Lockhart

BBQ |
January 29, 2015

Keep The Kreuz Fires Burning

A new Kreuz Market doesn’t come along very often. They opened their doors in Lockhart as a meat market in 1900. In 1924 they moved to a new building, currently occupied by Smitty’s Market. They moved once again in 1999, thanks to a well publicized family

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BBQ |
January 13, 2015

Houston Wright, a Butcher

Houston Wright cut meat, made sausage, and cooked barbecue at Kreuz Market in Lockhart for sixty years. He was tying sausage there before the brick building that housed the market (and is now home to Smitty’s Market) was built in 1924. He was deaf and mute by then—former Kreuz Market

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BBQ |
October 22, 2014

Interview: Rick Schmidt of Kreuz Market, Part II

Former Owner: Kreuz Market; Opened 1900 (current location 1999)Age: 69Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: Post OakIt’s the most famous family feud in Texas barbecue. A disagreement between Nina Sells and her bother Rick Schmidt caused a rift that sent the historic Kreuz Market packing. After ninety-nine years in the same building,

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BBQ |
October 15, 2014

Interview: Rick Schmidt of Kreuz Market, Part I

Former Owner: Kreuz Market; Opened 1900 (current location 1999)Age: 69Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: Post OakRick Schmidt owned Kreuz Market from 1984 to 2011. He bought it from his father Edgar “Smitty” Schmidt, and sold it to his son Keith. Rick took a momentous step in moving the business from its

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
August 1, 2014

Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack

A pulled pork sandwich with slaw and sauce in between a honey bun and served in a Styrofoam container – it doesn’t get much further from the barbecue you’d expect to get in Lockhart, Texas. That’s precisely why Mad Jack’s BBQ Shack has been successful over the past year. Instead of trying

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BBQ |
July 30, 2014

Interview: Nina Sells of Smitty’s Market

Owner: Smitty’s Market; Opened 1999Age: 64Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: OakThere’s plenty more to Smitty’s Market in Lockhart (formerly Kreuz Market) than the family split that occurred fifteen years ago. Nina Sells grew up in this barbecue joint, and

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BBQ |
December 24, 2013

Interview: Kent Black of Black’s BBQ

Photo provided by Black’s BBQPitmaster/Manager: Black’s BBQ, opened 1932 (current location since 1936)Age: 60Smoker: Wood-fired offset smokers and gas-fired rotisseriesWood: Post OakBlack’s BBQ is a family affair. After starting in 1932, they now have the fourth generation, Barrett Black, working at the restaurant. Three of those generations recently appeared together on

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BBQ |
December 18, 2013

Interview: Roy Perez of Kreuz Market

Pitmaster: Kreuz Market, opened 1900 (current location since 1999)Age: 51Smoker: Wood-fired offset smokerWood: Post OakThe following is reprinted from the January 2014 issue of Texas Monthly, and also includes additional material from the interview taken on October 5, 2013.Kreuz Market is the most famous name in the most famous barbecue city in

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Food & Drink |
December 6, 2013

The Soul of a Pitmaster

For more than a quarter century, Roy Perez has been tending the fires at Kreuz Market and posing for photos with barbecue aficionados. It’s given him a lot of time to think.

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 16, 2013

Kreuz Market

We wanted to keep this renowned spot at the top of our list, where it’s been since our very first barbecue story, in 1973. But after repeated visits by various staffers, we had to be honest: we couldn’t. The brisket was consistently disappointing. The scanty fat on the “fatty” was

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 16, 2013

Black’s Barbecue

Black’s has little in common with the more publicized Kreuz or Smitty’s other than that they are all in the same town. Instead of a mesmerizing encounter with a picturesque fire blazing at the end of an ancient brick pit like you’ll find at Smitty’s, at Black’s you’re funneled through

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The Culture |
January 20, 2013

101–125

From John Warne Gates peddling barbed wire in San Antonio to a group of cowboys and ranchers holding the first rodeo in Pecos

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The Culture |
January 20, 2013

101–125

From John Warne Gates peddling barbed wire in San Antonio to a group of cowboys and ranchers holding the first rodeo in Pecos

