Wenzel Lonestar Meat Company - Hamilton, TX

Why did I take the long way from Austin to Dallas yesterday?

Butt when?

Of course it is.  Yes, the people of Wenzel Lonestar Meat Company are some savvy marketeers, and they're also good butchers and decent cooks.  Wenzel's is a little butcher shop off a side street of the main square in the small town of Hamilton, which is known primarily as the burial place of Brushy Bill Roberts, aka Billy the Kid as self-proclaimed.  Wenzel's deals in meats...jerkeys, sausages, bratwurst, steaks, and things of the like.  Any given day of the week you can stop in and get a deli sandwich, even a reuben, but on Fridays they stack 'em deep with the promise of pulled pork.

  

They do a nice sandwich here.  A healthy amount of pulled pork on a soft, toasted bun with their homemade barbecue sauce, regular or spicy.  Pork was tender with no visible fat or bark, and given the location, I'm assuming it's smoked, but the flavor showed very little smoke flavoring, just good old pig.  I chose the spicy sauce, which was good, but really not hot.  It had a flavor similar to Arby's sauce, otherwise known as Open Pit Original, with a little more originality and a bit more zing.  

This is clearly a family run operation, and the place has an incredibly homey feel to it and little touches that make it feel more like you're at a friendly neighbor's house than a store.  Though it is first and foremost a store, and in addition the meats they offer, there is an array of sauces, rubs, pickled vegetables and jams.  

Orders are taken at the counter and food is brought out to your table with a thank you and a "if y'all need more napkins, just holler".  A pickle spear in a zip lock bag completes the meal, unless you add chips and a drink for another dollar, in which case you can grab a cup, scoop some ice out of the blue travel sized cooler, and fill up with some tea or a soft drink.  

Good place to stop if you take the leisurely route between Dallas and Austin.  While there is better barbecue around, the sandwich here is a good one, the atmosphere is great, and you can pick up some things to stock the pantry.

Summary

Atmosphere:  butcher shop, a few tables, good place to stop for lunch on a Friday

Food:  deli sandwiches and pulled pork sandwiches

Dog Friendly:  no

When to Go:  lunch on Fridays

Crowd:  locals

What to Order for the First Timer:  pulled pork sandwich, spicy

Lazy T's BBQ - Hamilton, TX

Third stop on the 281 BBQ tour was hands down the best.  Lazy T's BBQ just down the road from Smoke Stack south of Hamilton.

I walked in and was greeted by the proprietor, as the only other person in the place, but the place had an old feel and a real atmosphere.  The counter in front of me as I walked in was cafeteria-like, with the meat in water heated holding trays covered by tin lids, which made me a little skeptical, but I remained open.  When the guy asked me how I was doing and what I wanted, his voice cracked like an old country western singer that you think only exists in the movies.  This guy was for real, and my confidence in what he had under those lids rose quite a bit.  I explained this was my third stop in a couple of hours, and that I just wanted a small plate of ribs, brisket and sausage.  He served up all three and when I indicated I didn't want any sides, a look of disbelief passed his face as he sang/squeaked, "you DON'T want NO BEANS?".  Nope.  Next time.

As with the last stop, he offered no sauce, again, a nice sign of things to come.  I asked for some anyway, and also like the last stop, it was average, though with a little more twang like he may have made it with some of the dripping fat from the meat and a little more vinegar than the last place, and wasn't really needed.

The brisket was some of the best brisket I've ever had.  Perfect combination of beef and smoke flavoring, with an incredibly crisp and smokey crust hugging a layer of fat that put this brisket above all of the rest and most I've had, anywhere.  This cut was clearly from the point, and I was more than happy with it.  It had a fat content throughout it that melted with each bite, and brought it just to the point of maybe seeming greasy, but it wasn't.  It was the most tender and moist a piece of meat could be without falling apart or being greasy.  Said another way, it was perfect.  No need to ruin this piece with sauce.  The ribs showed as much talent and care as the brisket, with the same great crust, and the same tenderness and moistness that the brisket had.  Not quite falling off the bone, but perfect in that it was almost there and still took a true bite to separate it from the bone.  The crust didn't create a chewy portion either, it broke away from the rest perfectly with the meat.  Like the brisket, no sauce needed.  Sausage.  Most likely not made there, but certainly smoked there, and I'd be shocked if it didn't come from this guy's own kill and if it wasn't processed down the road at Wenzel's or any of the other meet processing plants along 281.  It was the perfect type of German style sausage that I love, and it didn't disappoint.  While, like most sausage, it didn't need sauce, but sausage makes a good vehicle for a decent sauce, so I used it to eat what I had.  Given the size of the plate the guy gave me, and my past two meals, I didn't think I could finish close to it, but it was all so good I ate every bite, and topped it off with what seemed like an only appropriate can of RC Cola from the cooler.

