The meat most closely identified with the Texas style of barbecue is brisket, which is more commonly found around New Orleans in its boiled form. Brisket needs to be cooked very slowly for its goodness to emerge, and that’s why it’s such a natural for barbecue.

I’ve always done my briskets on a large barbecue pit instead of a smoker. I got this idea from my Texas-born buddy Oliver Kluna. Astonishingly, he uses no wood: just charcoal smoke. I usually add oak wood picked up in the woo