About this tour
Central Texas barbecue is a religion, and Taylor is one of its cathedrals. This little cotton-and-railroad town northeast of Austin gave the world Louie Mueller Barbecue, a soot-blackened brick pit that has won a James Beard "America's Classics" award and shipped the fame of Taylor brisket far past the county line. The style here is unfussy and honest: post-oak smoke, coarse black pepper, butcher paper, and no sauce needed. This short drive links three working smokehouses with the downtown markers that explain why a rail town full of hungry cotton hands turned meat and fire into an art form. Come hungry — several of these pits sell out by early afternoon.