Dining: Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

Cooper's super 'big chop' leaves room for little else

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
Web posted: Nov. 9, 2005

Photos by Ricardo B. Brazziell photos/AA-S Evening manager Bo Phillips tends to one of the giant pits outside Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, where meat is king. Pork and beef ribs and chicken are just some of the meat sold by weight in the no-frills joint, a longtime tradition in Llano. Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que 604 W. Young St., Llano; (325) 247-5713 Rating: Forks up. Price: Moderate.

The second squirted a big mound of ketchup on his plate, cut the chop into pieces and dipped each one in the condiment before devouring it.

The third pulled jalapeños out of a big jar in the center of the wooden picnic table and sliced them to eat along with beans and big chunks of his chop.

Three men. Three styles. Three pork chops.

All at home at Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano, one of Texas' legendary barbecue joints, which is famous for its "big chop."

And big they are. I chose the smallest one I could spot at the outdoor pit where customers make their meat selections, and it still weighed more than a pound.

Dark and crusty on the outside, the 2-inch-thick pork chop revealed a pale, moist, relatively tender interior that was virtually a meal by itself. (No wonder those big men had only a single chop each for lunch.)

In terms of heft, the beef ribs gave the pork chops a run for the money, with two ribs weighing 1.7 pounds. Black from the grill, they also were tender and flavorful.

But it was the pork ribs that captivated my sidekick and me. Extremely tender and wonderfully seasoned, those small — relatively speaking — ribs possessed some of the best barbecue flavor to be found.

They even made the juicy, tender, mesquite-grilled brisket and spicy jalapeño sausage, which were outstanding in comparison to other barbecue spots, seem almost tame.

Sides, if you can find room for them, include potato salad and cole slaw ($1.25 each for the small containers), which diners can pick up from a cafeteria-style line where their meat selections are weighed and priced. White bread, beans, onions, jalapeños and barbecue sauce are available in the dining room for no charge.

But that doesn't mean barbecue is a cheap meal. Priced by the pound, with brisket at $8.95, pork ribs at $8.75, sausage at $6.99, pork chops at $8.75 and beef ribs at $8.99, the bill can quickly mount up. (Ours for this major sampling at lunch topped $45.)

But Cooper's is worth it — worth the drive and the price to have barbecue this good.