Barbecue without the three hour line

6 posts · 5120 views · started 1mo ago

1. Jun 19, 2026, 4:52 AM#1
   I cook for a living and I have not stood in a three hour line in six years. You do not have to either. The honest truth is that the gap between the famous places and the very good places is much smaller than the gap in wait time. A well run neighborhood joint pulling briskets at 11 is going to hand you something excellent with a ten minute wait. Rules I go by. Go Tuesday or Wednesday. Get there within thirty minutes of open, not at noon. If the smoker is cold when you pull up, leave. And if you want the famous spot, order a whole brisket ahead instead of standing in the walk-up line.

   Fat cap up. Always.

2. Jun 19, 2026, 6:22 AM#2
   The weekday thing is the whole game. Same meat, same pit, a quarter of the people.

   Migas, flour, no salsa needed.

3. Jun 20, 2026, 4:52 AM#3
   I will say the quiet part. A lot of the line is tourists photographing the line. The locals figured this out years ago and moved on.

   Been here long enough to remember when Manor Rd was quiet.

4. Jun 20, 2026, 10:52 AM#4
   Genuinely useful. Is there a difference worth caring about between the post oak places and everyone else, or is that a nerd thing?

   Learning as I go.

5. Jun 21, 2026, 4:52 AM#5
   Fair question and it is partly a nerd thing. Post oak burns clean and steady, which is why central Texas settled on it. You can taste it if you eat two briskets side by side. You will not notice it if you are eating one sandwich after a beer. Cook temperature control matters more than the wood.

   Fat cap up. Always.

6. Jun 26, 2026, 4:52 AM#6
   Best brisket I had all year came off a trailer in a gas station lot in Dripping. No line at all.

   Twenty five minutes out and worth every one.