Louie Mueller Barbecue
206 W 2nd St.
Taylor, TX 76574
Smoked meat.
It’s a Texas specialty.
And though I complain incessantly about Texas, this is one area where I’m left speechless.
Louie Mueller Barbecue is legendary. I know this because my good friend told me so. In fact, I made him quite jealous by visiting this establishment before him.
Located about 40 minutes northeast of downtown Austin, this place is an absolute must-visit. But make sure you don’t go too late in the day, because once they’re out of meat, they’re done and you’re out of luck.
And, trust me, you don’t want to miss this.
Walking into Louie Mueller Barbecue, you’ll notice everything has a thin, or thick, layer of soot on it and the wonderful smell of smoke in the air.
In fact, one of my compatriots shared with me that when the current owner took over the family business from his father, he attempted to clean the soot off the walls, which was much to the displeasure of the regular patrons of this fine establishment.
From then on, it seems they don’t bother with it. And why would you? It adds so much character to the place and it’s how a good smokehouse should be.
It’s a good thing I came to this place with experienced patrons, not to mention a large group, because I don’t think I could’ve handled this alone.
The specialty here is beef ribs. In other words, dinosaur bones. And you buy them by the pound. For our group, we ordered over four pounds of ribs.
This was a massive pile of meat. And it just fell right off the bone. It was so tender and delicious, I was tempted to throw some in my carry on, but figured TSA might have an issue with my suitcase leaking grease.
I had no idea how to even divide the spoils among us, so I passed my knife to the native Texan in our group. When in Texas, trust the Texan.
And here is where I will start my regularly scheduled rant.
I don’t understand barbecue bigotry.
I’m constantly reminded by my Southern brethren of the atrocities the North committed against the South in the War Between the States—which happened over 150 years ago and which I had nothing to do with.
My point in bringing this up is this—the South can’t even get along with each other.
I’m told by folks from Tennessee and the Carolinas that you can only smoke pork. Meanwhile, in Texas, the only true barbecue is beef.
Not trying to sound like a hippie here, but why can’t we all just get along?
All smoked meat is a good thing. And that includes pork, beef, chicken, turkey, fish, alligator, and so on. Smoke does a wonderful thing to meat, and it should all be enjoyed.
So, until the South can get along on the issue of smoked meat, I’m not too concerned about them “rising” again anytime soon.
End of rant.
Now, to go along with these delicious ribs, we also purchased a quart of potato salad which, in my book, is a must with BBQ. I’m often disappointed by the potato salad from what are considered good BBQ joints. For some places, it’s almost an afterthought.
In my opinion, a truly good BBQ joint has excellent potato salad—and Louie Mueller has excellent potato salad.
While enjoying this delicious meal, I realized my eyes were starting to sting from all the smoke.
It was like sitting around a campfire. And I loved it.
To finish things off, it was recommended I try the peach cobbler. I was not disappointed in this endeavor either. It was warm and fresh, and completed with a scoop of Texas’ own Blue Bell vanilla ice cream.
I left Louie Mueller Barbecue with a full stomach, my craving for barbecue fully satisfied, and smelling like smoke enough to make anyone sitting next to me on my flight jealous that I got to enjoy delicious smoked meat and they didn’t.
Take my word for it. This place is worth the detour if you’re in the Austin area.
And if you’re one of those close-minded, “There is only one true form of BBQ,” get off your high horse already and go enjoy the diversity of smoked meats found all over this great country of ours.
