Nothing but the Truth (BBQ)

My wife and I were bored on a warm summer day and decided to go for an hour drive to Brenham, TX to check out Truth BBQ. It had made the top 10 of Texas Monthly’s coveted list, and I convinced her to go primarily based on the giant cake slices they sell there. So we arrived on 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon to see a small line folks waiting patiently under a tarp to protect them from the rain. We went inside to order and grabbed our food to take with us outside on the covered patio.

For my plate I got a pork rib, a few slices of brisket, and turkey along with collard greens and corn pudding. I dug into each of these with high expectations and was not disappointed. The pork rib had a fantastic pepper heavy glaze on top and was tender with good chew. My only complaint was that the rib was a bit on the fatty side, an issue I find a lot with pork ribs around the region.

The brisket was well smoked, with good flavor penetration and fantastic, salty bark. Despite some fat rendering issues, this was just a good example of solid Texas brisket. The turkey below was a bit fatty as well, but had way more lean white meat to balance it. Each slice tasted like it had soaked in a delicious, buttery juice, and the turkey’s skin added the smoke and pepper flavor to contrast the salty flavor that one normally gets with smoked turkey. This was a good bird!

The sides really brought the plate together. The collard greens had fantastic crunch and refreshing flavor with tomatoes and onions providing a solid base. But the corn pudding alone is worth the trip. It tasted like buttered, creamy, cornbread heaven. Good enough to request as a last meal, I was sad when I finished my helping all too quickly.

My wife got brisket along with some juicy, fantastic pulled pork. The pitmaster smoked this meat expertly, and the deep smoke flavor pairs nicely with the simple, subtle peppery rub. Where the pork really shines though, is how it is cut and served. The pile has leaner meat mixed with fatty bits and bark heavy skin. The amount of moisture in the pulled pork is equally impressive.

Amber (my wife) also grabbed some mac and cheese and baked beans (which she prefers to pinto). The mac and cheese was creamy and not overpowering with it’s cheesiness and the beans were not NEARLY as sweet as I feared, with much of the sweetness coming from the tomato heavy sauce. Sadly we didn’t grab a usable pic of the cake but the slice was as big as my face. We selected the Banana Caramel Cake and the amazing, homemade caramel frosting held together moist, fresh banana cake so well without the grainy texture you often get from store bought cakes. The banana flavor was pronounced but not overpowering in a sickening way like banana flavoring produces. All in all a good capper to a great meal.

Other notes- the house made pickles and onions were quite good and a welcome respite over the usual fare you get from BBQ joints in Texas with the same pickles seemingly everywhere. The homemade bread also puts the commercial stuff to shame, and is a fantastic vehicle to make little sandwiches with. Fluffy and subtly sweet, it goes perfectly with savory meat and a tomato based sauce that balances smoke and sweetness (although completely unneeded for the meat).

Bringing back the scoring system- Brisket- 8/10 Pork Ribs- 8/10 Pulled Pork- 9/10 Turkey- 9/10

MEAT SCORE- 8.5/10

TOTAL SCORE- 9/10

Yes, the sides and dessert really push this joint into the stratosphere. Between the cake, corn pudding, and carefully prepared BBQ, my wife and I enjoyed our visit to Brenham, and that’s the TRUTH!