Massive wood pile outside Smitty's Market in downtown Lockhart. (Photo by Jeff Haynes) |
In the 4-year history of this blog, no topic has incited more passion than the wood-fired versus gas-fired smoker debate.
The Posse has been pro-wood. All wood. Almost to an extreme. We once called out Texas Monthly for including gas-fired joints on its Top 50 list.
But perhaps we have mellowed a bit as at least one of us edges ever closer to Medicare eligibility. On our recent Mid-Cities mini-tour, we liked the food at Eddie Deen Crossroads Smokehouse in Arlington even though the ribs and chicken are cooked on gas-fired pits in Terrell and transported to Arlington. Their brisket is cooked on wood-fired Oyler pits.
"It's all about the meat," Posse veteran Jim Rossman said. "No matter how it's cooked."
Jambo Texan sandwich at Jambo's BBQ Shack. |
Our trip last year to Jambo's BBQ Shack in Rendon probably started our reconsideration. Run by Jamie Geer, builder of the famous Jambo wood-fired pits, the joint used an Ole Hickory smoker fired by gas and some hickory wood.
"Got to," Geer said when asked why he was using gas.
His food was damn good.
Don't get me wrong. We still favor wood-fired smokers. A trip to La Barbecue in Austin last weekend reinforced that feeling. At the moment, no one in Texas is smoking better brisket than John Lewis. It was terrific.
But at the Posse, we're just not as militant about using wood as we once were.
Besides, there are other considerations. We stood in line two hours at La Barbecue. We walked in, ordered and got our food right away at Crossroads.