Friday, January 22, 2010

Best of 2009: Best Beef Ribs

Even in Texas, beef ribs are not easy to come by. Most of the places we hit up don't have them, so we're always glad to find places that do. For example, we were delighted to find out last Saturday that Black's Barbecue (Lockhart) began serving gargantuan beef ribs 6 months ago (just wait for the pics). Black's wasn't in the running for 2009's best beef ribs, but we found 3 really great ones, just the same. Some "Dino ribs" edged out last year's winner for the top spot:


1. Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse (Elgin): 9.95

2. Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor): 9.8

3. Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (New Braunfels): 9.42

5 comments:

Tex' Mexi said...

Yo amigos,

I'm going to have to step up and disagree with yawl's picks for Best Beef Ribs.

While I'll admit that I'm not the most experienced culinary mind, I am a true Barbeque lover and enthusiast, born and bred in the heart of Texas. That being the case, I'd like to think I could speak with some authority on the region's best Barbeque.

Your category for Beef Ribs seemed like a shut out, seemed obvious - Louie Mueller's BBQ in Taylor, Texas, is the winner. I speak specially on the category of Beef Ribs, because to this frequently hungry, Texan, Mueller's Beef Ribs aren't so much a dish as they are an institution - The standard of meat.

A professor of mine in college once said, "Good authors don't use adjectives to describe things, they use adverbs...". When devouring a Louie Mueller Beef Rib, adjectives can't be used, because there are none that do them justice! I'll do my best to describe the undertaking of eating one.

At first you grab the bones of the goliath in front you, clutching them like handles to sword or other medieval weapon, ready to combat your hunger. Next, the since of weight takes hold of you; these Beef Ribs are heavy and your eager to relieve the load by tearing into them. The aroma of these beasts has already danced with your nostrils from the moment you picked up the tray! Finally, you crunch into the crust of the Rib, which is scorched with course pepper. The explosion from the clashing of teeth and crust, attacks all senses at once! The taste overwhelms the tongue and the smell, rushes through the nostrils! The 60 years of smoke is still in the meat, making the eyes water (not that they weren't already crying tears of joy) and finally, simply hearing that crust break, is satisfying all its own!

You'll begin shredding through way through your first bite of meat, which only fights you with its crust. The bodily sensation is described finally as better, as a whole, than it was before! You're lifted, no, thrown from your seat and sore into another world, the world of a Texas tradition, the Rib from Mueller's. The return for a second trip becomes as essential as breathing!

They aren't, "Dino Ribs", "Stegosaurus Ribs" or even, "Beef Ribs"; those you can get elsewhere in other places. They are, "Louie Mueller's BBQ, Ribs." That folks, is all that can be said with words.

Thanks for your time,
D.J. Dominguez

Drew Thornley said...

D.J.,

I hereby declare your comment an instant classic. Easily one of the best comments we've ever received. By all means, please feel free to send us a "Reader Review" of any joint you visit.

In response, there is no doubt that LM's beef ribs are arguably the best in Texas. Indeed, LM won our award for Best Beef Ribs of 2008 and took 2nd place this year. We'll see what happens in 2010!

Thanks for weighing in.

Cheers,
Drew

Todd said...

I have to agree with DJ here. Nothing competes with Louie Mueller's Beef Ribs...nuff said.

Tex' Mexi said...

Drew,

Thanks for your compliment and for the invite on the reviews. I'll send some in from time to time.

Sincerely,
D.J. Dominguez

Boots Davis said...

Muellers is precisely the reason Dinosaurs no longer roam they earth...they cooked them all for the ribs.

Now they are working on all the cows.