Well oxidation is a tell tale sign of dryness, what I meant to say.
And, I’m not saying it’s good or bad, just that it’s not a cause of dryness. If that were the case, nearly every piece of barbecue that oxidized would be dry. My experience proves otherwise.
Based on your reasoning, then even a Wagyu brisket should be dry after it’s exposed to air and oxidized. The color of the Wagyu brisket I cooked two weeks ago changed a little, but the exposed/cut area certainly wasn’t dry, even hours later.
Smitty’s serves sauce now. I was there recently and they had a tub with little sauce containers in their dining room. It wasn’t good sauce, but it was sauce. Black’s has sauce as well and it’s a bit better.
Tony, you might have caught Kreutz on a bad day. I’ve been there once when the brisket was dry and once when it was fantastic. (I suppose 50/50 isn’t the best average…). Their turkey was absolutely killer though.
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We ordered the 40 oz bone-in to go this evening. Might be blasphemy to some but it held up quite well IMO. As Porthos mentions, it’s smoked and finished on the grill. We were feeding four - weren’t sure how many this would feed (40 oz less bone and fat) so we picked up a rack of ribs as well. Those keep real well for leftovers.
Well, while the prime rib did have a lot of fat, it was more than enough to feed us four. Only one pork rib was eaten.
More importantly, it was delicious. Smokey crust on the outside; tender, succulent beefiness throughout. We ordered and got medium-rare. Counter to counter was 10 minutes, and we kept it warm in the oven for about 10 minutes more before slicing and serving.
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I enjoyed the sauce at City Market in Luling.
I wish you had something in the photo of the prime rib for scale… that does not look like even remotely enough to feed 4 people…
Sorry. My wife offered to put her hand next to it, but I mentioned that everyone’s hand is different. I don’t know if this helps but here are a couple of shots of the same place with similar angles using items that are familiar in size.
The prime rib had to be more than 40 ounces and was about 3 1/2 inches tall.
The four of us included my wife, daughter, son and me. My wife has a medium appetite, my daughter is light, but my son and I tend to be heavier eaters. Two slices remain. This slice is from about the middle of the prime rib.
Kinda crude and post mortem but I hope it helps.
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40 oz is a pretty accurate unit of measure and size for prime rib @bulavinaka 
As I suspected you have to go with the larger bone in to get the medium rare. Looks great!
I don’t know about that 40 oz accuracy. My buldging biceps were seriously stressing while transferring that massive hunk of bovine succulence to the plate. Felt more like 42 ounces - the same weight I use for curls. Beating fists on my burly chest - ouch.
Isn’t 40oz like 2.5 lbs? lol
The meat looks fucking gorgeous as hell. It comes out to $90 for the 40oz right ($2.25/oz they say on the menu I think)?
Not too bad priced if it feeds 4 people. Makes me wish I had a family.
Actulaly, considering the price of 42oz bistecca’s and tomahawks at places like Sotto, Hanjip, Chi Spacca, etc… are $120-$175 it seems sort of amazing that it’s so cheap. I must be wrong about the price?
Yes, 40 oz = 2.5 lbs. Heavy, no!? 
Biceps still burning…
$90 it is. That leftover slice is straight out of the fridge. I think it slightly suffers from what George Costanza defensively screamed, “Shrinkage!” You don’t seem like a leftovers kinda eater, but this prime rib would make awesome sandwiches.
that prime rib is GREAT
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My experience as well. Black’s > Kreuz.
im with this. i think i preferred blacks to smittys too but i cant remember for sure.
I preferred the sausage/links at Smitty’s, however brisket was better at Black’s.
Smitty’s has a more nostalgic feel to the place - feels like you’ve been transported back to the '50s
IIRC, Kreuz used to be in the space that is now Smitty’s. On my one trip to Lockhart a few years back, I found Black’s brisket to be far superior to Smitty’s. I recognize that BBQ can be inconsistent and that the reverse might be true on a different day. Didn’t make it to Kreuz.
If you go by yourself at dinner, they’ll cut you some slack and give you a 1/4 lb.
Was gonna put this in the Bludso’s thread, but thought it should go here instead. Dunno how new this is but Maple Block now has Meat Platters a la Bludso’s Texas Samplers. They also have smaller plates that are protein+side combos.
And according to Eater LA:
Maple Block just got cheaper
“Westside brisket monster Maple Block knows you’re feeling the pinch now that it’s tax week, which is why they’re offering a cheap-as-all-get-out meal option that will give you any sandwich on the menu and a (non-alcoholic) drink for $9, out the door (that means tax included). Or for $10.99, you can get a pimento cheese sandwich and a beer, if you’d rather do that. The deal runs through Monday, April 22.”
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Great news @theoffalo. Thanks for the heads up. 
Have you tried Maple Block recently? Curious how your last visit went.