Cool blog post about Bigmista's Brisket

Here is the post written by The Hungry Ghost Kid


Eureka! Real BBQ in LA: Bigmista's Barbecue

in the two years that i've known my most favorite food partner in crime who looooves barbecue, i think i've eaten more barbecue than i've eaten in my entire life. i've been a fan of texas barbecue ever since my first taste of fatty brisket at the venerable barbecue joints in lockhart, texas. well, my partner in crime has moved to town, and boy were we elated to finally find barbecue in los angeles that's on par with what you can get in texas!

bigmista's barbecue has been the talk of the town already on chowhound, but we had to check it out for ourselves. nearly every day of the week, bigmista makes the rounds of local farmer's markets with slabs of brisket, racks of ribs and other delicious cuts of smoked meat. we caught them at the atwater village farmer's market, which happens every sunday from 10 am to 2 pm.


see, what makes texas barbecue special is that it's all about the meat. lots of barbecue you can get out here is drowned in sticky sweet barbecue sauce, which i think covers up the skill and care that goes into the long, patient process of smoking meats. most places in texas serve barbecue sauce on the side, and some don't offer it at all!

well, bigmista's got it right with their tagline: Real. Good. Meats. take a look at this video of bigmista demonstrating how he cooks up brisket--eight hours in the smoker! don't worry though for you sauce lovers, bigmista's offers sauce on the side, and theirs has a nice balance of spice, sweet and tang.
while bigmista's offers all kinds of barbecue--ribs, hot sausages, tri-tip, pulled pork and even chicken recently--my favorite kind of 'cue is brisket, which comes from the chest of a cow. the lore goes that cowboys ate brisket because it was an unwanted piece of beef, but they learned that cooking it for long periods led to some pretty tasty results.

now, i'm a barbecue noob. so i'll let all you other barbecue noobs in on a little secret. you ask bigmista for a half pound of brisket, and he'll slice some pieces off whatever's laying under his knife. a lot of times, you'll get slices off the "lean end" of the brisket. tender and flavorful with those lovely pink smoke rings.
but if you ask bigmista to for a half pound off the "fat end," you'll get what you see below: juicy slices of brisket marbled with artery-clogging but oh-so-delicious globules of fat. whenever we're in texas, we always ask for brisket moist off the fat end! so we were excited that bigmista does the same. bigmista's prices also are similar to what you'd pay in texas.

true, our lean brisket photo was taken under the shade of a tent, which really doesn't do it justice. and our fatty brisket photo was snapped under the bright sunlight that makes that brisket so glistening and mouth watering. but still! the fat end, people! that's the way to go, that is, if you're not afraid of fat

the other thing that i really liked at bigmista's was their pig candy--wondefully spicy and sweet smoked bacon. if i could, this is what i'd fill my candy jar with.

we're glad bigmista's is here in LA, and we'll definitely be back! you can find them at these farmer's markets each week or follow bigmista on twitter for the latest updates:

Sunday 10 am to 2 pm
Atwater Village
3250 Glendale Boulevard

I like to make people happy with my food.