Lockhart - Kruez's

[mtford72]

I thought pretty long and hard before posting this.

Finally visited one of the 4 top BBQ joints in Lockhart. The town features as a BBQ mecca in every BBQ book / study / blog that mentions Texas. I drove past Smitty's (long line) and Blacks (long line) and went to Kreuz. The place is huge, which made the line look smaller! http://kreuzmarket.com/

They have a limited menu with ribs (back beef and spare pork), brisket ('clod' being flat and 'brisket' being point), turkey and that's pretty much it. They famously don't use any saucing or provide a sauce, and only use salt and pepper in the rub.

The pits are all horizontal brick, large stick fire at one end. And huge!

The quality of the cooking and the meat is phenomenal. Absolutely top drawer. However, I found it just too salty. The salt in the rub was heavy, then indicating their predilection, more on the table. In small portions it's fabulous. In larger portions (such as I had) the salt just became too much - and I certainly didn't use any on the table.

I would highly recommend a visit. It is really, really high quality. If your palate leans towards lots of salt, knock yourself out! If it doesn't, just temper your consumption. Ironically, I think a sauce would have cut that saltiness a bit.

Matt

[Voodoo]

Nice write up Matt. I appreciate it. I know I need to get up to to Lockhart soon, but I keep twiddling my thumbs and scratching my chin, wondering where I should really go. My kids like a little sauce and we all like a little more savory than plain salt and pepper. Maybe I'll try Blacks.
I am debating a couple of local reviews myself. I recently visited Auggie's Barbed Wire and the Smokehouse (south side). I didn't find either very outstanding, hence the hesitation. But if I keep writing negative reviews, I'm afraid I may sound cynical, or I may just sound like a picky AR pit member!

[texastweeter]

blacks is good.

[Texas Larry]

Smitty’s also, at least some time ago.

[mtford72]

I've not been down to the Smoke house - where is that? Was Augies the one on broadway or St. Mary's?

[Voodoo]

Smokehouse is on Rigsby. It's not much to look at from the outside. It was OK. Real nice black gentleman is the pit master. Had ribs and brisket. Neither was exceptionally tender. Taste was ok. I wont go out of my way to go back, but wouldn't argue if somebody bought me lunch there either.
Went to the Auggies on St Mary's. Not bad. Brisket had a pretty thick fat cap and that's where the bark seemed to be. ~$3.50 for one small pork rib seemed a little steep, especially when my 6 year old daughter put away three of them no problem.
Have you tried Bobby G's on Nogalitos? How about Big Bib on Austin hwy?

[Jerod Broussard]

I love me some salt. Perfect for me, is too salty for my dad. I can tell later, due to the dehydration of my upper GI tract, that I have had too much salt. Surely can't tell while I am eating.

[Cloudsmoker]

Kreut'z, for me, is about as good as it gets. Meats are cooked on hot fires, so the pitmasters have to bring their "A" game daily, and the food is always fresh. Basic - no sauces, few sides, just killer Q. Borrowing a line from the late football coach Bum Phillips - "I aint saying it's in a class by itself, but I can promise you there are damn few in that class."

[David C]

Bought some sausages there (cold) for heating later that night. They were excellent, with the Jalapeno-Cheese being the crowd favorite. Nothing we'd travel hundreds of miles for, but we enjoyed them "as is" one night, and then made them into sausage & peppers the next night, which was also excellent.

[_John_]

David C Was just about to pull the trigger on a case of these shipped, good to hear they are good. One thing I can't get from the site were the size, sometimes they look big and sometimes small. Can you tell me how much it would take to feed an adult male?

[David C]

John -- I didn't weigh them (didn't have a scale), but they are a pretty good deal as sausages go. As part of a full meal, 1-2 "rings" (each sausage is an entire loop) is probably enough, although you could certainly plow through more if the intention is to gorge on them. We bought 20 and got through two dinners for 4 (1 large and 3 not-so-large appetites) with quite a few still left in the fridge. Obviously this don't have quite the same feel/texture that smoking fresh sausages and eating them right away will, but they beat anything pre-cooked we can get around here.

[Pork Lord]

My wife and I recently(July) did a bbq mini tour of central Texas by first going to City Market in Luling Tx (Fantastic ribs, sausage, and sauce) We then traveled north to Lockhart and went to Smitty's (best brisket in my opinion of all three sugar cookie melt in your mouth burnt ends) we then finished up with Kreutz and had shoulder clod. We got super small portions of just about everything from all three of these places to get a good idea of comparison (sides? ain't nobody got time for that!) I found Smitty's (that day) to be the overall winner. Plus, it's so damn cool to walk by a super hot oak fire just a few feet away with years of accumulated soot and animal fat on the brick walls. The smell in there is a transcendent experience.

[LA Pork Butt]

@ Pork Lord I liked the sausage at Black's and the clod at Smitty's. It has been a long time since I have been to Kruetz. I haven't been to City Market. Pecan Lodge beef ribs are great in Dallas.

[JoeTax]

Pork Lord you found Meca! Smitty's brisket is the only meal that has brought me tears of joy in 40 years of eating Q. Kreutz and Smitty are family Smitty being the progenitor and I think the reigning champ. Everyone has their own opinion on the best and for some of us it is a moving target, but Lockhart is the center of the Texas smoked meat universe and Kreutz, Smitty and Blacks are all worth a pilgrimage to that town.

[gcdmd]

Luling is not far away from Lockhart if you're going to or from Austin. If you got to Luling just be sure that you go into the right place, City Market.

[Obi-Dan]

Went to Kreutz's today for first time. Had the briskest, spare ribs, and original sausage. I see what some mean by the saltiness but I thought it was fine. Loved ordering from the pit room. The brisket was best I've ever had. Sausage was disappointing. Next trip over will be to Blacks.

[Clark]

Took my Mississippi raised wife there once and kept telling her to NOT ask for sauce! She didn't believe me or the signs and started a exchange of words by asking for sauce. I was embarrassed and haven't been back since.

[Ahumadora]

Can you clarify?? Back to Kreutz's or back to the wife?

[Troutman]

Maybe both

[texastweeter]

their sausage is where it's at! Hot Guts! Mueller's for beef ribs, Franklyn's for brisket, and blacks is a good middle ground.

[Huskee]

My mother, a true born & bred northerner, didn't know hot guts meant sausage. We were at a fantastic BBQ joint in Charleston and she read "hot guts" on the menu on the wall and (my mom can lack tact at times, don't tell her I said that) rather loudly said "Hot guts?!! SICK!" and we got some looks. I was embarrassed. I said loud enough for all looking to hear "Mom, that's another name for sausages and they're fantastic." She honestly thought it meant offal. Haven't spoken to her since (j/k).