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already grown to more than 22,000 followers. “I try to help with the food photography,” he told me. “I’m getting better — things like lighting, I’m still trying to learn all that!” Gonzo’s Smokehouse, located at 12325 River Road in Luling, is open for lunchtime on Thursdays, when they sell smashburgers — brisket trimmings that are ground in-house and seasoned, and smashed on a flattop grill with brisket tallow — and Fridays, for meat trays that include smoked brisket, pork belly burnt ends and brisket boudin, from 11:30am to 3pm, or until they sell out of food. Those two days of service take an entire week to prepare — and you can taste the love that goes into it. Gonzalez does his ordering on Monday, trimming the meats when they arrive. He keeps at it on Tuesday, and begins hand-making the boudin as well. His father comes in on Wednesday, and they start smoking the boudin. On Thursday, Gonzalez gets in at 5am and begins cooking the brisket for Friday. Pork shoulders are on one pit, and on the others are brisket burnt ends, beef cheeks, oxtails, pork jowls and other cuts. He prides himself on changing up the menu, offering cuts of meat that no other shops around here are willing to do, with the extensive work required to prep and smoke. His sister and aunt come in on Thursday for lunch service and, while Gonzalez is seasoning meat, checking fires, and taking meat off and wrapping it, they’re making patties. His dad is on the grill smashing burgers. Then they’re all back at it again on Friday for an even longer lunch. The work is relentless, and requires attention and artistry. That’s just the way Gonzalez likes it. “There’s no plans to get any bigger,” he said. “I thought about maybe like hiring a bigger staff, adding more days. I went back and forth, struggled with it. But I’m keeping it small. I’m keeping the love in what we do, and I’m keeping it in the family.”

“That’s amazing,” said Donald. “Can’t wait to try it,” said Donny.

occasion. Certainly, he didn’t barbecue the way Gonzo does — but we thought it was good.” Between bites, Veillon said, “My favorite thing today was the brisket boudin. Appar ently, the dirty rice in it is his grandmother’s recipe.” He and Donald turned and looked at the Rouses team, most of whom were eating desserts, or drinking Cokes and bottles of water. “We’re so proud of what our team has accomplished and it’s great to see some of them today enjoying themselves, and supporting a great local establishment in the community like Gonzo’s,” said Veillon. As for the dessert, he told me: “They said I’ve got to try it, and I said I’d just have a little bit. And then I ate the whole thing. Now I need to go find a hammock.” Donald laughed at this. “Jason does such a good job,” he said. “He’s young, he’s aggressive. And every day there are people lined up at his restaurant. They give beer to people because the lines get so long! And we love that. We’re not only about Rouses. We’re about community. And we love seeing members of our community succeed.” Success has come fast and hard for Gonzo’s Smokehouse. They don’t really advertise, aside from posting to their social media accounts. Their Instagram account, which consists mostly of images of meats they’ve cooked, alongside glimpses of Gonzalez’s family behind the scenes, has

The picnic tables filled, and the Rouses team talked excitedly between bites about the usual topics: ports and work and kids and summer. Donald and Donny sat across from each other, next to Lee Veillon, the vice president of human resources for Rouses Markets. The topic of conversation turned to barbecue, and their own memories growing up. “My grandpa, Emile, had a homemade smoker,” said Veillon. “It was a big metal thing. It wasn’t an offset like this one,” he added, and pointed at the smoker brought from Gonzo’s. “During the summer we would spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house in Morgan City. My cousins and I would always go there. They lived near Lake Palourde, so we would get to go fishing there — for bass, catfish, perch. We didn’t have a boat or anything, so we were just fishing off the land. We grilled hamburgers, lots of chicken. Turkey too. My grandfather used to smoke a turkey that would take 24 hours — he’d have to get up in the middle of the night. It was all Cajun cooking.” Donald Rouse said, “My dad would barbecue. Now, Donny and I — we do it! But there were days long ago when dad would do the barbecue. He’d do brisket or steaks or whatever might be for a special

24 ROUSES SUMMER 2024