Behind The Swinging Doors: A Tour Of Hill Country Barbecue

Part restaurant, part music venue, and part karaoke bar, Hill Country Barbecue Market serves up Texas-style barbecue to New Yorkers at two different locations, and in D.C. at a third. The newest location is in Brooklyn, and opened just last year. The huge space offers dry-rub barbecue plus some classic Texas imports like Kreuz Market sausage, Big Red soda, and Blue Bell ice cream.

Behind the Swinging Doors: A Tour of Hill Country Barbecue (Slideshow)

While Hill Country does have a traditional kitchen, a huge chunk of the space is full of smokers for the meat. That is arguably the most important part, anyway. Brisket, ribs, and more spend hours slow smoking over oak before being served. We stopped by to check out the smokers at Hill Country at noon on a Tuesday. Executive Pitmaster and Top Chef alum Ash Fulk showed us around the smoke room at Hill Country. 

The most beautiful part of the process, though, is when the meat comes out of the smoker. The meat is carved behind the counter where customers can see their order before it gets handed off to them. Ribs get sliced individually, and brisket into manageable pieces to eat. Some might say it looks too good to eat... but in the end, hunger wins out.

Ash Fulk

Pitmaster at Hill Country Brooklyn Ash Fulk checks on some wood burning in a smoker.

Sausages

Try the sausage they make in-house, or one of the two varieties they have shipped from legendary barbecue joint Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas.

Click here to see more inside Hill Country Barbecue Market.

Jane Bruce is the Photo Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @janeebruce.