Laird's Barbeque & Catering Service

4/4/13 11:15am - Heading home from an unsuccessful turkey hunt, this was my last chance to sample some real pit barbecue before I entered the Pit Desert of Houston. Found this place on my Texas Monthly BBQ app.

I scored Laird's a 82 out of 100. This is Regional Texas Barbecue.

Smoke: Mesquite. They smoke their meats Cowboy style just like Coopers in the same style pits.

Brisket: Good. 1/8in smoke ring provides the clue of high heat. Tested and ate tough of tender. Full smoke flavor. Did not detect a rub but the smoke was enough. Bark was delicious. No sauce needed. The fat cap was nice and smokey.

Ribs: Good. Ate tough of tender. Overall flavor was smokey and they were finish with BBQ sauce glaze. Flavor was really good. No sauce needed.

Sausage: Good. Course ground pork sausage with mild traditional spice and little after taste. Little to no smoke. Use the sauce.

Sauce: Good. First thought, this is tomato soup. It does the job and enhances the flavor of the meat without masking it. It also worked well as the finish on the ribs.

Its hard to rate a joint like this in the shadow of Coopers but something needs to be said without bashing the other. If I lived in Llano, I would get my BBQ on at Lairds and my pork chops, steaks and goat at Coopers