The stretch of River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge runs past sugar cane fields, plantation houses, and industrial corridors, and it has been producing some of the most serious smoked meat in Louisiana for longer than most people realize. These three operations represent the tradition at different stages of its evolution, from a family smokehouse open since 1950 to a backyard obsession turned River Road destination.
Gonzo’s Smokehouse
Jason Gonzalez spent years working in the oil and gas industry before a round of layoffs sent him back to the offset smoker he’d been running as a weekend hobby since 2016. What started as a backyard cook-off habit grew into a storefront on River Road in Luling, then into one of the most talked-about BBQ operations in the River Parishes. The approach is Central Texas in method: white oak and pecan timber, long, low-temperature smokes, bark-forward brisket, and house-made sausages that don’t cut corners on fat or seasoning.
The smoked brisket boudin is the menu item that turns first-timers into regulars, the kind of dish that takes an established Louisiana tradition and runs it through a Texas smokehouse sensibility without losing what made the original worth eating. Gonzalez recently moved the operation to a larger space at 13899 River Road, next to German Coast Beer Co., which now gives customers outdoor seating with a view of the offset smokers running in the yard.
Gonzo’s operates a Friday BBQ window from 11:30 am to 3 pm or until sellout, with pre-orders available at gonzosmokehouse.com. Call (504) 858-6241 to confirm current service days before making the trip.
Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse
LaPlace calls itself the Andouille Capital of the World, and the claim runs through Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse on West 5th Street, where the business has been operating since 1950. The founder built his reputation on hand-butchered natural pork, coarsely ground and stuffed into casings, then smoked for hours over real wood using techniques brought to Louisiana from France in the 1700s. Each link runs one to one-and-a-half pounds. The smokehouse has passed through generations of the family with the same attention to the original standards, and the andouille that comes off those racks is the kind used by the city’s best restaurant kitchens in their gumbo and jambalaya…