Every Texan knows that Brenham is the home of Blue Bell, God's gift to ice cream. The company was well-known for its advertisements, including one of their most popular, which featured happy cows frolicking in pastures and the slogan, "The reason Blue Bell Ice Cream tastes so good is that the cows think Brenham is heaven."
Fortunately for the good folks of Brenham, heavenly cows also make heavenly brisket and beef ribs. Maybe that's the secret behind the great 'cue at
Truth Barbecue, the city's entry into
Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ joints in the state.
My internal BBQ clock went off at 6 am on the day of my visit to Truth. Just like every hunter knows you've got to go to get, every real BBQ fan knows you've got to get up and get in line for the good stuff. I rolled over anyway, drooling on my pillow, dreaming about brisket. I had scoped things out the night before and knew that I could arrive a little later than usual.
The lines, according to a Truther I met the night before, started at 10:30 am instead of earlier, thanks to the coronavirus. Still, I had to head to Truth, so I showed up at 8 am because...FIRST!
Truth is an awesome little BBQ shack on the outskirts of Brenham, one of those "blink and you'll miss it" stops. When you're going the speed limit, you pretty much have to slam on the brakes and pull a 90-degree turn into the parking lot. I parked my burnt end on the concrete in front of the entrance, coffee in hand.
One of the defining features of Truth (besides the BBQ) is the Love Texas selfie wall on the east side of the exterior. It's a great way to pass the time and it looked particularly good contrasting with my handy pandemic mask.
The line started building at 8:30 am and it didn't let up. I love lines at Texas BBQ joints because they reveal things about the type of joint it is. The line at Truth was full of High BBQ IQ customers. You know the type...able to name every major pitmaster in Texas and quote their signature dish...a sure sign of a quality BBQ joint.
I compared notes about different BBQ joints with the folks in line behind me. They had been to Truth before and in fact, it was their first stop of three during that day's BBQ crawl. Their knowledge of the menu greatly influenced my choices.
When the door opened, a choir of angels began to sing. A BBQ joint only in name, inside Truth was well-decorated and welcoming. I ordered the Texas Trinity special - 1 lb of brisket, 1 lb of sausage, 1 lb of turkey and 2 quarts of sides. Why turkey instead of pork ribs? I've found that fowl can be one of the most unforgiving meats at a BBQ joint. If it's dry or undersmoked it's a failure.
So when I'm faced with a choice of ribs, pulled pork or turkey, I always lean towards turkey and test the pitmaster. Thanks to my line buddies, I ordered two casseroles -- tater tot and corn..and no veggies, because tater tots and corn.
Once outside, I unpacked my bag and spread things out on a picnic table. Truth Barbecue served up the best overall BBQ experience I've had visiting BBQ joints across the state. Everything was perfect, the brisket was melt-in-your-mouth, the jalapeno sausage had the perfect bite, the turkey was moist and smokey, and I hope to eat tater tot casserole and corn casserole every day for the rest of my carb-loading life.
I even ordered dessert for the first time at a BBQ joint since beginning my quest in 2017. That's right, at 45 different stops in 3 years, I had never ordered dessert until my visit to Truth. The Triple Chocolate Cake was well worth the wait. So moist, so chocolatey, so good that I don't have any pictures of it (burp). Sorry.
So in summary:
- Small-town shack? ✔
- Long line that moves? ✔
- High BBQ IQ customers? ✔
- Is Truth Barbecue in Brenham is the full-on, Texas BBQ experience? ✔
- Is it the most excellent BBQ meal I've had in 3 years? ✔
Bill & Ted would have been proud.
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