Inman's Kitchen Pit Bar-B-Q (Llano)

LLANO: Inman's Kitchen Pit Bar-B-Q
809 W Young
Llano, TX 78643
325-247-5257
Open Tues-Thur 8-6, F 8-8, Sat 8-6

It's funny what happens when an owner finds out you'll be writing about their joint. I'd visited Cooper's and Laird's multiple times on previous trips to Llano, but this was my first trip to Inman's. My hesitation was mainly due to the few kind words I'd hear about this Inman's location, but I found a few items good enough to keep me coming back.

My first bite was from the long, thin pork spare rib. The generous black pepper in the rub gave it a good bite, but still allowed the salt and smoke to work together for a good bark. The meat was moist and perfectly tender, and their nice level of smokiness made for the best pork rib in Llano. A unique turkey sausage was juicy with lots of smoke and salt. I've had much leaner versions of this link which were very dry, but this was a good link. The brisket was sliced thick with a great crust and smokering. It looked like it would be a winner until I tried to pull the slice apart for a bite. I couldn't tug on it hard enough to tear it apart and had to resort to a knife. It was just as tough to chew.

Another specialty sausage was Inman's answer to the jalapeno-cheddar beef links around the state. The jalapeno-swiss turkey link is stuffed into a synthetic casing. It's about the circumference of a hard salami, but the meat is juicy with some good heat. Unfortunately, the link had an odd texture and an overprocessed flavor that didn't match the regular turkey link.

When the meal was about over, owner Horace Oestreich came over to check on us and I told him about the tough brisket. He quickly had another order of brisket brought out which was, you guessed it, much more tender, and down right good. It's too bad they don't bother serving the good stuff on every brisket order. You can at least be assured of a good crunchy cole slaw, excellent pork ribs and a great link of turkey sausage.

Rating ***

Laird's Bar-B-Q

LLANO: Laird's Bar-B-Q Pit
1600 Ford St. (Hwy 16)
Llano, TX 78643
325-247-5234
Open W-Sun 11-7

Update: While they're officially open until 7:00 on Saturdays the Laird's were about to shut down for the day when I arrived at 2:30. They had a big catering job, and I didn't blame them since business wasn't exactly hopping. It was unfortunate that I was the only customer after having just left Cooper's a few blocks away which was still packed wall to wall with patrons. The menu was also sparse since everything was gone except a few slices of brisket and sausage.



The brisket was very similar to what I'd just eaten at Cooper's, which I later learned was due to the similar cooking method. Pitmaster Kenneth Laird once worked at Cooper's and his pit also uses direct heat from mesquite coals rather then indirect smoke. The rub has a high salt content, but is not overpowering. The meat could have been a bit more tender, but it was still moist and flavorful. The ribs I liked so well last time were not available so I went for the only other option which was sausage. I think it had been removed form the pit a bit soon since it was in need of some smoke, but the meat was well seasoned with just a hint of spice.



Out back, Kenneth showed me the pits and the firebox where the mesquite is cooked down to coals. He's a man of few words, so it was a mostly self guided tour, but he was happy to let me take photos of the whole operation. I'll make sure to make it back earlier next time so I can grab one of those ribs.

Rating ****

2006: Laird's has a steady church crowd on Sunday's, and they're packing them in for a reason. The smoker is right outside the door in order to wet your appetite with the smoke dancing on the breeze. The large spare ribs had a slight reddish crust which led to expectations of little flavor. Instead the tender meat and perfectly rendered fat were packed with deep smoke flavor. As my teeth teased the meat off the bone, I realized that it was a near perfect rib. Then I got to the brisket. These slices of meat also had little crust to speak of, but the smoke was incredibly intense. The pull-apart tender beef had excellent flavor throughout with a small strip of flavorful fat at the edge. Next time you're in Llano, detour from the famous place down the road, and stop in here for a deep breath of smoky air.

Laird's Bar-B-Q

Laird's Bar-B-Q
Llano, TX

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Jacob Reach offered this review of Laird's. It's a good one but not the winning entry. That one's up next.

My first visit to Llano, Texas was over a year ago. I made the trip out there just to try what some people claimed is the best BBQ in central Texas. I stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and a friendly man informed me he lived in Llano for 30 years and claimed quite frankly, “You don’t want to go there; you should go eat at Laird’s Bar-B-Q.” I didn’t head his advice, in fact when a road trip brought me back through Llano on another trip another local citizen that I struck up a conversation with gave me similar advise and informed me that “Lairds is the best BBQ in Llano.” Still didn’t listen, but now I know better. On my next trip to the Llano area I knew I finally had to find out for myself, and thus stopped in to Laird’s.



The business looks like a large house with extra large porch out front with two larger smokers off to the side in a fenced in area. On entering the store my suspicion was confirmed that this building was once a house, and all the serving now comes out of the kitchen while tables are placed into the wide open area next to it. Service is done through waitress service and a menu with different prices and specials for lunch and dinner, plus a steak special on Friday night. Place was packed with a few families and large groups of friends. Everyone did seem to be regulars as they yelled across at each other and the staff kept stopping by to small talk with them. I didn’t make it over until night time, so I was a bit concerned that they could be closed, or worse that the meat would be dried out from sitting around all day. Luck for me the pits where still smoking when I showed up, so I ordered a 2 meat plate with sausage and brisket, sauce on the side.



The briskets texture looked a bit off, possibly being cut with the grain and with jagged cuts and no speckled fat within the meat itself. Also the smoke ring was a strong bright red on one side, but faded on the other. I was afraid it looked a bit dried out also but the look deceived me as it was tender and pulled apart with my fingers. The bark was a bit sparse but I could still taste the pepper and salt rub. More importantly I could taste the rich smoke in every bite which gave it great flavor. Fat had rendered perfectly and made those bites extra tender and buttery. The link of sausage was another exciting choice. The casing had a great snap to it and was densely packed with meat full of pepper and other spices. It locked in the moisture and left the outside soft and snappy and the inside moist and velvety. I even saved about 2 inches of the sausage and threw it in the microwave the next day, still tasted great. Sides were exciting also. Potato salad had big chucks of potato and veggies which gave a full fresh flavor. Beans had captured the smoke and made them more bold and meaty. Sauce was a bit to watery, but I didn’t try much anyway as the meat had no need for it.