About Hank Delgado

My Story

I was born into smoke. My grandfather, Alejandro Delgado, opened Delgado's BBQ in Lockhart, Texas back in 1962. He'd come up from the Rio Grande Valley with nothing but a truck, a hand-welded pit, and recipes his own mother taught him for smoking cabrito and beef over mesquite. By the time I came along in the early '70s, the pit had become a Lockhart fixture — right there on the same stretch of road as Kreuz Market and Smitty's, holding its own against legends.

My father, Tomás, ran the pit through the '80s and '90s. I started working the firebox when I was ten years old — hauling post oak splits, learning to read smoke color, understanding when to feed the fire and when to leave it alone. By fourteen, Dad trusted me with the overnight brisket shift. That meant sleeping on a cot in the cook shack, waking up every 45 minutes to check temps, and learning patience the hard way. There's no shortcut to good brisket. The fire teaches you that.

After high school, I took over the day-to-day at Delgado's while Dad handled the business side. I cooked six days a week for almost a decade straight — brisket, pork ribs, beef sausage, turkey breast, the whole spread. We were serving 200-300 people a day on weekends. I learned more about fire management, meat selection, and efficiency in those years than any class could teach.

In 1998, I started competing. A buddy talked me into entering the Lone Star BBQ Society championship in Taylor, and I placed third in brisket my first time out. Something clicked. I spent the next fifteen years on the circuit, traveling from Memphis in May to the American Royal to the Jack Daniel's Invitational. Picked up multiple Texas state championships, a reserve grand at the American Royal, and more trophies than I have shelf space for.

Expanding into Charcuterie

The competition circuit introduced me to pitmasters from around the world, and that's where my education in broader charcuterie began. I met European chefs who spoke of smoking as just one technique in a larger tradition — alongside curing, fermenting, and dry-aging. They talked about salumi, saucisson, bresaola, coppa, and guanciale with the same reverence I had for Texas brisket.

I spent years learning these techniques. I built a curing chamber in my barn. I sourced heritage pork from local farms. I learned the science of salt equilibrium, nitrate conversion, and mold cultivation. I made hundreds of pounds of failures before I made my first perfect lonza. The learning curve was steep — and I loved every minute of it.

What I discovered is that smoking and curing aren't separate disciplines — they're part of the same ancient craft of preserving and transforming meat. The Texas brisket I learned from my grandfather and the bresaola I learned from an Italian salumiere use the same fundamental principles: salt, time, patience, and respect for the animal.

That's why I built The Charcuterie Handbook — to bring all of this knowledge together in one place. Whether you're smoking your first brisket or dry-curing your first coppa, the principles are the same. This site is everything I've learned in 30 years, organized for anyone willing to put in the work.

What I Believe

• Time is the secret ingredient. Whether it's a 14-hour brisket smoke or a 90-day dry cure, the best results come from patience. You can't rush craft.
• Start with quality meat. Great charcuterie begins with animals raised well. The best technique can't fix mediocre ingredients.
• Learn the science, trust the craft. Understanding why things work (salt equilibrium, smoke chemistry, fermentation biology) makes you a better craftsman. But at some point, you have to trust your hands and your senses.
• There's no single "right way." Texas, Carolina, Italian, French — every tradition has wisdom. Learn the principles, then make it your own.
• Respect the animal. Good meat deserves a good cook. Don't waste it with shortcuts or carelessness.

Get in Touch

Got a question about your smoker setup, a curing project gone sideways, or a technique you can't quite nail? I read everything that comes my way. The best questions end up as articles on this site — because if you're stuck on something, someone else is too.

For sourcing premium briskets, heritage pork, and artisan-quality meats, I recommend The Meatery. They carry USDA Prime whole packers, heritage breeds, and the kind of quality meat that makes a real difference in your finished product.