Selected Rib rakings, mostly SE TX

Mutton ribs are not for everybody.  Maybe I should have (along with my rankings) made my preferences clear.  In ribs, I like
 - intense meaty flavor,
 - tenderness,
 - strong smoke flavor,
 - spicy flavor in the meat, from dry rub or marinade, rather
   than in the sauce,
 - no sugar,
 - a bit of char on the outside,
 - plenty of meat, rather than gristle or tallow.

The mutton ribs from Elgin's SouthSide Market are perfect on all points but the last one, and that is just the nature of mutton ribs.

Mutton ribs aren't for everyone.  Many people will find the taste overpowering - lamb is a mild taste in comparison to mutton.  Also, the ribs are VERY greasy - enough that it's worth trimming the fat and saving it - it will do wonders for a pot of black beans.

The flavor in these ribs is about as strong as any meat I've ever eaten - prosciutto ham comes close.  wow.

--------------------------------------------

As for Frank's offer to report on BBQ in Austin area and the Hill Country: Great!  I'd especially like to hear reviews of some of the lesser known places.  For instance, Elgin has several tempting looking BBQ joints, but I'm so hooked on SouthSide Market that I don't get around to, say, Meyer's.

I'd especially like to know about places that are BBQing things that you don't see everywhere else - like mutton ribs, smoked fish.  Are there any BBQ places up that way that are smoking
  quail?
  goose, duck, turkey?
  cabritto?
  shrimp?
  ostrich?
  Aggies?

---------------------------------------------

   The description of the houston.eats newsgroup is 'dining in
   and around Houston.'  For my money, that includes any place
   that Houstonites are likely to get to on a day trip, and
   places along the road to surrounding cities, such as Corpus,
   Austin, Dallas and New Orleans.

David "more sheep" Throop

      Jon:  "Garfield.  It's 3 am.  What are you doing?  and
        what's that smell?"
      Garfield:  "Barbecuing an owl!"

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Someone wrote:

>... Now that I am in Austin, I think I'll buzz over to Elgin
>for lunch today and try some of those mutton ribs you
>mentioned! If you need someone to cover Hill Country BBQ, I'll
>be happy to volunteer!!!!

NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 12:14:45 CDT
X-Trace: sv1-vuwJlm0KLVS266K8VpLk9NIhol3UtiRhrVKVQ3Jplpo7K02GgqYrt00AvLuavhhQrv0db/h8+= X-Complaints-To: [email removed] X-Abuse-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 12:15:24 -0500 Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu alt.food.barbecue:11769 rec.food.restaurants:45649

David,

One other slab of Clear Lake ribs you need to try comes from an unlikely source...  Mamacita's.  Very flavorful and tender pork ribs.  There was a period for about a month earlier this year when they were tough... we complained!  My last visit revealed a return to their original form.
---Steve

David T. wrote:

>Becca,
>
>Thanks for your accolades.  Grand Prize BBQ was good, nothing special.
>
>I spent the weekend in the Texas hill country.  Herewith is my Ribs
>Listing.  I'm using the traditional Zagat 30 pt scale, with 30 being
>as good as a plate of ribs could ever possibly be, and 0 as bad as one
>might conceivably be served in a restaurant in the USA.  (there is no
>limit to how bad meat might be, say, under wartime conditions, etc.)
>
>The list concentrates on SE Metro Houston, because that's where I
>live.  All of these are places that I've eaten at least 3 time, except
>the last two (for obvious reasons.)
>
>
>27 SouthWest Meat Market, Elgin TX (smoked mutton ribs)
>25 Luling City Market, Luling TX (pork ribs)
>23 Scott's, Madison AL (pork ribs, with the white sauce)
>22 Leons Worlds Finest In and Out BBQ, Galveston (beef ribs)
>21 Mary's, Mayville AL (pork ribs)
>21 Buster's BBQ, Pasadena TX (beef ribs)
>20 Greene's BBQ, (on Almeda), Houston TX (beef ribs)
>19 Central Texas BBQ, Pearland TX (beef ribs)
>19 Randy's BBQ, Clear Lake TX (beef ribs)
>19 Pappas BBQ, (I-45 service road SE) Houston TX (pork ribs)
>19 Goode Co, (on Kirby) Houston TX
>19 T-Bone Tom's, Kemah TX (beef ribs)
>19 Ryan's BBQ, Webster TX (beef ribs)
>19 Joe's BBQ, Alvin TX (beef ribs)
>18 David's Smokehouse, Seabrook, Tx (beef ribs)
>17 Grand Prize BBQ, Webster Tx (beef ribs)
>17 Luther's BBQ, Webster TX (pork ribs)
>16 Wheeler's BBQ, League City TX (beef ribs)
>14 Otto's, (on Memorial) Houston, TX (pork ribs)
>6  Perry's Country Kitchen, Pearland TX (pork ribs)
>
>
>[Note: Perry's Country Kitchen is no relation to the Perry's Meat
>Market chain in SE Houston suburbs.]
>
>The smoked mutton ribs from the SouthWest Meat Market in Elgin were so
>good that I'm going to try and write them up and get the review
>published somewhere.  This is the third time I've had them and I can't
>believe how flavorful they are.
>
>Someone wrote:
>>The readers of houston.eats should award you a prize for your selfless
>>dedication to BBQ testing.  I am deeply touched <sniffles - does anyone
>>have a tissue>, and I mean that from the heart of my bottom.  If you
>>need assistance in your quest, I would consider making the sacrifice,
>>myself.
>>
>>Becca

NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 16:18:00 EDT
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:16:11 -0500
Xref: pale-rider.INS.CWRU.Edu alt.food.barbecue:11821 rec.food.restaurants:45668

Well, there are one or two that I've heard are good:

Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ-Llano
Inmann's Ranch House BBQ-Marble Falls
The Salt Lick-Driftwood
Kreuz-Lockhart
Black's-Lockhart
Luling City Market-Luling
Southside Market-Elgin
Cross-town BBQ-Elgin
Louis Mueller BBQ-Taylor
Rudy Mikeska's-Taylor
Fuschack's Pit BBQ-San Marcos
Artz Rib House-Austin
Ben's Long Branch BBQ-Austin
The County Line-Austin
Ruby's- Austin
Sam's-Austin

Jack S. wrote:

> What's to cover, Frank?
> 1. Cooper's....Llano (beef, links.pork)
> 2. Brother's...Llano (chicken)
> Jack at Clear Lake
>
> Frank in Austin wrote:
> >
> > Great to see that my old stomping grounds (Clear Lake) is cooking up some great
> > BBQ! It is also a good place for good brewpubs! Now that I am in Austin, I
> > think I'll buzz over to Elgin for lunch today and try some of those mutton ribs
> > you mentioned! If you need someone to cover Hill Country BBQ, I'll be happy to
> > volunteer!!!!
> >
> > Frank in Austin
> >