Sullivan's Old Town BBQ

                            

Sullivan's Old Town BBQ's Not So Secret Ingredients

Taste the beef!

I consider myself a BBQ snob in search of greatness. Throughout Texas I always ask the locals, usually the sheriff, where are the best ribs, brisket, and sausage in town. It’s a blessing and a curse. So many disappointments!

It was a pleasant surprise when I joined a friend, Jason Moore for lunch in Lewisville in Denton County, Texas at Sullivan’s Old Town BBQ.

I would compare his operation to two legendary establishments in Lockhart, Texas of Caldwell County the BBQ Capital of Texas.

Black’s and Smitty’s have been around for nearly a century. They were both formerly butcher shops that turned their scrap meats into all-beef sausage and smoked everything else that wasn’t steak or roast. They are very unadorned and unpretentious facilities.

The children still show up every day as they have for 70 or 80 years. That’s right. The kids are great grandparents. Black’s is the oldest family-owned and operated restaurant in Texas!

Terry Sullivan took possession of a years-old butcher shop near the end of 2019 and opened in February just in time for COVID. Even with all the restrictions, he and his staff are gaining an audience up here in Lewisville by serving up the same quality of pure Texas BBQ.

Since my friend Dan Law is the sheriff of Caldwell County, he took me to Smitty’s, Black’s, Luling BBQ, Kreuz Market, and Chisholm Trail. He introduced me as the Lone Star Reporter looking for a story. Over three days I was served up pretty much everything they felt they did the best, which was pretty much everything on the menu. Caldwell County BBQ

Of course, I ordered the sampler at Sullivan’s. Three types of meat and two sides. I could see the depth of the bark and the ring. Any decent brisket will have a bark. But that red ring just under the bark is the sure sign of a brisket that was smoked a very long time and can only be achieved at a very low temperature. The result is a juicy and tender reward with that clean taste of beef. No sauce needed.  

The ribs would pass my daughter’s scrutiny. Robyn and ribs have been friends since she first held one over 30 years ago. The sausage is ground just coarse enough to squeeze the juice. Pure Beef. I can tell. Salt and pepper and nothing else.  Jason Moore is the Lewisville Economic Development Director. He claimed the Smoked Cuban was the best because of the smoked brisket. I came back a few days later and ordered one. We laughingly called it a BarbeCuban and told Terry. It is now on the menu by that name. 

Terry is very welcoming, and I knew what questions to ask. Straight away I knew he was a legit, old-style Texas BBQ warrior. Nowadays, they would call him an Artisan. He is clearly born to be a host. 

If you go around to the backside of Sullivan BBQ in Old Town Lewisville, you will see the enclosure for Terry Sullivan’s custom-made smoker. The tender box is at one end close to the wood stack.

The box is not large. It doesn’t hold a lot of wood at one time. The wood is Post Oak. It is all cut to the length of the tender box opening. All the wood is chopped to about the same thickness. There is a very good reason for that. Temperature Control. Consistency.

Terry Sullivan smokes his fare in the traditional Texas-style. The way old man Black taught Smitty, Lee Chambers, and Hoyt Wilhelm when they were boys. The boys went off to war and returned to open their own. Lee made his part of a grocer and Hoyt added a buffet table of multiple sides like a Baptist Potluck Dinner would have.

They all BBQ the same way: Post Oak, salt and pepper, give it a bath every couple of hours, low and slow. That’s how you get the juiciest, most tender but firm brisket, with a thick protective bark, and that distinctive red inner ring.

It’s a highly labor-intensive process. Every evening the briskets are seasoned with salt, pepper, and respect. That’s the secret ingredient! Respect for the beef.

The tender box must be monitored all through the night to maintain the 230-degree temperature plus or minus 5-degrees. Temperature gauges are strategically placed along the length of the smoker to help in regulating the constant temperature.

Every two hours the meats are attended to. And this goes on all through the night.

The pork, turkey, ribs, and sausages will be added in their own time.

Respect for the meat. Respect for the process. Respect for the results. Respect for the Texas Tradition.

Post Oak?

Those that use Hickory, Mesquite, and other aromatic woods are dealing with hotter and harder to control temperatures. They are using those hot and highly aromatic types of woods that are usually smoked at around 300 degrees for 3 or 4 hours before they are wrapped and the heat is turned up to 400 for about an hour before being pulled out to rest.

The difference is noticeable to the BBQ aficionado. These places also usually have some very creative rubs and often coat the Q in some sauce. That’s fine for saucy people, but people drive 45 minutes from Austin in caravans to Caldwell County to show their friends and family the real deal.

The same BBQ you can get in Old Town Lewisville!

SECOND VISIT

I was back at Sullivan’s a few days later. I told Terry that I was disappointed. I didn’t try the collard greens and I usually try the beans in my search for the best Texas Beans. Besides that, I didn’t try the rest of his fare. I told him about my adventure in BBQ county.

I had the Smoked BarbeCuban and Terry fixed me up a Super Sampler to go. I called it ‘Just Showin Off’.

I got home, opened it up and took these photos. I called on Terry the next day and asked about adding the ‘Just Showin Off’ Platter to the menu.  All 6 smoked types of meat and four sides. Enough for two if you are into sharing.

The collard greens and beans are a revelation! The Cowboy beans are heavily influenced by all those brisket trimmings Terry tosses in the pot. If you don’t sip on whatever juices are left, then you are a depriving yourself of something special

It is my opinion that people should have the opportunity to taste all the artistry of an Artisan Texas Smoker.

              

I came back to Sullivan’s last Saturday. Every Saturday evening from 5 to 8 pm Terry features a solo guitarist playing easy listening music and all you can eat fried catfish ($12) or ribs ($15)! Did I mention the free beer?

I found a full house including a Lewisville living icon, former mayor, and current Denton County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell. I joined her and her husband Fred and feasted on fried catfish planks. Hers is another story I need to write!