It's Goode Being Green

Speaking off the toque:
Levi Goode, quality control manager for Goode Company Restaurants and son of founder Jim Goode

Amy Spangler

Levi Goode

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More About

• Levi Goode
• Jim Goode
• Food and Cooking
• Culinary Arts

Q. Does the presence of mesquite trees in Texas have any relation to the quality of your barbecue?

A. We are the only restaurant to adapt open mesquite burning to restaurant cooking. The wood burns at 1,300 to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, which is great for searing meat. For our slow cooking, which takes 14 to 16 hours, we use young mesquite trees, which are green. The wood has a lot of water in it, so it releases a much milder smoke.We have a wood supplier from South Texas, the same one for over ten years. Things tend to get better as we go along. Mesquite is not a symbol of Buddha to us, it's just what works for us on a day-to-day basis. It's probably what the Aztecs used, but it is probably not the flavor. It's the heat.