[Texans are known for making some of the best barbecue on the planet – people literally go crazy over this stuff. People have been waiting in line for hours to get their hands on some barbecue, many of them sitting in the pitch black before the sun even came up. But here’s the thing: I grew up in Texas, and I am not a fan of Texas barbecue. I just don’t get the hype. I also feel like that makes me a fake Texan, and I want to change that. Which is why I’m about to visit three of the oldest and most iconic Texas barbecue restaurants to see what makes Texas barbecue so special, and hopefully, I’ll fall in love with it too.
Now, my journey begins about 10 minutes away at a pretty famous restaurant called Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which happens to be the largest Texas barbecue chain in America. They’ve been around since 1941 and have over 600 locations across the country. But the cool thing about this one is the one behind me is the original location, the oldest one, the grandfather of all Dickies, if you will. Weirdly enough, even though I’ve lived in Texas for a majority of my life, this is my first time going into a Dickies restaurant, so I have no idea how good it’ll be, but I’m about to find out.
So, I made my way inside and was very surprised to see a long line of people already waiting for barbecue. Alright, so I’m looking at the menu right now and I’m a little overwhelmed. Since I don’t get Texas barbecue often, there’s a lot more stuff on here than I expected, like all of these random combo meals. It’s a little weird to say this, but Dickies has kind of given me fast-food vibes. I think I’m just going to get a standard Texas barbecue platter, though, which usually consists of brisket, sausage, and ribs. I think that should give me a decent understanding of how good everything is.
So, after waiting in line for what felt like an hour, I finally placed my order, got myself a root beer, then I found a nice spot to sit on the patio. I just got my barbecue platter, and y’all, this doesn’t look appetizing. Just by looking at everything in front of me, I can already tell I’m not going to like it. I can’t believe this is what people were waiting in line for. I’m still going to try it just to prove my point, but seriously, look at how dry this brisket is. There’s like no chance this is even remotely good. Oh yeah, that’s uh-uh. Oh my God, this brisket is so dry, this should be a crime.
If I had to compare it to something, this was kind of like eating a leather shoe. And to make matters worse, not only was it dry, this has zero flavor. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the sausage and ribs weren’t any better. Somehow, I think the ribs might be worse than the dry brisket. Overall, this is a pretty awful meal, and the worst part is since Dickies is the largest Texas barbecue franchise, it should be a pretty good representation of what traditional Texas barbecue is. There was a huge line in there, which means people clearly like this stuff.
I think everybody that was waiting in line is insane. I might get some hate for saying this, but if this is what traditional Texas barbecue is, it’s overrated. Now, saying this makes me feel very conflicted since I just want to understand why people like this stuff. Is this really all there is to Texas barbecue? But as I sat there, I suddenly had a thought: Dickies kind of reminds me of a fast-food restaurant, and maybe die-hard Texas barbecue fans don’t even consider this traditional Texas barbecue. If that’s the case, that changes a lot.
I wanted to look into my theory a little more, and thanks to the sponsor of this video, Opera, I was able to confirm my suspicions. See, Opera has this really cool native built-in AI called Arya that gives me a clear answer to any question I ask it. For example, I’m asking it whether Dickies would be considered fast-food barbecue or traditional barbecue, and it looks like the answer I got says Dickies can be considered more along the lines of fast-food Texas barbecue rather than traditional Texas barbecue. Honestly, that makes a lot more sense because fast-food spots aren’t supposed to be good, and this was awful.
Opera also has a bunch of other cool features like their tab Islands, which lets me group tabs together whenever I’m researching a bunch of cool restaurants to visit. I love that the tab Islands collapse and expand since it makes things look way cleaner and keeps me organized. Opera also has a built-in VPN, which is super convenient since it lets me know that nobody’s collecting my info while I browse the internet. I’m on public Dickey’s Wi-Fi right now, so having a VPN helps out a ton.
I’m also using Arya to research other Texas barbecue restaurants to visit that will hopefully give me a better and more traditional experience. And I think I know where to go next. So, huge thank you to Opera for sponsoring this video. Be sure to download Opera with the link in my description box below so you can try it out today. I’m going to give Texas barbecue another chance, so hopefully, this next spot is a lot better than Dickey’s.
I woke up pretty early the next day since I had quite a long drive to the next restaurant. It’s in a small town called Luling, Texas, which I’ve never even heard of. I just know it’s like 4 hours away. On the trip there, I made a quick pit stop at Buc-ee’s, the most magical gas station on the planet. Well, my gas pumps, it’s time to get refreshments. If you’ve never been to Buc-ee’s before, this is the Disney World of gas stations. Your boy got a drink, an entire bag of taffy, then I made my way back to the car to continue my little road trip.
