Originally Posted by
Hot Pocket
I'm a KCBS BBQ judge and travel regularly through most of the great BBQ areas in the US. After much sampling and contemplation, I now believe that the absolute BEST BBQ comes from central Texas. However, there is also a lot of mediocre BBQ in Texas, and several major metros in the state have very little excellent Q to be found.
Absolutely. Perfect Texas brisket is an amazing experience. Transcendental, perhaps. However, as I posted elsewhere on either this thread or a different BBQ-themed one, there is a ton of shockingly bad, barely edible brisket on offer all over Texas. Dry. Flavorless. Tough... I rarely eat BBQ because so much of what is available here in TX ranges from mediocre to terrible.
I think the MOST CONSISTENTLY GREAT BBQ comes from North Carolina, specifically the whole hog joints. Nothing better than a spicy, vinegar based sauce IMHO.
I think it is much easier to do edible pork than beef brisket. Mediocre pulled pork is usually edible; meidocre brisket is nasty. If forced to eat BBQ at a less than top-tier place even here in Texas, I will go with the safer choice of pulled pork. Brisket is just really hard to do right.
One recommendation to add to this thread that I don't think I've seen yet. While really good BBQ is hard to find outside of Central Texas and a few foodie destinations in DFW, there's actually a pretty good place in East Texas.
While I would not make a special trip to TYR just to eat there, if one was in East Texas anyway or needed a worthy detour off of I-20 for lunch between DAL & SHV, I really like Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in downtown TYR:
http://stanleysfamous.com/