Snow's BBQ

7/13/13 10:00am - With wife and kids out of town, finally got my chance to head to Lexington, Tx.  Snow's did not disappoint, what a great venue for Texas Barbecue!  They made Texas Monthly top 4 in 2013 and were voted No.1 in Texas Monthly 2008.

I scored Snow's a 93 out of 100.  Grand Champion Texas Barbecue without a doubt.

Smoke:  Post oak.  Several large steel barrel and box smoke monsters.  Looks like a rail yard with steam engines spewing out blue smoke.  Very primal.

Brisket:  Excellent.  An impressive 5/16in deep red smoke ring beneath fat cap and deep brown bark.  Absolute perfect tenderness.  The slice holds up until pressure applied by fork and then it falls apart.  How do they do it?  It got a perfect score.  Solid smoke flavor infused meat and rendered fat.  A subtle salt rub takes the flavor over the top and satisfaction for distance traveled.  No sauce needed at all.

Ribs:  Excellent.  A thin spare rib smoke to near tenderness perfection.  A clean bite, clean bone with crusty bark at the ends.  Rosy red through and through.  Flavor was smokey salt pork with salt and black pepper rub with some good peppery aftertaste.  No sauce needed at all.

Sausage:  Very good. Medium packed beef central Texas style link with mild traditional spice and mild aftertaste.  This link was a little dry and had nice smoke ring.  No sauce needed but it help overcome the dryness.

Sauce:  Very Good.  A tangy vinegar tomato based sauce darken with drippings and maybe a little molasses.  No sugar or sweetness, just tangy.  Had a subtle lemon flavor.  It gave everything that special flavor boost.  If you have to have sauce with your bbq, then you are in luck.  You will dip every bite in this stuff.

PS:  Part of the whole Snow's experience is its small town setting.  First of all, the staff is so friendly and happy to serve you (maybe its the one day a week schedule).  I witnessed Ms. Tootsie take half a dozen pictures with patrons.  There is outdoor seating next to the pits that the staff is more than happy to let patrons take a peek inside the smoke monsters.  I asked Kerry the owner for a container for my sauce and he scrambled to find a Gerber baby jar and filled it straight from the pot.  You couldn't find a happy bunch at a church picnic.  Next is its proximity to a livestock yard two block south.  While I was standing in line I watch trailer after trailer of steers heading to auction and couldn't help but smile knowing that for some Snow's was the end of the line.

BBQ for breakfast? yes, please. and the odds are, if you order the three-meat plate, you'll be eating it for dinner too, because it's SO MUCH FOOD. the ribs were exceptional, and the brisket was really good too. next time i would skip the sausage and get turkey, which i did not get to try on this visit. totally worth the trip.

the ambiance was enhanced by the mooing cows from the cattle lot down the road.

2013 -  4th of July long distance catering via Snows(upsate NY). Brisket, sausage were excellent.  Nice balance of seasoning. Amazing how well the product maintains its integrity even after freezing/reheating process. Couldn't tell the difference if it had come come right off pit or out of the oven.  Fantastic! Great eats.