Austin Cultural: BBQ Institutions, Texas History & University Art

The ur-text of Central Texas BBQ: the Kreuz family has been smoking shoulder clod and brisket over post oak in Lockhart since 1900. No sauce, no forks, no exceptions — the meat is served on butcher paper. The shoulder clod is the house specialty, a cheaper and more flavorful cut than brisket that requires 16 hours of low heat to become pull-apart tender. The pork ribs and jalapeño sausage are both essential orders. Open at 11am; lines form by 11:15.

The original Kreuz Market location — when the Kreuz family split in 1999, one branch took the name and moved to a new building; the other branch, the Sells, kept the old building and renamed it Smitty's. Same pits (built 1948), same direct-heat technique, same butcher counter style, but the Smitty's brisket leans toward a tighter smoke ring and a slightly different bark. The building's smoke-blackened walls are 75 years in the making.