“The Tradition of BBQ Stands Texas-tall”

In 1976 I was a young California kid who found himself in the foreign land of Texas, as a private at Fort Hood, Texas. I have many ancestors who were born and raised in Texas, but I had no idea of the culture shock I was going to experience. Texas was like nothing I had ever experienced growing up in San Diego. I had even spent my first two years of high school living in Japan and it didn’t prepare me for Texas.

Texas in 1976 was an amazing place to live. Waylon, Willie and the boys were in their prime, Chili Festivals, Luchenback, Kerrville all places that an 18 year old the first time away from home could have some serious fun at. But nothing stuck to me like BBQ. I don’t remember where I ate BBQ, but I sure do remember eating BBQ. I can still remember the first plate full of brisket I ate in Austin while attending a concert at Armadillo World Headquarters. That taste has stuck with me even today.

There are some great books on Texas BBQ. “Legends of Texas BBQ Cookbook” by Robb Walsh and “Smokestack Lightening” by Lolis Eric Elie are a couple of my favorites. As good as those two books are I don’t think they capture the spirit of Texas BBQ as well as “Texas BBQ” by Wyatt McSpadden.

Wyatt McSpadden

WYATT MCSPADDEN’s is a a photographer of governors, golfers, musicians, millionaires, and his photographs have appeared in scores of publications nationwide, most notably in Texas Monthly, where he is a contributing photographer. His other assignments have ranged from shooting ranch roundups and football games to capturing religion, race, medicine, crime, technology, and virtually every other aspect of Texas life. But I believe I’m safe in saying that it’s unlikely that no other assignment was as rewarding as this one. This was, truely an assignment Wyatt could sink his teeth into.

There are no recipes, no stories just photographs, mostly in black & white. Whether it’s the “lunch rush” at the original location of Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas or “smoking sausage” at Gonzales Food Market, in Gonzales, Texas each and every photograph makes you feel as though you are there. I’d swear that sometimes I got smoke in my eyes, that’s how realistic these pictures are.

There’s a quote in the book:

“You just can’t throw meat in an oven and come back 24 hours later. You gotta sweat and inhale a lot of smoke. You gotta cook right over the coals where the meat can drip down–then the flavor can come back up through it. You can’t be lazy if you want real Texas barbecue, you gotta do the work.” –Steve Kapchinskie, 52, Pitmaster for 29 years at Martin’s Place.

This quote is what BBQ is all about. If you think BBQ is a bottle of store bought sauce tossed on ribs and thrown in the oven then you don’t know. Get this book and learn what it’s all about. Not how to cook it, but how to feel it. Whenever a friend comes over and wants to know what BBQ is all about I show them this book.

The forward is written by JIM HARRISON who is the author of thirty books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. He has recently published The English Major, a novel, and In Search of Small Gods, a book of poems. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

And there is a fantastic essay on Texas BBQ written by JOHN MORTHLAND. a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly and food columnist for Texas Journey, John Morthland has written widely on the subjects of food, music, travel, and regional culture for more than thirty years.

(Photographs and biographical information courtesy of UT Press)