The cradle of Texas barbecue
Post oak fueled Central Texas flavor, traditions
Anyone who took world history in school is familiar with the “cradle of civilization” that encompassed the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq. This “fertile crescent” provided the geographic conditions that allowed agriculture to develop, leading to the creation of stable societies and, ultimately, to complex civilizations.
It is perhaps the best known example of how geology and geography can shape human societies, especially as they relate to agriculture and the way food provides sustenance and identity to specific cultures.
French wine, Italian cheese, Spanish olives and Mexican corn are food products that provide both physical nourishment and cultural identity to the inhabitants of their respective countries.
Texas, of course, which many of us consider a de facto country, also has unique food traditions that define us as denizens of the Lone Star State. None more so, I’d suggest, than barbecue.
And like French wine and Italian cheese, the singular character of Texas barbecue — specifically Central Texas-style barbecue — is ultimately rooted in the land where it originated. In Texas, that land is known as the “post oak savannah” — a strip stretching from the Red River in the north, curving between Houston and Austin, and ending just before it reaches the South Texas region.
The post oak savannah, known for rich grasslands studded with clumps of post oak trees, is one of 10 “eco-regions” in Texas. It is considered a transitional region in that the drier air of the prairies and Hill Country to the west bumps up against the wetter air of Gulf Coast prairies and piney woods to the east.
It is also, I would argue, the birthplace of Texas barbecue, which is characterized by beef cooked and smoked with post oak wood. I call this area the “cradle of Texas barbecue.”
Some of the earliest documentation of Texas barbecue occurred in this East-Central region, associated with the community barbecues that took place in German settlements near places like Bellville and Sealy, not far from the original site of Austin’s Colony where Stephen F. Austin established the state’s earliest settlement.
The region’s grassland has always provided nourishment for grazing animals, with bison being one of the earliest inhabitants. As European settlers arrived, the area became a center for cattle ranching. This geography was well-suited to fuel the rise of a cattle industry that supplied the meat markets that gave rise to some of the earliest traditions of Texas barbecue.
But Texas settlers needed fire to cook all that beef. They had to look no further than the stands of mighty post oak trees dotting the savannah.
Post oak is a variety of white oak that thrives in sandy/loamy soil and doesn’t need a lot of water to survive. It is a hardwood that is known to naturally resist rot and was originally used to produce railroad ties and fence posts (from which it gets its name).
These natural characteristics also make post oak the ideal fuel source for the smoke and heat that cooks Texas barbecue. The density of its wood fibers and the lack of moisture in the form of tree sap produce an intense and long-lasting fire that results in our barbecue’s hallmark clean and pleasant-tasting smoke flavor.
I’m often asked, “What makes Texas barbecue so unique?” The standard answer is indubitably the people and traditions that we know and embrace — the ruddy, leatherskinned pitmasters, for example, or the aversion to sauce and utensils.
But like other food traditions that are literally grounded in the land, the culture of Texas barbecue also can be traced to the natural and geographic conditions that are unique to our state. Without the post oak savannah, Texas barbecue may have looked and tasted much differently — or may never have developed at all.