The December edition of the monthly BBQ review has us dining in the little town of Cuero, Texas. Some of you may have caught yesterday’s daily dose where I discussed the Cuero Heritage museum. While I did bring a lot of history and facts about the town out in that post I saved some things for today, I think half the flavor of Volume 1 of the Will Eat BBQ 4 U edition was getting you a taste of life of the town. I don’t know how long it takes to start a tradition, but I like that part of the BBQ review, so being that I have control of the blog it is my intentions to include that portion in this review and those in the future.
Cuero is located about one hundred miles southeast of San Antonio in the County of DeWitt, it serves as the county seat. The last census in 2010 listed the population at 6,841 folks. The town came about as resting point for cattle drives back in the late 1800’s as the ranchers were moving cattle from the coastal grass plains heading to the stock yards in Fort Worth and Kansas. As you can probably guess, Cuero is a Spanish word, which means “hide”, as in the skin of a cow.
The history of Cuero is pretty well documented by the Heritage Museum, but museums have a tendency to only tell documented items. To me, legends are the intriguing part of small towns, and Cuero has a few legends of its own. It seems that the cowboys on those cattle drives were a pretty rambunctious group of fellows, when they hit town to rest the horses and cattle plenty of hell would break lose when they got liquored up at the local saloons. It is said that many a gun fight broke out on the dirt roads in the middle of town; it truly was the “wild, wild west”.
Like most Texas county seats of government Cuero is home to the county court house, this building is truly a majestic structure. It was constructed in over a two year time frame of 1894 to 1896, the previous court house had a fire in April of 1894 and burned to the ground. If memory serves me correctly, the court house in Giddings also burned about that same time; makes you wonder if some group didn’t like the court system in Texas. The court house is a three story granite and sandstone building; it has a clock tower and two pavilions that flank the tower. There is a lot of detail in the stone work in the form of carvings, mostly scrolling decorations and flowers.
I had a few extra minutes so I ventured inside, there is plenty of ornate wood trim inside and big solid oak doors to each room and offices. The door handles are solid brass and have great detail as well. The inside stair case was being used by an older couple for their daily exercise routine; they would walk up one side and come down the other.
The court rooms were locked up, so I couldn’t get pictures in there, the district attorney’s office door was partially open so I peeked in there and scared the hell of the man and woman inside. They informed me that I had no business in there, and the court wouldn’t resume cases until 1:30 in the afternoon. I told the gentleman that since this was a public building and that he was to serve the public, since he obviously worked there, I didn’t appreciate his rudeness. I suggested to the arrogant jackass that he might just ask, “How can I help you?” next time. How did they know I had no business in there, they had no idea who I am. Lock the damn door if you are on lunch and don’t want to be bothered.
Cuero has an interesting street a couple blocks south and west of the courthouse, what made it so interesting are the two trees growing in the road. I asked a man about those trees while I was eating lunch, he said those were the “justice trees”, one for hanging; the other to provide shade for those who came to watch the justice being administered. I don’t know if it is true, but who knows, it was pretty close to the court house.
One last thing before we go eat, the 10 commandments and court houses just don’t go together any longer in the USA. The court house in Cuero is no exception on that front, but the locals said if we can’t have them in there then we’ll make sure we have them close by.
Directly across the street is a big granite monument that has the 10 commandments engraved in it, it is on private property and the ACLU can’t do a thing about it. They even have lights to illuminate it at night.
Smolik’s is an institution in these parts; they have been in business for 27 years. In talking with Oscar, the head man in charge of running the BBQ operation, he indicated that Mrs. Smolik is the sole owner now and she is up there in age, he pretty much runs the BBQ end of it. There is a small meat case up at the front of the store, not real well stocked I might add, so I would believe that the BBQ is the main revenue source for the operation.
Brisket is my choice of meat for judging BBQ; it takes real talent to produce consistent meat flavor and texture. Those of you who were with me last month know that I always recommend drinking water with BBQ, so as not to influence the taste, but as you can see from the picture I broke that rule of mine this time. Smolik’s has great ice tea, and I needed the boost from the tea after the long day on Tuesday. I’m a “un-sweet” man when it comes to tea, so I didn’t really run the risk of screwing up my ability to judge.
The other reason is, I’ve been eating here at least a couple times a year for ten years. The brisket is always flavorful and moist, and that takes skill to do, not all briskets are created equal and you need to know how to “read the meat” when your smoking it.
The menu includes all the normal meats and while they don’t have baked potatoes, there is a good selection of side dishes. I’m not a side dish guy, so a bag a chips is all I need to compliment the sandwich. The sandwich is available in two sizes, regular and large. The regular will get you a quarter pound of meat, the large will get you a third of a pound.
After I finished my meal I went and talked to Oscar, he had no idea that I would be reviewing their establishment on the internet. He was nice enough to share with me his choices of wood. Oak and mesquite are the blend for cooking the briskets. He uses a different combination for the chicken, sausage and ribs. Those meats get a combination of hickory and fruit woods, like apple and cherry. He was reluctant to allow me back by the smoker, it is inside and he was concerned about an insurance claim if I were to get hurt. I can’t blame him; he is just looking out for his and Mrs. Smolik’s livelihoods. He was nice enough though to take my camera to the back and snap me a shot of their smoker. For some reason I couldn't get the photo to upload, but it is a really nice piece of equipment.
The dining area is nothing fancy, picnic tables and a few small tables with chairs, I don’t eat chairs and tables so I couldn’t care less about what I have to sit on while I’m eating. The beverages are “self serve” and they have the normal Coca Cola selection, plus the ice tea and water.
Oscar did tell me that back in the 1990’s the place flooded from a big storm, the front third of the building had to be demolished. There is plenty of parking out front; if you are in a hurry they have a drive up window as well. It was well after the lunch time rush but there were several people eating and the people are easy to talk with. Leroy Grant and his buddy, Big Daddy, were talking about roping and a mare Big Daddy had recently bought. I tried to get them to let me shoot a couple shots of them but they were hesitant with that. It turned out though that Leroy knew an old friend of mine from my horse days name Eddie Floyd Pierson. Eddie Floyd was always short on entry fee money, but he was a damn good header when it came to roping. Being that he roped left handed when he snatched a steer it was always in a perfect position for the heeler to catch the back legs. I made quite few dollars with Eddie Floyd, I would pay his entry fees and we would split the earnings.
The food is priced right and delicious, the place is by no means fancy but it is kept very clean. Josie from the museum said it was the best BBQ within 100 miles and I agree. Cuero, Texas is a place that you may never end up in, but if you do Smolik’s should be your lunch stop. This place get’s my approval, PASSING on all my main points for judging BBQ.
Until next month, this has been the “Will Eat BBQ 4 U” for December 2017.
@sultnpapper
All photos are property of @sultnpapper
The photos below are additional views of the town.
This last photo is Oscar's lovely assistant, I'll just call her "Sweet Heart"