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Food & Drink |
January 20, 2013

Lockhart: Kreuz Market

The old Kreuz Market was like a one-room chapel. The humble brick building off the courthouse square in Lockhart had turned out divine smoked meat since 1900. But just as churchgoers nowadays worship in larger halls, so too does the visitor to the new Kreuz Market, which opened in 1999

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Food & Drink |
January 20, 2013

Lockhart: Smitty’s Market

Don’t bother going in the front door. You’ll end up in the parking lot behind the boxy brick building anyway, doing the Smitty’s shuffle: At peak hours, the lines invariably stretch out the back door. Patiently, you inch your way forward, passing the waist-high brick pits and perusing the list

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Eat My Words |
October 29, 2011

TMBBQFest, “23 Pitmasters in 23 Days:” Smitty’s Market

Editor’s Note: Just one more day until the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival! As you surely know by now, we’ve been interviewing all the featured pitmasters, with questions from TM staffers, esteemed BBQ experts, Twitter followers and you, the readers of this blog.Today we’re featuring John A. Fullilove, 38 , of Smitty’s Market in

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Eat My Words |
October 27, 2011

Second fiddle barbecue

The luminaries of Texas barbecue are justly revered—from Lockhart's century old Kreuz Market, to Taylor's estimable Louie Mueller Barbecue to the ever-popular Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ in Llano. For the BBQ dabbler these names are familiar, but their pitmasters may as well be Hollywood celebrities

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
February 11, 2011

Kreuz Market

Two years ago, I took a road trip with two friends and stopped at ten joints in a single day. Our final stop was Kreuz, and it did not disappoint. I was hoping to strike gold on this trip where Kreuz was again the tenth stop on a

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
November 11, 2010

Black’s Barbecue

This was the morning where instead of discovering another great barbecue joint in Texas, Smokemaster1 and I were taking my friend Rob to the heart of barbecue country to find out what all the fuss was about. A stop at Chisholm Trail for excellent sausage and brisket but no

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
November 9, 2010

Smitty’s Market

Smitty’s is just too good to dock it a star based on one mediocre visit, but this last one wasn’t up to the level I’m used to at Smitty’s. [After some poignant review of the last few visits, I must reconsider the high rating of five stars. Of

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 16, 2009

Black’s Barbecue

Some joints are known for how well they do one meat or another, but Black’s does them all well. Brisket, ribs, sausage, and turkey were piled on top of our small plate, and they were all picture perfect.The brisket had a dark crust and deep-red smoke line. The meat

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 14, 2009

Kreuz Market

On two previous trips to Lockhart, Kreuz was solid, but it has never been otherworldly. I assumed this trip would be no different, but it turned out to be one of my best barbecue experiences. I’ve eaten mounds of barbecue in my time, but this day was different. Two companions and

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The Culture |
March 31, 2009

Ghosts Of War

Happy Texas Independence Day! Read five stories about our state's history, including this piece about the battlegrounds of Texas, which tell an incredible story of struggle, sorrow, triumph, and terror.

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
January 17, 2009

Smitty’s Market

Something about watching a man in a grease stained white jacket and a large knife portioning out my lunch, makes me crave it even more with every slice. Service is curt and efficient at this Lockhart legend, but the only niceties I need were piled on that butcher paper.An

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BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 21, 2008

Smitty’s Market

Don’t bother going in the front door. You’ll end up in the parking lot behind the boxy brick building anyway, doing the Smitty’s shuffle: At peak hours, the lines invariably stretch out the back door. Patiently, you inch your way forward, passing the waist-high brick pits and perusing the list

By

BBQ Joint Reviews |
May 21, 2008

Kreuz Market

The old Kreuz Market was like a one-room chapel. The humble brick building off the courthouse square in Lockhart had turned out divine smoked meat since 1900. But just as churchgoers nowadays worship in larger halls, so too does the visitor to the new Kreuz Market, which opened in 1999

By

Food & Drink |
May 31, 2000

The Meating

Three friends, seven years, untold pounds of barbecue pork chops and prime rib, and a single tradition that elevates the experience above mere food.

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