is the one that deals with the strong German influence on Texas Barbecue. Texas became a hot spot for German Immigrants in the mid 1800's and continued for some fifty years. This influence is still seen today in the barbecued sausages from this region.

The Recipes are unique and mostly simple, having only a handful of ingredients. Monte Barber's Country Style Ribs uses just orange juice, ribs, BBQ sauce and a basic rub. This is a recipe created by the legendary C.B. Stubblefield who lends his name to the famous Stubbs Barbecue sauces that are available throughout the country. Then there is Drexler's Ribs from Houston restaurant owner James Drexler, smoked to perfection using just ribs. paprika, salt, sugar, and garlic and onion powders. Simple and delectable.

There's Potato and Black Bean Salsa Salad, BBQ Pork and Guacamole Sandwiches, Jalapeno Potato Salad, Barbecued Turkey, and more unique BBQ sauces than you've ever seen. Whether it's ribs, brisket, steaks, chicken, sausages, vegetables or salads, you'll be sure to find many recipes to enjoy.

The final chapter takes readers on a guided tour of the most famous Barbecues in Texas complete with addresses and phone numbers and a capsule history of each. You're invited to make a pilgrimage to the Texas barbecue belt towns of Lockhart, Elgin, and Taylor to visit some of the most famous barbecue joints not only in Texas, but the entire country! In addition there is also a section listing various online and mail order sources where many of the sauces, rubs, and cooking utensils can be purchased.

This is just a magnificent book for any fan of barbecue! Highest recommendation.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Drive Down 90A- With Book In Hand, August 27, 2003

By A Customer

Last Saturday, I took off for Austin, but, instead of taking I-10 to 71, I made my way up 59 to 90A to 183, knowing that this would take me through some great barbecue country as described in the book.

I missed Novosad's in Halletsville, but did stop on the outskirt's at Janak's to pick up sausage. The stop in Shiner was at Patek's where I picked up an ice chest full of all beef frankfurters. Patek hot dogs may be the best on the planet.

My first real barbecue stop was in Gonzales at the Lopez's, recommended by Robb for their ribs. Without the book, I wouldn't have discovered this place. I was in luck. I had a sample of both pork and beef ribs, which were tremendous, but the real winner was the smoked link sausage. Juicy? I bit into it and it squirted all over my t-shirt. First war wound of the day. Soon to be followed by more stains.

Next was Central Market in Luling. A slice of brisket was incredibly tender. The sausage,too, was great.

On to Lockhart for stops at Black's and Kreuse's. Feeling full by this time, even with just eating a little bit at each place. Brisket was the winner here.

And on to Austin.

Great book. Great information.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From my review in "The National Barbecue News", November 4, 2002

By	Doug Mosley (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are not many books which I enjoyed reading as much as I did "Legends of Texas Barbecue." That may be a strong statement to make, but I can't think of any other book I've read on any subject that I read and then re-read and then re-re-read like I did this book. At times I could not put it down.

I've had the great privilege of reviewing for you some fine books on barbecue. Two of the most recent reviews particularly stood out: "The Grand Barbecue" by Doug Worgul (reviewed last month) and "Celebrating Barbecue" by Dotty Griffith (reviewed two months ago). The former was a well-done history of barbecue that had a heavy Kansas City influence (Worgul writes for the "The Kansas City Star"). If ever there were to be a coffee table book on barbecue, this is it; the pictures and graphics within Worgul's book are wonderful and key to telling its story. The latter was a very well-written history of barbecue as a whole where Griffith's years of experience and research on the subject (she is the restaurant critic and former food editor of "The Dallas Morning News") are poured out on its pages. Bring the strong points of these two books together and you have "Legends of Texas Barbecue."

Your first impression of this book will most likely be the pictures. It's evident that author Robb Walsh, restaurant critic for the "Houston Press" and former editor-in-chief of "Chile Pepper" magazine, wanted to use these to help convey the historical slant of his book and the pictures alone nearly tell the story the Texas barbecue. You'll be amazed at the large number of pictures showing people cooking, eating and enjoying barbecue in various settings from long ago days, some dating back nearly 100 years. Walsh must have gone to great lengths to assemble this collection of historical photographs.

The structure of the book is typical of many of this sort. It begins with a very brief introduction and then a "warm up" chapter that sets up the stories to come and the obligatory explanation of cooking equipment, tools, fuels and methods. The book finds its pace in the second chapter - "The Sport of Barbecue" ­ where Walsh gives a look into competition barbecue. The chapter begins with Walsh explaining the subject and then finishing with several recipes from champion cookers.

It's a solid format and one that he follows for most of the rest of the book, through chapters on sauce and smoked meats and his excellent coverage of the different influences of Texas barbecue ­ the German meat markets of the mid-state, cowboy style of the west, Tex-Mex from the south and black urban styles from the state's large cities. Walsh also dedicates a chapter to the barbecue of Juneteenth, the festive holiday marking emancipation in Texas. There are 95 recipes in all ­ a lot for a book that reads more like a history text than a cook book.

Interspersed throughout the book are delightful sidebars entitled "Legends" and it is here that Walsh offers up interesting tidbits, bios on renowned Texas barbecuers and bits of other lore. He rounds out the book with brief sections of reference on Texas restaurants, barbecue cook-offs and associations, and a glossary.

It's a great read, and if you have any interest in Texas barbecue at all, I know you will enjoy this one, too. I'd say it's a worthy addition to your bookcase, but it will probably spend less time there and more time next to your favorite reading chair.