Louie Mueller Barbecue

I recently had the opportunity to eat at Louie Mueller Barbecue for the first time.  The legendary purveyor of smoked meats is located in Taylor, Texas and opened it's doors in 1949.   This barbecue joint has been critically acclaimed for years and last year it was ranked in the top 4 in Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas.  Although I have not been to this barbecue joint before, I have several friends that claim it is one of their favorites.  Louie Mueller's grandson, Wayne Mueller, now owns the place and mans the pits.  Having sampled the good at his sibling's barbecue joints (John Mueller Meat Co. and La Barbecue), I had high expectations for Louie Mueller Barbecue. 

Anxiously waiting in line

I arrived in Taylor right as Louie Mueller's was opening and was among the first in line.  Most barbecue joints have anywhere between five to seven different types of meat that they smoke and sell.  Louie Mueller's has a much larger selection than most: included three different types of beef sausage (original, jalapeño, and chipotle) and three different types of ribs (their famous beef ribs, baby back ribs, and pork spare ribs).  On this particular visit, I ordered brisket, turkey, original sausage, and the baby back ribs.  

Louie Mueller's was packed for a weekday

As I usually do, I started with the brisket.  It had a decent bark that was covered in black pepper.  The brisket had an excellent smoky flavor and the fatty slices were extremely moist with perfectly rendered fat.  Even the lean slices were surprisingly moist and had great flavor.  

Close-up of the peppery rub on the bark of the brisket

The turkey was also heavily peppered and was smoked well.  It didn't have as much pepper as the brisket, but it had just enough to add to the outstanding flavor of the turkey.  Most smoked turkey is very dry since it is a finicky meat to smoke, but the turkey here was perfectly moist.

Ribs rival brisket as my favorite smoked meat.  Since most places don't sell baby back ribs, I decided to give them a shot.  The baby back ribs here were some of the best baby back ribs I have ever had.  The meat easily pulled off the bone, they were smoked perfectly, and they were bursting with flavor.  One thing that impressed me with these ribs was the fact that they were thick cut and had about twice the meat you would normally get on baby back ribs.  I regretted that I had only ordered a half rack.  Although I certainly did not have buyers remorse with the baby back ribs, I really wished I would have ordered one of their famous beef ribs as well.

Clockwise from top left-baby back ribs, turkey, sauce, bread, brisket, original sausage, and pinto beans

The original sausage was fantastic too.  It was one of the top three beef sausages I have ever had.  Beef sausage often dries out quicker than pork sausage, but the sausage at Louie Mueller's was extremely moist.  All three of their sausage are house-made and I will be trying the other two varieties on my next visit.

The only side I ordered were the beans.  They were outstanding and had chunks of pork in it, but this side couldn't hold a candle to the barbecue.  Sauce is an afterthought when you have great barbecue, but the sauce here is very different.  Unlike most barbecue sauces which are thick, the sauce at this establishment is a very thin tomato based sauce with onions and pepper in it.  More like a soup than a sauce, it was much better than I expected upon first looking at it.

When I was leaving Louie Mueller Barbecue, the crowd for lunch was lined up along the wall and out the door.  I left Taylor, Texas feeling very content.  Although I still had a three hour drive to get home, I was glad I made the trip.  It is very easy to see why this place is so well liked by everyone, including the food critics.  I had ordered about three pounds of meat so I could take some home for my wife to try.  Sadly, she only got to sample one slice of brisket, one slice of turkey, and a sausage link.  

Louie Mueller Barbecue
http://louiemuellerbarbecue.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating=4