To say that President Lyndon Johnson liked barbecue is like saying that Imelda Marcos was fond of shoes. Before and during his presidency, Johnson held elaborate gatherings at his Texas ranch. Now to get everyone on the same line here, when President Johnson talked about a barbecue, he was referring to a large gathering of people where a lot of meat was cooked. Large smoking rigs were not used. This was more of a chuck wagon event than what you might find today at barbecue competitions.
When President Johnson called for a barbecue to be planned, the man called to do the cooking was Walter Jetton. Walter Jetton was an old Texan who cooked in a very traditional cattle drive sort of way. For a barbecue pit he used four large pieces of sheet metal attached at the corners with wire to form a pit. He built his fire right on the ground (6 inches of sand protected LBJ's lawn) and cooked on a large metal grate. For atmosphere Jetton suggests going to a fine restaurant, carefully observing the atmosphere there and then doing the opposite. The best chairs, he says, are "fallen down logs or maybe some bales of hay". Remember this guy organized official state dinners for the President.
Walter Jetton is considered to be one of the old masters of barbecue. During his day Texas style barbecue went from something cowboys ate on the trail to a popular way of cooking. When it came to brisket, Jetton himself wasn't too big of a fan. Jetton's brisket was slow cooked in a dutch oven until done, then mopped and placed on the grill, turning every 20 minutes. Now I know that a lot of hardcore barbecue fans will think it blasphemy to prepare a brisket in this way. All I can suggest is that you try it. The recipes below will give you what you need to know to make a go of it.
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