The Brisket House

I wanted to do something nice for my wife's birthday so I planned a trip to New Orleans. Amber had never been, and I went when I was in high school. Not the same experience if you went with your parents. I try to include at least one visit to a BBQ joint when I am out of town, but I did not plan very well though. I found out that The Joint was closed on Sundays on that Sunday. Oops. I guess we will have to return back to NOLA. To salvage the trip for missing out on BBQ, I wanted to make a barbecue stop while driving through Houston. The Brisket House was one of the closest places off of IH-10. I had their samples at the Houston Barbecue Festival a few weeks back and wanted the full experience. They are located in a nice part of H-Town and within a strip mall.

When I walked in saw a Southern Pride smoker, I immediately questioned my choice. I then remembered reading that the gas was used only to regulate the temperature of the wood fire in a TMBBQ review. There was a stack of pecan and oak logs by the door. I ordered the three meat plate that came with moist brisket, pork ribs, and jalapeño sausage. I also got sides of coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. You would think a place that is named The Brisket House would have good brisket, right? Well it did. Under the jet black soft exterior, the meat was tender and flavorful. The fat was rendered a bit much so it was a little dry. But by no means was it a brisket that I was going to kick out of bed. The pork ribs were moist and smoky. The bone was struggling to hold on to the meat. The sausage was solid and had a nice kick from the jalapeño. The mixture was tasty, and the casing was snappy. My wife tasted the macaroni and cheese first and said it was bad. She was trying to trick me and have all of it to herself. Shame on her. The coleslaw was fresh and crisp and a good complement. I ate everything off the plate. Well everything but the bones.

Do not judge a book by its cover. When you pull into the parking lot, you wonder how could there be good barbecue here. There is so put your car in park and go inside. You see a gas smoker? Just go ahead and order. The Brisket House is open into the evening so the hours are convenient. I met owner Wayne Kammerl while I was there. Nice guy. He and his staff are doing good stuff. The Houston BBQ scene has a lot of quality restaurants now. Driving back to Austin in a meat coma was the only bad decision I made that day. Grade: B

Until next time, happy smoking...

Address: 5775 Woodway Dr, Houston, TX 77057
Phone: (281) 888-0331
Website: http://thebriskethouse.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrisketHouse
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBrisketHouse