Page 18 - Barbecue News Magazine May 2022

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com
I have just returned from the National BBQ & Grilling Association (NBBQA) conference, held this year in Ft. Worth and now under the capable stewardship of Kell and Janet Phelps of BBQ News Magazine. Such a great event! You should be there next year.
I was thinking while I was there about the glorious history of Texas barbecue and remembered Walter Jetton (pronounced ji-TON), the most famous pitmaster in Texas his-
tory.
Jetton (1906-1968) ran a popular catering company out of Ft. Worth, but his fame skyrocketed because of his friendship with one Lyndon Baines Johnson. A wily politi- cian, Senator Johnson used his formidable skills of Jetton to help achieve his political goals.
In 1950 Johnson bought a parcel on the banks of the lazy Pedernales River (pro- nounced PERD -nah-less) just west of his boyhood home in Johnson City. He often invited constituents, donors, politicians, and staff to the LBJ Ranch. The visits were opportunities for LBJ to parlay with his guests man-to-man on horseback and at a barbecue cooked by Jetton.
Jetton was a natural showman. He was
usually dressed in a Stetson, apron,
creased white shirt, and string tie, and he billed himself as the "The Barbecue King". He often had a whole headless cow rotating on a spit beside a smoldering log fire. Texas humorist Richard
"Cactus" Pryor jokingly wondered aloud if he used the same car- cass at all his barbecues.
Jetton was a devotee of open-pit barbecue. In a letter to a man in Minnesota he offered advice that still makes sense today: "First, we would suggest you abandon the idea of a spit and instead of trying to barbecue the beef in quarters or halves, just buy eight or
ten pound pieces of boneless brisket points. Use building blocks stacked four high. Run two rows as long as you like with a three foot space between them. Place grills, reinforced screen or expanded metal across the top. Remove one or two blocks at ground level and through this hole rake in live coals that have been burning close by. The live coals should come from oak, hickory, walnut, pecan, or some form of hard wood. Repeat the process during the time of cooking which should be approxi- mately eight hours as you don't want to cook the meat very fast.
"Just prior to placing the meat on the grills it should be mopped with a solution made of weak vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, and vegetable oil. Make up to three gallons of this as mopping should be repeated throughout the cooking time of the meat as the meat is turned over, which should be done every 30 minutes. Do not use
ketchup in any form until you are through cooking.
"If you use the briskets of a good grade as I have suggested, you will not have any trouble with the meat being dry as this is a fat meat. The cooking temperature should be about 275 degrees. Re- member, barbecue has to be cooked with wood or wood coals. The coals will furnish enough heat and smoke. Do not have a big fire under the meat. If a fire should start from grease of the meat or mop, put it out with a cup of water. Cook with coals only!"
In 1960 John F. Kennedy, the charismatic young senator from Massachusetts, thwarted Johnson's attempt to be nominated for president, but he invited the powerful Senator to run for Vice Pres- ident. They won a close campaign against Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge.
The most important barbecue ever planned for the LBJ Ranch never happened. It was scheduled for November 23, 1963, when Vice President Johnson, President Kennedy, and their entourages
BarbecueNews.com - 18
MAY 2022
The most famous pitmaster in Texas history