Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que
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| Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1955 |
| Owner | Armando Vera |
| Previous owner(s) | Alberto and Carmen Vera |
| Food type | Barbacoa |
| Location | 2404 Southmost Rd, Brownsville, Texas, 78521, USA |
Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que is a restaurant in Brownsville, Texas, United States. In 2020 it was named an America's Classic by the James Beard Foundation. According to Texas Monthly the restaurant was as of 2022 the only commercial entity in Texas serving barbacoa made with the traditional pit-smoking method.
Alberto and Carmen Vera sold barbacoa from their home and opened the restaurant in 1955.[1][2][3] Their son Armando Vera was born in 1960 and eventually took over.[1][2] According to the James Beard Foundation, the methods they use date to the vaquero-cowboy culture of the area.[4]
Production is a once-a-week process that culminates on weekends.[2] Vera gathers ingredients on Wednesdays, does prep work Thursdays, starts cooking Fridays, and serves Saturdays and Sundays.[2] The restaurant uses whole cow heads (minus the brain since 2005 because of concerns over mad cow) which are washed and wrapped in foil unseasoned. A brick-lined pit is heated with mesquite coals and the foil packets are stacked in it, 40 to 90 at a time, then buried while they roast for eight hours.[5][2][3] Because of health codes Vera's as of 2022 is unique in serving barbacoa made using this traditional method commercially because they are grandfathered in; all other legal commercial providers steam the meat rather than pit-smoking it.[5][2][6][7]