Ciao: Texas Barbecue arrives in Italy
Standing in the Piazza Cavour, the main square of the northern Italian town of Como, I turned into the cold wind flowing off the adjacent lake, hoping to catch a few rays of sun that occasionally slipped past the fast-moving clouds that roll over the surrounding mountains.
The blue-black water of the expansive lake, also named Como (Lago di Como), is a horizontal counterpoint to the steep walls of the encompassing mountains dotted with large and colorful villas of wealthy industrialists, tech entrepreneurs and celebrities in this prosperous region of Italy. American actor George Clooney is perhaps its most famous resident.
The small city center is made up of a series of squares linked by pedestrian pathways lined with high-end shops that serve the many European tourists who arrive for Ferragosto, or summer vacation. In the winter, locals casually stroll between piazzas, kids and dogs in tow, greeting friends and stepping into the many cafés for an espresso.
This area north of Milan, known as the lakes region, is famous for its fashion and architecture. Walking among the piazzas on a cold November day, I found my Nikes, Levis and Walgreens sunglasses to be no match for the aviator frames, baffled jackets and skinny jeans of the stylish locals.
But I wasn’t there for the fashion. I arrived for the barbecue.
I’ve traveled all over the world tracking down Texas-inspired barbecue joints, usually in larger cities such as Paris and London with substantial communities of expatriate Texans as well as adventurous locals willing to give Texas barbecue a try.
Como is certainly the most unexpected place to find a restaurant dedicated to the culture, traditions and techniques of Texas barbecue. In Como’s Piazza San Fedele is where I found Blacket, whose slogan is “The Spirit of Barbecue.”
“Blacket,” a portmanteau of “blacken” (referring to the color of the bark or crust on a cooked brisket) and “brisket,” is the creation of Italian restaurateurs Massimo Taddei, Vincenzo “Enzo” Cuccaro and Aldo Cuccaro who, like many Europeans who open barbecue joints, were inspired by a trip to Texas, where they first tasted barbecue.
Pitmaster Enzo Cuccaro spent a couple of months touring Austin and Dallas before Blacket opened about a year-and-a-half ago. He ordered a new Smokemaster barbecue pit from J&R Manufacturing near Dallas and had it shipped to Como. He sources American beef for his brisket and beef ribs.
I asked Cuccaro whether Italians are knowledgeable about Texas-style barbecue.
“Most Italians think of grilling burgers and steaks when you say the word ‘barbecue’; they don’t associate it with ‘low and slow’ smoking methods, so we often have to explain it,” he said. “There are some very passionate barbecue enthusiasts that participate in competitions in Italy, and we are always excited to meet with them and swap secrets.”
The restaurant itself is modern and stylishly designed, representative of the city’s architectural traditions. There’s a bar area on the ground floor and a large upstairs dining room. A covered outdoor patio juts into the piazza.
I ordered the Texas trinity — brisket, pork ribs and sausage. It was clearly American beef, with thick veins of marbled fat throughout and a noticeable fat cap and crusty black bark. Cuccaro explained that it was Creekstone Farms-brand beef, some of the best you can get from the United States. The pork ribs came from Italy and were similar to American baby-back ribs. The sausage was inspired by similar Texas-style versions, with a coarse grind of all pork in a snappy casing, made by a local butcher.
So how was it? Much better than I was expecting from a barbecue joint in a relatively obscure outpost of Europe. All the meats were properly cooked, with the brisket pull-apart tender and the fat properly rendered. The only knock was that most of the meats were over-smoked, with the flavor of the white oak overwhelming the salt-and-pepper bark and premium beef. Dialing back the smoke level so there’s a better balance with the seasoning and meat flavors will make Blacket one of the top Texas-inspired barbecue joints in Europe, and certainly the best in Italy.