“The heavily-sauced, chopped East Texas barbecue is a reflection of the fact that it was originally a Negro phenomenon, an ingenious method for rendering palatable the poorer, less-desirable cuts of meat which often were the only ones available to the poor black. Hence most of the attention was lavished on the hot sauce, whose purpose was to smother the dubious flavor of the meat which the barbecueing process had at least made tender.
In Central Texas, by contrast, the Saturday barbecue at the town meat market was developed by the dominant social class, who could pick and choose from among the best cuts of meat and cooked them to emphasize their flavor. Piquant sauces had little appeal in that situation, and it is therefore not surprising that Central Texas sauces are often a rather bland incident to the large well-flavored chunks of beef enjoyed for their own sake.”
Griffin Smith, Jr.
“The World’s Best Barbecue is in Taylor, Texas. Or is it Lockhart.”
Texas Monthly, April 1973
Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla with brandied Texas peaches is an amazingly tasty combination. Looks like it is going to be the house dessert at my place for quite a while. And pint jars of brandied peach sauce are probably going to be what we give out for Christmas presents this year too. I have 30 pints of the stuff. Funny thing is, I didn’t set out to make this much brandied peach sauce. read more Peach Sauce "No Minors" »
The fried chicken at Hill Country Chicken in Manhattan was pretty good, so were the french fries and cole slaw. The chicken was fried to perfection, it would have been really great if they hadn’t sprinkled so much salty seasoning on it at the end. And I like a lot of salt. read more Fetishizing Fried Chicken »
From Foodways Texas: This Houston Chronicle story by Greg Morago about our 1st Annual Barbecue Summer Camp brings back tasty memories. Stay tuned for details on our 2nd Annual Barbecue Summer Camp planned for Summer 2012 in College Station. We expect the 2012 camp to sell out, so become a member of Foodways Texas for 10% off registration and to make sure you get first chance to purchase tickets. We had a blast at Texas A&M this year and can’t wait for next summer. Hope to see you there.
The Tex-Mex Cookbook challenged those food writers who have characterized Tex-Mex as bastardized Mexican food and made the case that Tex-Mex is actually an American Regional Cuisine. What a thrill for me to get involved in El Real Tex-Mex Cafe, a restaurant based on that premise and on my collection of traditional Tex-Mex recipes. I am very proud of the vintage Tex-Mex menu we offer.
I am also blown away by the 1936 “Houston Deco” Tower Theater location. The neon at the old Tower Theater was pretty magnificent. (As you can see, there used to be a much taller neon spike on top.) The neon was restored in 2010, just before we took over. We kept the original design, but we put up the words Tex-Mex where “Tower” used to be.
I wonder if the newly lit neon is the largest Tex-Mex sign on the planet?
Mutton and mutton ribs (bottom right), pork shoulder (left) and beef shoulder clod (top) were the three meat choices at the annual Millheim Father’s day BBQ. German-style red potatoes in butter and pinto beans were the sides. There was also plenty of white bread, raw onion slices and pickles available. Beer was sold inside the hall, along with desserts. I lost a couple of bucks gambling on the Cake Wheel.
The Millheim Harmonie Verien fires up the old-fashioned open pit out back only once a year and cooks barbecue for the whole community. It’s a fund-raiser for the preservation of the dance hall. Some of the pit masters at this barbecue have been cooking for more than forty years. The German singing society was organized on August 30, 1872. The original music hall no longer exists, the current hall was built in 1938. Members of the Millheim Harmonie Verien claim their barbecue tradition goes back over a hundred years.
Dr. Jeff Savell, the head of the Meat Science program at Texas A&M, led the whole hog demonstration at the first annual Foodways Texas BBQ Summer Camp last weekend. In fact, the pit was located in Dr. Savell’s backyard. The three day crash course in barbecue arts and science included some thoughts about BBQ culture from me, a sneak preview of a new Foodways Texas movie about pit master Vencil Mares of Taylor Cafe, and a whole lot of hands-on seasoning, smoking and work in the meat science lab. read more Foodways Texas BBQ Summer Camp »
UPDATE: The governor signed the Texas Cottage Food Bill into law on June 17. Starting in September 2011, home bakers, canners and farmers will get an exemption from regulations required that food sold to the public must be produced in a certified commercial kitchen. The new bill will not allow home cooks and farmers to sell their prepared foods on the internet or at Farmers Markets, however. Sales of such products must be direct to the consumer and not exceed $50,000 a year. Here are the rules. read more Victory for the Cottage Food Bill! »
UNITED TASTES
Rapping About Tamales and Deportation Photo by Axel Koester for The New York Times
Chingo Bling enjoys a taco dinner before performing at the Key Club in West Hollywood.
By JOHN T. EDGE
Published: May 24, 2011 Chingo Bling talks tamales with John T. Edge.
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