While barbecue in other parts of the country focuses on pulled pork, ribs, or even sides, in Texas one menu item takes center stage -- brisket.

Owner and pitmaster at Austin's Interstellar BBQ, John Bates explains how important brisket is to Texas culture.

"Texas barbecue is definitely built around a few key concepts," he said. "It's very much driven by offset smokers. Our style is typically very low and slow with a lot of smoke and clean flavors going through the pits. It's also built on mostly brisket. It's definitely the most important item in all Texas barbecue."

Pitmaster at Corkscrew BBQ in Spring, Will Buckman, discusses why he left his career in communications to open the restaurant, and Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel Vaughn tells host Baylee Friday what to order if you want to get a feel for a barbecue restaurant.