Alright, y’all, so I just got to Luling. This is where the next Texas barbecue restaurant is. I didn’t realize there would be nothing here, yet somehow one of the best Texas barbecue restaurants in the entire state is in this little town. So, I’m not too sure what to expect, but I will find out shortly. And after a few more minutes of driving, I finally arrived at Cooper’s Old Time Pit Barbecue. Y’all, it smells amazing out here, and I’m very excited to check this place out because this is a legendary Texas barbecue restaurant.
Cooper’s was opened in 1962, and they’ve won a ton of barbecue awards, like Austin’s Battle of the Brisket. On their website, they promise a Texas barbecue experience you’ll never forget. So, we’ll just have to see about that. I guess it’s time to go inside and meet the pit master. There’s already a line. Alright, y’all, this place looks like the definition of a traditional Texas barbecue restaurant – a giant room with picnic table seating, taxidermy deer heads mounted on the walls, and finally, these obnoxiously large jars of pickles, or at least I think they’re pickles.
How would you describe traditional Texas barbecue, like what is it? It’s cooked over direct coal. That way, your drippings hit the coal, and that’s where you get your flavor from. Gotcha. And is that what y’all do here? Yes, it is. That’s what I like to hear. Now, you’re going to give me a tour of all of the stuff, all the meats? I’m very excited. Alright, let’s do it. Let’s go.
I followed my new friend, Kenny, out front into their pit room, which, to my understanding, is where they cook all of the meat. This is so cool. So, this is where the magic happens? Yes, sir, this is where it takes place. Woah, all of these boxes over here are responsible for cooking all of Cooper’s barbecue. This is so cool. And this is where you line up to get your food. Wow, that is a lot of meat. Y’all, all of the meat behind me looks so good. All I want to do is eat right now. But before I can do that, I want to find out what sets Cooper’s apart from other Texas barbecue restaurants. So, I had Kenny walk me through their entire cooking process.
He explained that Cooper’s uses a very old barbecuing technique called the cowboy style. It was started by the cowboys, you know, like the dudes that have the hats and ride the horses, not the football team. And it’s done by grilling the meat directly over hot coals made from mesquite wood. This supposedly cooks the meat way faster and adds a distinct smoky flavor and char to the barbecue that you can’t get with other methods. I can’t even begin to describe how good this looks.
Kenny wanted to teach me a little bit more about barbecue, so he even let me season some meat they were about to cook. Grab like a handful and just toss it on there. I think what I found the most interesting was that they only used salt and pepper for their seasoning. No garlic powder, onion powder, none of that stuff. Is there a reason why y’all don’t use anything else? That’s all we’ve ever used. That’s all you need.
Barbecue is good. I’m going to be real with you, that didn’t really answer my question, but at this point, I just trust anything Kenny says. I feel like I learned so much more in the little time I’ve been here than I could researching for hours online about Texas barbecue. Hands-down, the best one. That’s right. And to top things off, they even let me throw some meat down on the grill, which, uh, turns out to be a lot harder than I thought. Oh no, I can’t see. I’m crying. There are tears in my eyes.
That’s all there is to it. Sorry, boys, I can’t handle the heat. It smells great though. Honestly, getting to be hands-on with everything was pretty cool, and now I just have one more very important question for my buddy Kenny. So, would you say that this style of barbecue is the best in Texas? I guarantee you’ll like it. Some bold words. I like you, Kenny. That right there is a very confident man, and I can’t lie, that made me even more excited to try the barbecue.
So, I had Kenny pick out a few meats for me to try. Guys, it’s the moment of truth. Let’s see what all the meat looks like. I don’t know how I’m supposed to open this with one hand, but here we go. Oh my God, ladies and gents, this looks way better than I expected. And the first thing I want to point out is how juicy the meat looks. That’s just beautiful. I wanted to try the sausage first so I could compare it to the one at Dickies. I should have taken a smaller bite so I could talk. Oh my God, that’s so good. So, this definitely puts the sausage from Dickies to shame. These had so much flavor, and I was shocked by how good they were because it’s not even the best thing here.
Alright, what do we got next? Oh, dude, look at that brisket. I can just pull it apart. Oh, that looks so good. Y’all, I genuinely wish I knew better words to describe how good this piece of brisket was. It was juicy, tender, and dang, no wonder this one awards. This is so good. I like can’t stop smiling. Next, I tried the ribs, which obviously were amazing, along with their world-famous beef rib chop, which is basically the most delicious pork chop on the planet. And finally, the thing I’m the most excited to try. So, this is the beef rib. These looked so good coming out of the pit. This is the size of my face. This is huge. I just want to give a quick thank you to Coopers and Southside for letting me come film. Y’all are amazing. I finished up my meal, said my goodbyes to Kenny, and thanked him for showing me everything.
