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Scott Roberts, owner of highly acclaimed The Salt Lick in Texas, has a lifetime of meat smoking expertise under his belt. His third-generation family restaurant brings in awards and long lines of brisket-lovers from all over the country, and this weekend, Roberts brings his Texas brisket know-how to the Q in The Lou barbecue festival downtown at Soldiers’ Memorial.
While Roberts will advocate for his beef-based Texas-style ‘cue, he credited the increased popularity of food media for shifting the national conversation on barbecue. Rather than one region proclaiming its style supreme and all others as “not barbecue,” Roberts said there is now a mutual respect and recognition of styles: Texas, Memphis, St. Louis, etc.
Roberts, who describes himself as “an old dog you can teach new tricks,” will team up with local pitmaster Haley Riley of Salt & Smoke to teach an Old School Vs. New School Brisket master class this Saturday and discuss their shared passion. The most important thing for home cooks to know: “Don’t do it,” Roberts said with a chuckle. “Leave it to the professionals.”
And while he jokes, it’s easy to see what he means once he gets going. His advice is exacting: Always start with choice prime brisket. Burn live oak wood for better smoking than mesquite, which isn’t as hard and tastes bitter. Don’t use tomatoes if you make a sauce (they’ll also taste bitter) – and watch that sauce like a hawk so it won’t burn. Never wrap your brisket in foil; that steams the meat, drying it out instead of creating a nice caramelized crust.
Roberts reverence for brisket is evidence of a lifelong dedication to the craft. It brings people together and forms communities, he said, as it’s too big and time-consuming to do otherwise. You need all your friends and family to help enjoy the process – and the end result.
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Editor’s Note: Sauce Magazine is a sponsor of Q in the Lou.
This article appears in September 2015.