Dadgummit, this ain’t no typical Utah barbecue. No hamburgers or hotdogs invited.
The Daily Universe wrangled up three genuine Texans, tasty side dishes, liters of barbecue sauce and all the brisket a famished cowboy could eat.
Three Texans earned their spot in The DU’s first “Barbecue Brisket Bash” to determine the area’s finest brisket. The cowboys and cowgirl were herded into a secret room on campus Wednesday afternoon to rate the brisket, a cut of meat from the breast of beef or veal, from four local barbecue establishments: Munchies, 5 Star BBQ Company, Wallaby’s and The Smoking Apple.
[/media-credit]- The Daily Universe tested local BBQ restaurants to see which one made the best brisket.
In recent weeks, advertisements were placed in The Daily Universe calling for all Texans with a love for authentic barbecue brisket. Students were invited to write the editors of the newspaper with an explanation as to why they deserved a seat at the brisket bash.
Scott McIntosh, a freshman from Spring, Texas, won a spot in the taste test with his creative response.
“I was salavatin’ all over myself readin’ that article ya’ll wrote cause I couldn’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout my Mamma’s tender-lovin’-barbecued brisket!” McIntosh said in his taste-testing application letter. “Well Dadgum, now I’m homesick.”
Picked from a litter of roughly 30 responses from Texan BYU students, McIntosh and two others were selected for the coveted role of brisket taste-testers.
Miss Brooke Taylor, a barbecue connoisseur and pre-nursing major from Cedar Park, Texas, earned her spot at the dinner table because she’s traveled to eat at 20 of Texas’ 50 top barbecue joints. Taylor proved her Texas grit as she explained the difference between a Texas barbecue and other varieties.
“Barbecue in Texas is meat,” Taylor said. “Real meat. Straight meat, nothing else. Brisket, ribs, pork butt, lamb, prime rib, sausage and sometimes chicken. Barbecue outside of Texas is hamburgers and hot dogs? I feel like any normal person should understand why that’s disappointing. Just call it a hamburger or a hot dog, because it’s not barbecue.”
True Texans, Taylor added, don’t need no barbecue sauce on their brisket if it’s cooked properly and should eat meats with their hands.
The three participants sampled the brisket from the four local barbecue restaurants and tallied their scores based on appearance, texture and flavor. After the scores were combined for all of the taste-testers, a winner emerged.
Of the four restaurants, 5 Star BBQ Company won the overall highest point tally, barely edging out the other three barbecue joints. Although 5 Star BBQ Company won the overall tally, each establishment won several of the categories in the minds of the contestants.
Jimmy Gillespie, a freshman from Houston, chose Wallaby’s brisket over the competition and explained why brisket is better than other barbecue meats.
“I’d say the main reason brisket is better than pulled pork is because brisket is more flavorful,” Gillespie said. “Each bite of brisket is like a party in your mouth.”