Bottom line, this place is worth hitting, skipping anything on the way in either direction.  I'd go so far as to say it's worth making a special trip for if you're on the northside of Austin.  I'll visit here a lot.

Alright, if you're with the health department, stop reading here, as I'd like to revisit the atmosphere in a little more detail.

First, while the country western singer was making up my plate, without beans, I decided to use the restroom.  I reviewed the rules and regs while I was in there, and while I appreciate them being posted, presumably by him directed only at him (I can't imagine anyone else works there, but I'll find out in time), I'm not sure I agree with Lazy T's half-assed approach to hygiene...

Second, the place really was a throwback inside, with an old fashioned heating stove in the corner with a pipe leading out the ceiling (this was heating only, the smoking was done outside on the other side of the building in iron smokers) which clearly gets use as evident by the poking stick with one charred end leaning up against it.  As quaint as this was, it appeared he saved the wood for the meat, as the pile of "fuel" for this thing was piled next to it, which, if I was in Scotland I might say was peat, but given the surroundings of this place I'm guessing it was...well, moooooooo.

Summary:

Atmosphere:  small town Texas BBQ

Food:  excellent, BBQ

Dog Friendly:  yes

Crowd:  can't say, was only me and Country Yodeler, so I can't say

What to Order for the First Timer:  brisket, ribs and sausage, and if you want to appease the owner, beans

Smoke Shack - Hamilton, TX

My second stop on the trip down from Dallas came after three unplanned stops, in both Hico and Hamilton.  The stop in Hico came when I saw a sign for the Billy the Kid Museum, a statue of Billy the Kid, and the quintessential main street of a town in the Old West.  Had to stop and get the story of Hico's claim to Billy the Kid, and made a subsequent stop in Hamilton to visit his grave.  After that I stopped in town at a place called Wenzel's Meat Market, where I sampled a bunch of things, and loaded up on fresh breakfast, Polish and German sausages.  Haven't tried them yet, but will report when I do.

So the next stop was Smoke Stack Pit Bar-B-Que, on the south side of Hamilton.  This place looked like the real deal from the outside, as you can see.

The inside was atmosphere as advertised by the exterior.  I walked in and was immediately greeted by the counter, behind which was a brick pit where the magic happened.  It almost felt like I was in someone's house, and the cautious glare from the elderly woman behind the counter seemed to echo that, like I walked into somewhere I shouldn't be.  To my left was a sink, and to my right, down a hall-like area were some tables half full of locals who were also eying me with some skepticism.  I gave Ma Smoke the standard test order, some pork ribs, some brisket, and some sausage, which I got to go because (a) I think the people in there hated me, and (b) I saw a picnic table in the empty lot next door which looked like a good place to eat while the dog ran around.  No styrofoam here.  She wrapped it in paper and then put it in a insulated bag for me.  One thing I really liked about this place is she gave it to me and never mentioned sauce, a sign of a place that takes pride in their meat as is.  I asked for it though and got a little cup of it, after I was warned that it wasn't free, and would run me a whopping sixty cents.

Let's start with the brisket.  When she pulled it out of the pit, I could see it was for real, but was nervous when she started carving some of that beautiful black crust off of it.  I'll be the first to admit I'm a pork guy, and I like my brisket with the bark, and fatty.  Upon review, she had carved off only the bark which housed excess fat, and left a good amount of it, and I'm glad she did.  This brisket was awesome.  A great smoke flavored crust, and a lean but moist bit of beef with a perfect balance of beef and smoke flavoring.  It didn't need the sauce, which I found to be adequate at best, this brisket held its own.  The ribs shared a similar crust, but I didn't get the impression that people came here for the ribs.  The texture made it seem like they'd been sitting for a while, and while the smoke and pork flavors were good, the texture varied from chewy to mealy, and it seemed to do a bit better with a little moisture from some added sauce.  The sausage was unique.  Served as a whole link about the size of a bratwurst, it was bright red on the outside, and a uniformed color fine grind inside.  The initial bite had a great snap, but didn't taste too much different than a processed 100% beef hot dog, though it did have a little residual burn which would be cayenne powder if I had to guess.  Not terrible, but not great, as I'm a big fan of the coarser grind with visible fat, and even more so the links that you can tell are hand packed.

Yeah, you might be asking where's the brisket.  There's a small piece of a slice between the rib and sausage.  After my first bite I got aggressive and forgot I hadn't taken a picture.  Sorry, next time.

This place is definitely worth stopping at, but stick to the brisket, as it outshines the rest by a lot.  Also, keep in mind that the next stop makes this place worth skipping if you are only going to make one stop.  Hit it up once for sure though, and a few more times if you're in the area often.

Summary

Atmosphere:  old school small town bbq joint

Food:  barbecue, stick to the brisket

Dog Friendly:  when you get it to go, yes

Crowd:  locals, leery of outsiders

What to Order for the First Timer:  brisket, and don't worry about paying extra for sauce