The matter of best sausage in Texas was settled years ago — recognized, in fact, in a 1995 resolution by the Texas House of Representatives, which designated Elgin the Sausage Capital of Texas. All Texans should do whatever it takes to experience that wisdom first-hand.
In 1882 William J. Moon started selling sausage from his Elgin slaughterhouse door to door. Four years later he established Southside Market in down- town Elgin, selling barbecue in the back of his meat market. Lee Wilson took over the business in 1927 and, beginning in 1944, Jerry Stach, along with a succession of partners, took the reins.
Then, in 1968, Southside Market was purchased by Ernest Bracewell Sr. The market has since been owned and operated by succeeding generations of the Bracewell family, selling the same Elgin Hot Sausage upon which Southside Market built its reputation.
“We just call it a real simple authentic Texas barbeque,” Bryan Bracewell, Ernest’s grandson, says. “The recipe we’re using today is a descendant of the original recipe.”
But when Ernest took over Southside in 1968, he was confronted with a key problem. “That recipe had never been written down,” Bryan says. “But there was one guy who made the sausage every day. His name was Bud Frazier, and he worked for Southside for 69 years. My grandfather watched him for a couple months and wrote down exactly what he was doing. Southside has been faithfully following that recipe to make sure it’s precisely the same every time. We make it fresh daily, and we throw it on the barbecue pit.”
SAUSAGE KING Sausage maker Bud Frazier worked at Southside for 69 years, from 1902 to 1971.
In 1992 Ernest moved the business to the old Security National Bank building on Hwy 290, adding a pit room, kitchen, meat market and meat plant. Most recently a second restaurant was opened in Bastrop, making the famous Elgin sausage readily available to travelers between Austin to Houston on both Hwy 290 and Hwy 71.
The roots of Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse, just a short way down Hwy 290, also go back to the 19th century, when Henry Meyer brought his sausage recipe to Elgin from Germany. His son, R.G. Meyer, using his father’s recipe, became known for mak- ing it for his friends. In 1949 he founded Meyer’s Elgin Sausage Company, producing sausage that became popular in grocery stores throughout Austin and Central Texas. In 1989 Gregg and Gary Meyer became the fourth generation carrying on the family sausage tradition when they took over the business from R.G.’s son Buddy.
HOT STUFF The Texas Hot Pepper Sauce (left) pairs nicely with the sausage plate (right) at Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse.
In 1998 they opened a new business, Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse, BBQ and Retail Market on Hwy 290 in the former Biggers Bar B Q. “When we opened the restaurant, one day the sign said Biggers, the next it read Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse,” says Greg Meyer. “We kept almost the entire crew who’d worked for Biggers. Our business just lit up. People were familiar with Meyer’s sausage from the grocery stores.”
Both businesses feed off each other, Meyer says. “We always shipped sausage all over the United States from the Sausage Company,” he explains, “but we added the same smoking process up at the Sausage Company that we use at the Smokehouse, and we now ship smoked sausage as well.”
