Terry Black’s Austin
I live in MA, and grill a ton. I use mostly open fire but also have gas (weekdays) and a Weber kettle for faster weekend cooks. I was at Terry Black’s in Austin last week, and the food was unbelievable. The brisket was excellent, but man, those pork ribs.
I ended up spending some time talking with Alex, one of their pitmasters, about how they make them. The ribs are seasoned simply with salt and pepper, move through three different temperatures during the cook, and toward the end get flipped and hit with just a gentle kiss of simple syrup.
Behind him were three massive smokers running 24 hours a day. It was around 100°F in Austin that day, and standing in the pit near the firebox felt like standing on the surface of the sun. It gave me a whole new appreciation for what goes into putting out that kind of BBQ every single day.
I’ve had great ribs before. I make ribs at home that I’ve always been pretty damn proud of. After eating these, I may need to stop saying that. They were on another level: smoky, salty, peppery, slightly sweet, incredibly tender but still with just enough bite.
My only regret was not ordering the beef rib. I saw them coming out and immediately knew I’d made a mistake.
I’ve never been someone who wanted to go on a BBQ pilgrimage, checking off the great spots around Texas or the country. Terry Black’s may have changed that.
So now I’m curious: if Terry Black’s blew me away this much, where do I need to go next? I’m not looking for the most famous name, I want the places where the BBQ is genuinely better. If those places exist, I need to find them.