House special
Prime brisket
Fourteen hours, salt and coarse black pepper only. Ask for moist — the point end is where the fire does its best work.
Central Texas Craft Barbecue — Austin, TX
Fourteen hours over post oak.
We light the pits at 11 PM so the brisket is right at 11 AM. No shortcuts, no gas assist, no apologies when we sell out — just salt, pepper, oak, and time.
Wed–Sun · Doors at 11 AM · Open till the meat runs out
Smoke status · Saturday
- Brisket— selling fast
- Beef rib— Saturdays only
- Burnt ends— sold out ~1 PM
- Updated 11:40 AM
From the pit
What we're known for
Three things leave this counter faster than we can slice them. Come early, or accept your fate at the end of the line.
Wed–Sun
Spare ribs
St. Louis cut, glazed in the last hour with our Ember sauce. Bite clean, not fall-off — that's how ribs are supposed to work.
Made in-house
Jalapeño-cheddar links
Coarse-ground pork shoulder, sharp cheddar, fresh jalapeño. Cased and twisted every Tuesday, gone every weekend.
The short list
By the pound, till it's gone
Everything is sliced to order at the counter and sold by the half pound. When the warmer is empty, the day is over.
View full menu- Prime brisket$17 / ½ lb
Lean or moist — say the word at the block.
- Pork spare ribs$14 / ½ lb
Ember-glazed, about three bones to the half pound.
- Smoked turkey breast$13 / ½ lb
Brined overnight, sliced thick. The sleeper hit.
- Beef short rib$22 / ½ lb
Saturdays only. One rack per pit, no holds.
Order ahead
Skip the line. Not the smoke.
Lock in your pounds by 9 AM and we pull your order before the counter opens. Pickup window runs 11 AM to 3 PM at the side door on Foundry Street.
Order Pickup
Orders over $200 → see catering.
11 PM
First split of oak hits the firebox
Our pit
Smoke is a schedule
Two thousand-gallon offsets — Maud and Slate — burn seasoned post oak all night while the neighborhood sleeps. There's no thermostat, just a pit crew who reads fire the way sailors read weather.
We started in a trailer in 2017 with one pit and a folding table. The line taught us everything else.
Read the pit story14
Hours per brisket, minimum
1,100
Pounds smoked every weekend
2
Thousand-gallon offset pits
0
Gas assists, ever
Word on the line
People wait an hour for this
"The bark on the brisket is genuinely the best in Austin right now. I said what I said."
Marcus Delgado
Eats here every Saturday
"Ordered ahead for a crew of twelve. Pulled up at 11:05, out by 11:10. Brisket was still steaming at the job site."
Renee Okafor
Site foreman, East Austin
"They catered our wedding. Guests skipped the cake line to go back for turkey. Turkey!"
Dana & Chris Whitfield
Married under the water tower
Feed a crowd
Catering from 20 to 500
Weddings, crew lunches, tailgates. Three packages, one pit crew, zero chafing-dish sadness — we slice on site.
See catering packages
Find the smoke
Hours & location
Hours
- Wed – Fri
- 11 AM – sold out
- Sat – Sun
- 10 AM – sold out
- Mon – Tue
- Pits resting
Sold out usually means 2–3 PM. Order ahead if it matters.
Address
412 Foundry Street
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 555-0184
counter@emberandash.com
Free lot behind the building. Look for the water tower.
