Tortillas joining Texas barbecue canon
One of the oldest traditions in Texas barbecue is the pile of sliced white bread served with your order of smoked meats and side dishes. This tradition is said to date to the late 1800s, when Central Texas meat markets would throw in some bread as filler for the relatively skimpy portions of meat.
Sliced white bread is still served by default at many of the older barbecue joints in Houston and is still a useful ingredient. Grab a slice of white bread, pile on sliced brisket, add sauce, and you’ve got an impromptu barbecue sandwich. Or swaddle a whole link of sausage in a slice of white bread — known as a wraparound — and take it away for easy eating on the run.
The sliced-white-bread tradition in Texas barbecue is changing, however. The jalapeño cheese bread at Goode Co. Barbeque, for example, has gained a cult following to the point that it is sold separately in loaves. Kolaches, or more specifically klobasneks (Czech-German pastries), also are becoming popular as delivery mechanisms for smoked meats.
But the most promising replacement for white bread in the canon of barbecue traditions is one of the most recognizable and pervasive dishes in Texas: the humble tortilla.
Specifically, the flour tortilla. One of my favorite barbecue dishes in Houston at the moment is the smoked chicken taco at The Pit Room in Montrose. A substantial flour tortilla, charred and purposefully misshapen, is piled high with smoked chicken that’s pulled apart into juicy chunks and then covered in gooey, melted Monterey Jack cheese and whole cloves of sweet, tender garlic. Drizzle on some of the house made roasted red chile salsa, and you’ve got a meal unto itself (plus it’s a steal at $4.25).
Flour tortillas are a marvel of delicious simplicity. Flour, water, salt and fat are the standard ingredients. Most flour tortillas are noted for their yeasty flavor imparted by the flour. Additional flavor can be added depending on the fat used, which is traditionally lard (rendered pig fat).
At The Pit Room, chef and pitmaster Bramwell Tripp takes it a step further. He uses smoked and rendered brisket fat. The smoky and fragrant tortillas are the perfect complement to the excellent smoked meats piled on top.
Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ in Austin is incorporating tortillas into Texas barbecue, too. Coowner and pitmaster Miguel Vidal also makes his flour tortillas in house, though they are more traditional than the brisket-fat versions at The Pit Room — pillowy and lighter, emphasizing the yeasty fragrance of the flour, and slightly thinner. They are excellent platforms for Vidal’s impeccable smoked meats, which include brisket, carnitas and chicken.
The carnitas tacos are a particular standout: chunks of seasoned pork shoulder mixed with pieces of smoky, salty outside crust, then topped with caramelized onions, cilantro and tomatillo habanero salsa. Squeeze on some lime, pinch together the surrounding flaps of tortilla into a classic taco, and you’ll taste one the best new barbecue dishes in Texas.
Of course, it is unlikely that tortillas will replace sliced white bread as a canonical barbecue side. Though making flour tortillas in house is much easier than making corn tortillas from scratch, flour tortillas still require a nontrivial amount of skill to produce successfully. Pre-made, packaged flour tortillas — the Mexican equivalent of sliced white bread, if you will — are a tempting and serviceable option but can’t compete with the texture and flavor of tortillas made from scratch.
Nowadays, Texas pitmasters are always experimenting with new dishes that will set themselves apart from the growing competition. Certainly, housemade flour tortillas are a lot of work, but I’d suggest that the delicious return on investment is well worth the time and effort.