Dining Out: Lewis Barbecue offers a taste of Texas
Great barbecue is not just about pork. Pitmaster John Lewis wants you to know that in Texas, beef brisket is king, and it also reigns at his restaurant, Lewis Barbecue.
Raised in El Paso, Texas, Lewis discovered his love for Central Texas-style barbecue early on by working in the restaurant business in Austin. His life changed when he took a job as a pastry chef in Denver, where he found good barbecue hard to find.
“I started to miss barbecue and began making it for friends there," says Lewis. "Eventually, I pioneered a new take on a style of barbecue that everyone in Texas was doing at the time."
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Unable to find the right smoker, Lewis engineered his own.
“The secret behind the brisket is about the entire process, which starts with the best meat we can get,” says Lewis. “Then, it’s more about the smoker than the cook. I made my first smoker using an old metal garbage can and then taught myself how to weld. It was a lot of trial and error until I got it just right.”
Through the encouragement of friends, Lewis entered his signature brisket in competitions in Denver, where he won awards year after year, including the Grand Champion title.
In 2010, Lewis returned to Austin to help friend Aaron Franklin open Franklin Barbecue, and later partnered with LeAnn Mueller to launch La Barbecue. The accolades followed. Soon after opening, La Barbecue made Texas Monthly’s “Top 50” and was named “Best Barbecue in Austin” by the Austin American Statesman.
In 2014, a barbecue competition brought Lewis, now a celebrated pitmaster, to the Lowcountry, where he fell in love with the area. Two years later, he opened his first Lewis Barbecue in Charleston. In 2022, he opened a second location in Greenville in the former Tommy’s Ham House spot on Rutherford Street.
Today, Lewis still makes his own custom smokers, just without trash cans. In the Greenville smokehouse, six of his behemoth smokers are wood-fired 24/7.
“There’s no gas, no electricity and no shortcuts,” Lewis says. “Someone is always in the smoke room making sure conditions are perfect, turning and moving the meats every 15 minutes, and stirring the oak and hickory."
In addition to his legendary beef brisket, Lewis serves up slow-cooked pulled pork, pork spareribs, and turkey breast. Hot guts sausage, a Texas favorite, is made in-house and smoked in a custom sausage smoker.
All meats are sourced from family-owned farms throughout the Midwest, while items like collards are sourced from local farms like Bradford Farms in Sumter.
While barbecue sauces are available, you won't find the meats sauced up.
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“We have a saying in Texas, ‘If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t need to cover it up,’” Lewis says. "We’re buying the best quality of meats available and want you to taste the flavor of the meat first.”
Barbecue sauces are scratch-made and include a sweet and savory Texas red, a tangy vinegar-based South Carolina-style, and a signature roasted Hatch Green Chile. There’s also one in the works that Lewis dubs “Secret Sauce.”
“It's an everything sauce for grilling and finishing and made with a few secret spices,” says Lewis.
On the menu, you'll find daily features, salads and a mix of barbecue sandwiches. The triple-meat El Sancho Loco has it all with a generous helping of pulled pork, chopped brisket, and sausage. Pair it with their best-selling side, the green chile corn pudding, a cheesy cornbread casserole with a kick of Hatch Chile.
During the summer, look for tasty new menu additions, including smoked wings, a Hatch Green Chile cheeseburger, and a big salad topped with Texas-style ‘cue.
Sauces, rubs, meats, and custom tailgate packages are available for purchase at the restaurant or can be shipped directly. Lewis Barbecue is open daily for lunch and dinner. For more info, visit lewisbarbecue.com
YOU CAN GO
Lewis Hatch Chile Roast : Pitmaster John Lewis spices up the Upstate with his popular Hatch Chile Roast on August 25. Held at Lewis Barbecue Greenville, this fun-filled event celebrates a New Mexico staple with a wide range of activities, including tasting tents highlighting local chefs. The Lewis team will roast 3,000 lbs. of fresh Hatch Chiles on-site and sell them in 1 and 5 lb. bags. Additional Hatch Chile products, other goodies and exclusive merch will also be available for purchase. Enjoy great food, live music, plenty of cold beverages, and much more. Admission is free, with a donation to a local non-profit partner. For more info, follow @lewisbarbecuegvl on Instagram.