HNH BBQ
Mobile vending at various Brooklyn locations.
Check their website for a schedule.

Our final day of Meat Coma NYC 2010 took us across the river to Brooklyn. Our plan was to hit Smoke Joint in our old Fort Greene neighborhood then swing by Fete Sau in WIlliamsburg for the meaty finale. Cherie had made plans to meet an old friend at Smoke Joint & as we arrived early we had some time to kill.

We decided to wander around the old hood for a bit checking out what had changed (quite a bit actually) & what had not (the dreadful Chinese take-out was still there. REALLY!?!?) Along the wander, we ran into the Brooklyn Flea – a weekly flea market & street food extravaganza organized by the folks at Brownstoner. If we had known this existed, I guarantee we would have skipped Smoke Joint & spent most of the day eating our way through the fabulous street food here.

Rounding the corner of one of the food aisles, I saw the big “BBQ” banner & knew I was going to be eating before lunch. HNH BBQ is run by crew of young Texas transplants cranking out amazing brisket on a Weber Smoker. As we were heading off to a full lunch, we decided to just split a sandwich & skip the sides. We’re hoping to make a return visit to shop the flea market for Hut decorations & sample more of HNH’s food.

I consider myself a brisket fanatic. Up until the 2010 NY Meat Tour, I was beginning to believe I knew nothing about brisket & it was supposed to taste like roast beef. Thankfully, visits to Capital Q Smokehouse, Hill Country, Fete Sau & the folks at HNH BBQ proved this wrong. Brisket tastes like brisket if done right.

And HNH BBQ is doing brisket right.

Moist tender & a beautiful smoke ring, it’s simply seasoned with salt, crushed peppercorns & (I’m guessing here) a bit of cayenne. Excellent bark & a lucious meaty flavor. Cherie thought it was a bit too salty (I dig salty) but we both agree the cracked pepper added a great punch.

I am certain no brisket will ever beat HIll Country brisket (until I make the trip to Texas), but HNH BBQ is certainly in my Top 5. If you’re a brisket fan anywhere near Brooklyn, do yourself a favor & seek out HNH BBQ when they are vending. You’ll be glad you did.

Hill Country Texas Barbecue Market
30 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10010-2062
(212) 255-4544

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts
For tonight
God is a Pitmaster

(with apologies to my friends in the dance music community & Faithless)

Hill Country is my church.

It is – in my opinion – the single best BBQ joint in all of New York State. No use debating with me. I’m a zealot – a fanatic – one of the truly devoted. I feel guilty if I go to NYC without making the pilgrimage. I aspire to be 1/10 the BBQ cook this place is.

The reason for my zealotry?

Brisket

Not just any brisket – but the BEST brisket anywhere in New York State. What the Hill Country pitmasters do with a whole brisket, kosher salt, Butcher Block Black Pepper, cayenne & slow smoking proves there is something divine in the universe.

(Yes – I know this is all a bit twee & gushy – but damn is this GREAT brisket!)

We chose to make Hill Country our first stop on the 2010 NYC Food Tour (what we would later rename Meat Coma 2010) & that was both a good & bad thing. Good because we did not have to spend hours or days waiting for our chance to pray to the Gods of Brisket. Bad because we realized we might have been starting the tour with no where to go but down. Luckily, we did discover other great meals while on the tour.

Though nothing came close to the brilliance of Hill Country. This is a market style joint. You get a meal ticket at the door & order everything by the pound. We chose to completely skip the sides – Cherie made a pass for research but saw nothing interesting – & stick with a pure meat orgy. Straight to the meat counter for:

1/2 lb moist brisket
(from the deckle or point end of the brisket. This is the yummy fatty part. It’s our preferred cut.)

1/3 lb lean brisket
(from the brisket flat)

a bit of brisket burnt end
(the crispy first cut from each end of a whole brisket Our carver gave us the end from the point. MMMMMMM)

1 regular Kreuz sausage
(shipped in from Texas)

1 beef back rib
(plus the carver gave us one of the end bones to “gnaw on”)

All together I’d say we picked up about 2 pounds of meat. Plus – we were given about 1/2 a loaf of white bread. Made our way to a table & got a lemonade & ice tea & got ready to worship…

OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN…

Truly I started weeping a bit about this brisket. I want MY brisket to be this amazingly tender, moist & full of flavor. Three ingredients in the rub, great beef & perfect smoking come together in way I never thought possible. Cherie sums it up nicely (if not a bit insultingly after 23 years of marriage) with “This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.” I definitely prefer the moist brisket here. Wonderful juicy fatty goodness. Always remember this: FAT IS FLAVOR! The lean was also delicious, but I still wish we had gotten more moist.

The Kreuz sausage is a classic example of smoked sausage. Great smoky beefy flavor with a snappy skin & good spice. The beef rib had a great crust & juicy meat but ultimately suffered the same problem every back & spare rib does for me. It’s a rib. I just do not get the rib obsession. (Now short ribs are something I completely understand!) Cherie pretty much left the rib to me in exchange for more of the moist brisket for her.

One thing to note – eating like this at Hill Country is not cheap. Moist brisket runs $22.25 per pound. Lean is $19.75. A 1/2 pound sausage will set you back $6. It can all add up quite quickly especially as the euphoria of food this good seizes you.

The way I look at it is it is MUCH cheaper than a trip to Texas…