Then, I got in my car so I can start my journey all the way to the oldest Texas barbecue restaurant. Y’all, Cooper’s blew my mind. But here’s the thing: If I really want to consider myself a true barbecue fan, there’s still one more method I have to learn about, and it’s actually the most popular barbecuing method used in Texas. So, let’s get on the road. Alright, y’all, I am now in Elgin, Texas, in front of the world’s oldest Texas barbecue restaurant. This is Southside Market and Barbecue. It was started in 1882, and they’ve played a very important role in shaping Texas barbecue into what it is today, which means this is my chance to see where it all began. I’m so excited to see what this place looks like inside.
So, I was very confused when I walked inside Southside. It looked a lot newer compared to Cooper’s, even though it’s a much older restaurant. But I quickly found out that Southside actually moved from their original location to this bigger spot in 1982 to expand the business. It’s built inside an old bank and features so much dining space. They have their own meat market inside the restaurant, and of course, like all good traditional Texas barbecue restaurants, taxidermy deer heads. So, I’m now here with Brian Bracewell, the owner of Southside Market. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Nice to meet you, sir.
So, Brian is actually the third-generation owner of Southside – his grandfather purchased the business in 1968, and it’s been in his family ever since. I had Brian give me a very detailed history lesson about the place. Southside was started by this guy named William Moon. He was a butcher that sold meat door-to-door. Basically, whatever you wanted, he would cut it for you right there at your door. But then, he learned how to smoke the meat, which let him preserve it and sell it later, which eventually led to the creation of Southside Market and Barbecue. Now, here’s the thing: I’m actually allowed to go back into the kitchen and see the entire process. Maybe cook some stuff. So, I’m ready. Let’s do it.
Brian showed me the pit room, a huge place where they cook all of their barbecue over low, indirect heat. I had Brian explain what everything was and how it worked. This is what we call our flat pit. We cook on the cooking space in between the fire and the chimney in four spots. Got it, okay. I feel like I’m learning so much right now. I guess I can try seasoning some stuff, yeah? Heck yeah, let’s season the brisket and get it on the pit. You got 16 hours – you can take it off too. I don’t know if I’ll be here for 16 hours, but we’ll see. Why am I nervous? I’m scared I’ll mess this up. Nah, you can’t mess it up. Just salt and pepper. Just salt and pepper. That’s it.
Brian brought out a huge slab of brisket, and I got to season it with just salt and pepper, then place it into the pit where it would slowly cook for the next 16 hours. So, now that I just put some brisket on the pit, Brian’s going to show me what a done brisket looks like because I’m not going to be here for 16 hours. Brian showed me a few more of their meats that were cooking, like their famous Elgin hot sausage – still made with their original recipe from 1882. I helped slice some of it up, and once that was done, y’all, it’s time to order. I am starving, and I’m so excited right now.
I love that there’s a sign that says how to Southside, and it’s “enjoy a taste of history.” About to try history. I may have ordered a lot more food than I should have, but hey, if I’m going to become a fan of Texas barbecue, I got to try everything. Alright, so I basically got all of their most popular things. We got sausage, we got lamb chops, we got the brisket, I got baby back ribs, turkey. Then, they also hooked me up with a bunch of sides. So, I am so excited to dig in.
Obviously, I had to try the brisket first since that’s what I got to season and cook. Oh, that’s good. It makes sense why they cook this for 16 hours because this brisket basically melted in my mouth. Next up, we got some pork belly. Y’all, it is glistening. This is beautiful. Dude, that slaps. It’s fatty, but it’s not too fatty. Oh, that’s nice. That is really good. Alright, this is what I’ve been waiting to try – the hot sausage. I’m expecting very good things from this sausage. Oh, dude, that’s good. That’s really good. And just like the sausage, all of the other meats were amazing too. I kind of just kept on eating until I could barely move.
And after devouring just about everything, I think I finally understand why Texas barbecue is such a big deal. First off, it’s just amazing. I don’t know what I was living under a rock before. And after getting to see how it’s done, getting to meet the people dedicating their entire lives to making it, and just learning the entire process, it’s hard not to fall in love with this. So, for the first time in my life, I feel like a true Texan. I like Texas barbecue. I just want to give a quick thank you to Coopers and Southside for letting me come film. Y’all are amazing. YouTube thinks you’ll like this video next, so go check it out.]