Where There's Smoke, There's BBQ

Head to Holder's in Dobbin for Our Readers' Favorite BBQ

Mark Williams
The Bulletin Staff Writer

When The Bulletin put out the call for our readers’ choice for best barbeque in Montgomery County, the results were very definite. As much as the area has mushroomed over the past two decades, with all the strip malls and chain stores and subdivisions that have sprung up in the midst of constant road construction and ever changing local government, it should be no surprise that our readers’ favorite barbecue can be found in a rural section of Montgomery County.

“I would like to place my vote for the best BBQ brisket sandwich in the area, if not all of Texas,” writes one enthusiast reader. “Holder’s BBQ, five miles west of Montgomery on Highway 105 in Dobbin. The place is all done up in a rustic setting perfect for a great BBQ experience. The flavor of these sandwiches are out of this world, cooked just right and seasoned to perfection. The owner has a blend of spices that beat any other BBQ that I have had. His method of cooking insures you will get the most tender and flavorful BBQ brisket sandwiches around. The staff is very friendly and professional and always ready to do whatever it takes to make your dining experience enjoyable. So get on 105 heading west and look for the pig in sky and treat yourself to a real BBQ brisket treat. P.S., the burgers are also really tasty.”

“I would like to nominate the best BBQ brisket sandwich to Holder’s BBQ in Dobbin,” writes Amber O’Brien of Willis. “Holder’s is located about 5 miles just past Montgomery, on Highway 105 at the corner of 105 West and 1486 South. Look for the big pig in the air. It has a great rusty atmosphere and the staff is very friendly. He also has pretty good burgers, but his BBQ brisket sandwich is probably the best BBQ I have ever eaten.”

Yes, Dobbin is where to get barbecue in Montgomery County -- and Holder’s is the place. It’s a rustic little hole in the wall, filled to the brim with character and charm, as is its owner, Bobby Holder. In his 54 years, Holder, a native of the county, has made a career of holding a job -- first as a machinist, then as a shop owner; but it wasn’t until now that is has had the opportunity to pursue his true passion. “A friend of mine really liked my barbecue and suggested that I get a lunch wagon and sell brisket sandwiches out of it.” Instead, Holder used his family property in Dobbin to build his own modest lunch stand -- an open air space with a walk-up order window and several rows of tables and benches placed on a concrete floor. The makeshift structure’s sparse interior is adorned with license plates from the ages and antique oddities.

A large cooker is on the other end of the dining room, when it takes just about 24 hours to Bobby Holder to slowly smoke a large fresh brisket for the next day’s business. That’s the key to good barbecue, of course: taking your time with it. Barbecue is all about the virtues of the slow: the triumph of no-rush communal cooking in the great outdoors. In shopping centers these days, barbecue restaurants are decorated to look like old country stores. In these urbanized settings, employees load meat onto the racks of gas-fired rotisserie ovens, push a button and go home. The automated oven does the rest. An igniter lights a couple of hickory or oak logs in the wood chamber and keeps them smoldering while a thermostatically controlled gas burner cooks the meat at the desired temperature. An electronic damper traps the smoke inside and reduces emissions to a minimum.

These high-tech gas-fired ovens are designed to replicate the flavor of old-fashioned barbecue pits, and in some cases, they do an adequate job. Ribs and sausage have a high enough ratio of surface area to volume for these ovens to give them a smoky flavor. But the virtual barbecue pits just don't put out enough smoke for heavier cuts like brisket or pork shoulder. And even the quality of the ribs and sausage pales in comparison to the taste of meat cooked with nothing but smoke.

The modern method of smoking foods has evolved from a process of preserving. Long before refrigerators and chemical preservatives, smoke was used to extend the shelf life of food, particularly meat. Now days smoking, as it relates to barbecue is so much more. Smoking adds flavor. It tenderizes. And it turns some of the worst cuts of meat into a wonderful meal. The old country store was made obsolete by Wal-Mart just as the old-fashioned barbecue pit was made obsolete by the high-tech barbecue oven; which means that barbecue such as that cooked to perfection by Bobby Holder now borders on becoming an art form.

In the old days, a barbecue pit was a hole in the ground: hot coals were placed in the hole, and squirrels or mutton or venison cuts were suspended above it. From this simplest of beginnings, four different styles of Texas barbecue have evolved: cowboy, meat market, East Texas and Mexican barbacoa. Each has its own style -- and each is associated with a major immigrant group.

The Central Texas meat markets were owned by Germans and Czechs. The West Texas cowboys were mostly Anglos; and the East Texas style is associated with Southern blacks. The barbacoa tradition began in cattle ranches along the border where Mexican ranch hands were given part of their pay in less desirable cuts such as the head. The ranch hands cooked cows' heads, wrapped in maguey leaves or canvas, buried in pits. From this tradition we get barbacoa. Although it started out as a barbecue style, barbacoa isn't really barbecue anymore.

Cowboy, or open-pit, barbecue is the style that most resembles that original hole in the ground. This style was once practiced all over the state. Huge trench pits were dug for all kinds of major civic celebrations. “Great American Barbecue” reads a broadside from an 1860 political rally thrown by the American Party in Austin. “All citizens of the state are invited to attend.” Among the featured speakers was the Honorable Sam Houston.

When the soldiers were welcomed home from World War I, town officials ordered barbecue pits dug in city parks. Ranchers would donate cattle and sheep, and the meat would be cooked in the open trench pits for up to 24 hours. The meat was cut into two to three pound pieces, which were handled with pitchforks. Marinades were mixed in buckets and applied with mops. The invite-the-whole-state barbecue tradition continued as late as 1941, when Governor W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel was inaugurated and the grounds of the capitol building in Austin were trenched for pits.

Every now and then, it’s worth the effort to experience barbecue as it used to be -- just as it is served at Holder’s BBQ, along with that friendly side of the road service and charm. While Holder’s has, to date, been something of an open secret to residents and travelers on the western edge of the county, expansion is already underway, as structural framing leaves a shadow that keeps the current dining area cool on a warm day.

“We’re building a dining room,” says Holder, “but we’ll still keep the window open and these tables out front. We really do thank everyone who’s come to see us and keep coming back.”

It’s pretty awesome to think that within an hour’s drive of downtown Houston, you can go back to the roots of one of the state’s unique barbecue styles at Holder’s BBQ in Dobbin. Just look for the big pink pig above the sign.

Ya’ll come!

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