Lockhart Born: Terry Black’s BBQ (in Waco)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Lockhart, TX. It’s where I started my BBQ journey proper with my friends and I visiting the area to sample some of the most historic BBQ joints in the state. After multiple trips to Lockhart I had tried Smitty’s, Chisolm Trail, and Black’s BBQ. I even got to try the Bryan location of Kreuz Market, so I felt that I had given the joint a fair shake, and completed my Lockhart journey. However, since my visits, a new joint has opened up, Barbs-B-Q, and has taken the BBQ world by storm. I fully intend to stop by soon and tell everyone what I think.

Kreuz has since closed down their Bryan location and the only location they still operate is their Lockhart staple. However, the descendant of one owner has opened up the Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas, in conjunction with Kreuz Market. Of course, Kreuz and Smitty’s have history including a family split and rivalry that has since been buried. Chisolm Trail still operates with its loyal customers to this day. And Black’s has continued to expand, opening up locations across Texas. However, they have their own family split, leading to the opening of Terry Black’s BBQ, available in several cities in Texas. Since Waco was the closest one, my wife and I decided to stop by for a visit!

We chose from a selection of sides, picking out mac and cheese, beans, Spanish rice, potato salad, and creamed corn. The sides were dusted with appropriate spice (paprika for the corn for example), and handed out first. Of these sides, the mac and cheese stood out as a VERY good representation of the dish, with gooey cheese flavor throughout. My personal favorite were the beans though, with enough meat to almost qualify as a chili, and packed with flavor. The potato salad and rice were good, though unremarkable, but the creamed corn was WAY too sweet. A bit of BBQ sauce squirted in made a some difference, but this brings me to the sauces. There are three different varieties of sauce at Terry Black’s- regular, sweet, and spicy. The problem is, they are all sweet, although each tastes different enough. But I do like a little more tang in my sauce, so the regular was certainly a let down. The spicy variety was the best one to dip the beef into, but even then, the sauce I had at home paired much better.

As is custom at a BBQ joint I am visiting for the first time, I got a selection of all of the meats. I will say, both the side prices and meat prices were a bit steep for the quality, but the menu had a few standouts. My favorite by far were the pork ribs. A sweet glaze on top of peppery rubbed, perfectly smoked bones, this felt like a dish that wouldn’t feel out of place in Kansas City, and I do mean that as a good thing. Each rib had perfect bite, and I’m a bit jealous overall at just how perfectly they were cooked. This made a good pairing with the sausage, which contained a mix of beef and pork to give that lovely deep flavor while maintaining the indulgent porky fat. We selected the jalapeno cheese, so the spice and salt complimented the ribs very well.

The turkey was moist, despite being cut extremely thin, with a buttery pepper flavor that I really enjoyed. It was the beef offerings that I felt let the place down a tad. The brisket was well smoked and tender, but I like my rub either a bit more salty or peppery to give the beef and smoke something to play with. At the price of over $30 a pound, I expected a bit more from the Central Texas staple, but it’s still a decent bit of business.

The beef rib was picturesque, but again lacked that salt or pepper compliment. It was extremely well smoked and tender though, so I suppose this is just a difference of philosophy where the pitmasters want the smoke and meat to do more talking than the rub. I respect it, but I think I can say for certainty that I prefer the original Black’s BBQ in Lockhart for beef. Both the brisket and beef rib there are packed with a savory flavor from the rub. However, if you go to Terry Black’s make sure to finish your meal off with a Banana Pudding, as they make an incredibly delicate and light version of the classic BBQ dessert. Now, let’s take a look at those pork ribs before we go!

YUM

SIDES SCORE- 7/10

SAUCE SCORE- 4/10

MEAT SCORE- 8/10

TOTAL SCORE- 7.5/10