Austin's defining plate: a post-oak-smoked whole-packer brisket, sliced thick against the grain, served on butcher paper with white bread, pickles and onions.
Central Texas brisket is German and Czech immigrant butchers' adaptation of the meat counter, dating to the 1860s smokehouses of Lockhart and Elgin. The Lockhart trio (Kreuz, Smitty's, Black's) refined slow-smoked beef in the 1900s; Aaron Franklin opened Franklin Barbecue in Austin in 2009 and rebuilt the technique for a James Beard run. The post-oak twelve-hour cook with salt-and-pepper rub is the canonical version, served by weight on butcher paper. The 'brisket trinity' of Franklin, Terry Black's and La Barbecue runs the current city benchmark.
7 editor picks for Smoked brisket in Austin, ranked by editorial score. All Austin signature dishes · Smoked brisket across every city.
Franklin Barbecue ★ 4.9
900 E 11th St, Austin, TX 78702
Franklin Barbecue in Austin is Aaron Franklin's 2009 East 11th brisket pilgrimage, the James Beard-winning shop that codified central Texas barbecue.
La Barbecue ★ 4.7
2401 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702
La Barbecue in Austin is Ali Clem's Cesar Chavez post-oak barbecue, a Michelin-recognised shop with a James Beard-recognised owner, sliced brisket.
InterStellar BBQ ★ 4.7
12233 Ranch Rd 620 N, Ste 105, Austin, TX 78750
InterStellar BBQ in Austin is John Bates and Brandon Martinez's North-side smokehouse on RR 620, a Michelin Star 2024-25 BBQ shop in the former Noble Pig.
Distant Relatives ★ 4.7
3901 Promontory Point Dr, Austin, TX 78744
Distant Relatives in Austin is Damien Brockway's modern African American BBQ trailer at Meanwhile Brewing's South Austin yard, a James Beard semifinalist.
Terry Black's Barbecue ★ 4.6
1003 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Terry Black's Barbecue in Austin is the Black family's Barton Springs Road BBQ, a Michelin Plate winner from the 94-year-old Lockhart family lineage.
Micklethwait Craft Meats ★ 4.6
4602 Tanney St, Austin, TX 78721
Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin is Tom Micklethwait's BBQ smokehouse on Tanney Street, a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen relocated from the 12-year Rosewood.
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue ★ 4.6
5621 Emerald Forest Dr, Austin, TX 78745
LeRoy and Lewis in Austin is the South Austin brick-and-mortar of Sawyer Lewis and Evan LeRoy's BBQ since 2023, a 5,000-sq-ft smokehouse known for beef cheek.