The meat to end all meats, brisket is not just an enjoyable cut of 'cue; it's the most sacred entry in the barbecue canon, its charred, peppery bark yielding to luscious, fat-ribboned beef that has the ability to stop space and time. It's life-changing when cooked properly, heartbreaking when not and, just like a margherita pizza at a Neapolitan spot, tells you all you need to know about a barbecue establishment. If you can't get to Texas, these five places are St. Louis' most satisfying alternatives.
Stellar Hog
The brisket Alex Cupp serves at Stellar Hog (multiple locations including 5623 Leona Street, 314-481-8448) is the embodiment of all you want in the form: perfectly encrusted in salty, peppery bark, laden with luscious fat and cooked to the perfect, borderline fall-apart texture. This is the brisket you could butter your biscuit with.
BEAST Craft BBQ
Adequate does not exist in pitmaster-owner David Sandusky's vocabulary. Instead, he is determined to serve the best-prepared brisket from the best cuts of meat you could possibly find, which is why his restaurant, BEAST Craft BBQ (20 South Belt West, Belleville, Illinois; 618-257-9000) is one of the region's most essential smokehouses.
Salt + Smoke
Since it first opened in the Delmar Loop in 2014, Salt + Smoke (multiple locations including 6525 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-727-0200) has been synonymous with outstanding brisket — and for good reason. The restaurant offers the quintessential Texas-style, slow-and-low approach to the cut, resulting in beautiful, fork-tender meat that is exactly what you want when you are craving smoked meat.
Bogart's Smokehouse
If you go to its sister restaurant, Pappy's, for ribs, you hit Bogart's Smokehouse (1627 South Ninth Street, 314-621-3107) for the brisket. Tender, kissed with gentle smoke and marbled to the point of being sexy rather than pornographic, it's some of the best sandwich brisket you'll find.
Duke's BBQ Shack
Tucked in a historic storefront in the old part of Wentzville (yes, there is an old part of Wentzville), Duke's BBQ Shack (100 Ash Street, Wentzville; 636-856-9227) is perhaps the area's biggest sleeper brisket haven. Thick, fall-apart, fatty and coated in perfect bark, it does Texas-style right. If you want to be over-the-top, try it on the grilled cheese.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
