Sweet, succulent revenge

As a native New Yorker, I’m genetically programmed to be wary of Texans. Braggarts from any other state always cause me to raise an eyebrow, wondering if they have yet beheld the majesty of the Empire State, with its cornucopia of agricultural offerings, advanced industry, financial hub and blend of fine cultures — but it’s Texans in particular that get my blood boiling. It seems you can’t have a conversation with one without hearing about how everything’s bigger where they come from, or how you shouldn’t mess with them. I tell you, I’m no vandal, but every time I see one of those insipid “Don’t Mess with Texas” stickers — by golly, I want to mess with it.

(Did I mention that my ex-boyfriend is from Texas?)

There is one thing, however, for which Texans certainly do deserve their bragging rights: barbecue. Well-done Texas barbecue — pulled pork, brisket and all manner of rib cooked “slow and low” and smothered in sweet and spicy homemade sauces — can only be described as heavenly. As hard as it is to say, I have never tasted anything quite like it in New York. Until recently, that is.

Every Friday at Elia’s Meat Market in downtown Highland, you can taste a little bit of the Lone Star State for yourself. The meat market, which celebrated its fifth anniversary this month, started selling barbecue just two summers ago; last summer, Elia’s ribs won the People’s Choice Award at the Hudson Valley Rib Fest.

The barbecue expert is Mark Elia, and what he produces is nothing short of an authentic taste of Texas. Having paid my dues in Dallas, Greenville, San Antonio and Houston, for a period of time amounting to about two weeks, I feel confident making this endorsement. That may not sound like much, but it’s roughly 28 barbecued meals — 42 if you eat barbecue for breakfast, which we sometimes did.

The success of Elia’s barbecue comes from doing it the right way. At the behest of his brother, he took a trip down to Texas to commune with the barbecue pit bosses of San Antonio and beyond, exploring the traditional methods. The pit bosses confided in Elia, as he posed no threat to local commerce, sharing long-kept secrets and reinforcing the first commandment of mouthwatering barbecue: you can’t rush it.

Elia starts his smoker on Thursday afternoon each week; it goes all through the night. It’s an authentic pit smoker, imported from Texas, which can hold up to 500 lbs. of meat; it’s wood-fired, so it barbecues and smokes the meat at the same time. For fuel, he uses everything from sugar maple to oak to maple to apple — even sassafrass, when available, which Elia says produces a very unique, bittersweet flavor. The tougher meats cook for up to 12-14 hours, absorbing the trademark smokiness that signifies Texas-style barbecue.

You can always get the fab four on Fridays: ribs, brisket, pulled pork and barbecue chicken. Sometimes there’s pulled chicken, and a second smoker, just for fish, will soon be operational — but it’s the ribs that are the main attraction for me.

It’s not hard to see why Elia’s ribs are a fan favorite. Whether baby back racks, St. Louis spares or Texas slabs, each rib is laden with ample meat, which comes off the bone easily without falling off, just as it should. The meat is tender and lends itself well to a slow, satisfying chew.

Barbecue sauce clings to the meat, giving off a deep, sweet smell that is intoxicating. Elia’s barbecue sauce starts as a barbecue base to which drippings, brown sugar, molasses, diced onion and spices are added in different amounts, depending on the meat it’s destined for. So far, there are three distinct permutations, with the hot sauce still a work in progress.

A true test of patience for any barbecue cook is preparing brisket, one of the toughest cuts of beef, taken from the chest of the animal and historically considered a throw-away piece of meat for cowboys, ranch hands and hired help. Early on, it was discovered that cooking it on low heat for a long time made the meat more tender, a fact that is not lost on Elia, who never rushes it. His brisket is so tender, it almost melts.

The pulled pork is just as fine. Traditionally pulled pork comes from the butt or shoulder, the less expensive, tougher parts of the pig. Though Elia’s version at first resembles a light-colored brisket more than the traditional stringy pulled pork in Texas, it pulls apart easily should you try to transport it to your plate via fork. And the taste? The pulled pork is so good, I found myself involuntarily closing my eyes to concentrate on the flavor —just like you’d shut your eyes when leaning in for a first kiss. The taste is so sweet, just a little smoky, which brings forth the flavor of the pork, an unexpected treat. When food gets overcomplicated, I find myself missing the simplicity of taste that fewer seasonings afford.

On the other hand, there is something to be said, sometimes, for augmenting the lackluster. I have never cared for barbecued chicken, due to the fact that, because it has less fat than both pork and beef, it simply isn’t as flavorful after being submitted to the barbecuing process — chicken is just an alternative delivery system for barbecue sauce once the ribs run out. Here, however, chicken showcases the smoke flavor more than any of the other meats, which makes it more interesting to me.

A great way to figure out what you really gravitate towards is to try the sampler, a combination of the four types of meat. An individual sampler is $9.95; you will have leftovers — or a stomach ache, if you’re itching to prove me wrong. As barbecue is truly meant to be shared, there’s the small combo for $14.95, which serves 2-3 people (and a couple of friends) or the large combo for $24.95, which serves 4-5 people (i.e. hungry football players). The large combo, which is what my family of four usually orders, is 5-6 lbs. of meaty goodness packed into an aluminum catering half-tray. Although we all eat with gusto, we have found it impossible to conquer a large combo in one sitting, even with the lusty enthusiasm of my six-foot-four brother after a long night of Jiu-Jitsu. If you can choose a favorite meat, individual dinners run from $5.95 - $7.95, with accoutrements.

Speaking of which, there are several fine side dishes available to boost the barbecue experience. Elia’s makes solid standards: tangy cole slaw, with carrot and red cabbage that tints the dish pink; well-balanced potato salad, with carrot, minced parsley, celery and celery seed; and satisfying macaroni salad, also flecked with bits of carrot and celery seed. I find the cole slaw, in particular, to be a crisp, cold palate cleanser in between mouthfuls of meat. My favorite side dish, however, is baked beans with chunks of Elia’s homemade hot dogs. If I’m feeling particularly spry, sometimes I’ll make my own sides: cornbread, mashed potatoes or sweet white shoepeg corn complement barbecue nicely.

One final note: as the different meats finish cooking at different times throughout the day, sometimes you’ll need to reheat for dinner. For reheating the large combo, Mark’s wife Toni, who works with him, suggests securing plastic wrap over the aluminum pan, air-tight, topping it with the aluminum lid and putting it in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes. I was skeptical, at first, but the plastic wrap remained intact and kept in all of the precious moisture that keeps the meat truly juicy and tender — a noticeable difference from traditional reheating.

Megan Labrise

(Orig. pub date: Feb. 28, 2007)