Cooper’s Original Bar-B-Q

There aren’t a whole lot of choices in Mason, and this place closes early. Chose brisket, sausage and ribs from the pit.
Brisket bark was very salty and tough. Ribs were okay. Sausage was okay. I’d like to rank it somewhere between poor and average.
Non-​existent customer service, and the tongs you use to fish the pickles out of the giant jar are 1) not long enough and 2) dirty. And I have to slice my own onions? Really? I think not.

I was driving through Mason keeping an eye out for a place to eat lunch and saw the Cooper’s BBQ sign.
It’s a small place. You pick out the meat you want and how much of it outside the frond door before going in. Beans come with the meal and you help yourself to those. Also available coleslaw, potato salad, cobbler. Bread available at the community seating tables along with sauces and rolls of paper towels.
I had brisket and sausage. Brisket I’d describe as a bit dryer than I prefer but not too far off. Good flavor though and certainly tender enough. Rub had a bit more mustard taste than I’m used to but it went well with the BBQ sauce for a pretty good overall effect. My biggest complaint would be that it was a bit too salty. Sausage was good too, as was the coleslaw I had.
Friendly staff.
All in all, I thought it was pretty good. I’ll try to remember this place as an option when I’m making the drive through Mason from now on.
A star gets knocked off the review for not taking American Express.

Definitely a stopping place when we’re in the area.
Try the smoked turkey — amazing.
Brisket was excellent. Sausage was quite good.

Visiting Mason for the first time, for hubby’s 50^th b’day. Saw/​smelled this place while going into the grocery store next door to pick up supplies on the first day. Just had to get a brisket sandwich afterward. Got there just as they closed (5:30, kinda early for a restaurant but whatever). No sandwiches. Showed up the next day at 3:30, only to be told they «ran out of food at 3 p.m.» Sigh. Showed up this evening 1.5 hours before closing and finally found them open. Yippee! When we told the guy taking our order (in a friendly way) that this was our third attempt to eat there (meaning we REALLY wanted to eat there), he copped an attitude with «Well, then you should get here earlier.» So we informed him, still in a friendly way, that they ran out of food 2.5 hours before closing the previous day, he came back with (more attitude) «We don’t know what’s going to happen every day.» At $ 23 and rude service for two sandwiches and a couple of smallish sides, we won’t be back. Even at half the price we wouldn’t go back.
The brisket was very good, but the sides were way overpriced. Didn’t like the coleslaw at all! I read on their website that this old establishment was bought by new owners last year. It was deserted this evening (Friday) while we were there. Guess the change in ownership has not been a positive thing.
When we first arrived, we walked into the door marked «Dining Room», since nobody was around outside. The guy who took our order eventually came in and asked us to come outside to place our order. OK. So we followed him outside and he opened a huge warmer/​cooker (not sure) and asked how many pounds we wanted, and of what. When we told him that we only wanted a couple of sandwiches, he seemed annoyed and marched us back inside, where we were to begin with. This happened before the interaction described above.

This Cooper’s BBQ (the original) is consistently some of the best BBQ I’ve ever tasted. So much better than the other two Cooper’s (different owners). I think I saw one negative review, and I suppose it’s possible to have a negative experience even at the best of restaurants, but I’ve been to the Mason Cooper’s 30 – 40 times and it’s ALWAYS BEEN GREAT so give it a try!!!

3÷29÷14 1:39pm — After topping off the feeders in Rocksprings, my daughter and I headed up to Mason to meet my life long friend and his son. Where else to hook up than the original Cooper’s Bar-​B-​Q! This little gem made Texas Monthly Top 5 in 2003 but never again has it graced even the top 50. The father started this joint in 1953, the son then took the same concept to Llano 10 years later and became a Texas BBQ legend. After lunch we’re taking the kiddos to swim in the Llano river and then back to camp for some turkey hunting. Hill Country fun big time! God bless Texas.
I scored Cooper’s Bar-​B-​Q an 80 out of 100. This is Regional Texas BBQ.
Smoke: Mesquite. Three direct heat Cowboy style steel pits. Wood is burned down to coals in the large firebox. Coals are transferred to the pits, heat to the meat, and meat to your belly. So much blue smoke you think you’re in a forest fire.
Brisket: Good. When he sliced my brisket at the pit, the color of the meat was nearly white. High heat. He dipped in the mop sauce (a must for these bone dry clods). There was no smoke ring! Had a nice crunchy black bark. My slice tested tough of tender and I had to use a knife. Smoke was bold. Use the sauce.
Ribs: Good. Near perfect tender spare ribs with clean bite and clean bone. Not much on flavor, just smoke and pork. Use the sauce.
Sausage: Very Good. Course ground pork/​beef links with bold traditional spice and a bold after taste. No sauce needed.
Sauce: Very Good. Well if you like Heinz 57 sauce you love this stuff. It was nice change with all the different sauces I sample. It made everything taste a little better. It comes in a large bottle cause you need it.
PS: Do NOT get the beef rib! Dry as bone and tough as nails. So overpriced it still burning a hole in my wallet. My buddy’s dog refused to eat the left over. That bad. Coopers is famous for sticker shock, this beef rib might cause PTSD.

I ate here this weekend and was really looking forward to it. I used to really like this place but had not eaten there in years, I was sadly disappointed. I agree with James B’s review that the meat was overcooked, and I got there early so it should have been moist. I tried a variety of meats and it was all overdone.
The two sides were nothing special either. My main complaint though was with the price, just way over priced for what it is. My lunch without a drink was $ 43!
On my way back through Mason a few days later I tried the other BBQ place «Deadwood» that is only open on weekends and it was much better than Coopers.

What a disappointment! I have eaten here many times and always look forward to traveling through Mason because I knew I would get great bar-​b-​q. Last week I stopped in and ordered the usual, brisket. It was so dry that even soaking it in sauce for several minutes didn’t help. I will make the trip to Llano next time I want «good» bar-​b-​que.

Cooper’s BBQ in Mason has some damn good BBQ!
The Cooper’s in Mason is not as well known as the Cooper’s in Llano and has different ownership (Duard Dockall) that the other locations (Which are owned by Terry Wootan). The Mason location is the original Cooper’s. I think the brisket at the Mason location is more moist and tender than the Llano location, I also like their potato salad better as well. They don’t have quite as large of a selection of cuts of meat, but they cover the standards and then some with brisket, pork ribs, beef ribs, spicy and regular sausage, chicken, pork loin and cabrito. The beans, cole slaw and cobbler are all solid as well.
The place is a little hole in the wall on the west side of HWY 87 in Mason, but you’re not going for the décor, you’re going for the BBQ. They still use the original brick smokers that were built in the 50s when Cooper’s first opened, which is why the flavor is SO good, you just can’t replicate decades of seasoning. I disagree with Texas Monthly — I’ve been coming here since the late 80s (It’s the closest BBQ joint to my family’s ranch) and I don’t think the quality has changed at all. If you’re in Mason or passing through on HWY 87 do yourself a favor and go get some of the best brisket in the Hill Country.

Everything Hayley G. says is spot on. My grandmother hailed from Mason so I’ve been going to this joint for many moons and never realized just how awesome it was until the Texas Monthly rated it one of the top 3 in the state a couple years ago. Although their recent BBQ edition says that it’s not as good as it was a few years ago, it’s still one of the best — and you get to visit Mason, my favorite small town in Texas!
HINT: look for goat meat on the pit, probably a leg. Mmmm, cabrito.

Now this is BBQ! Even being a natural born Texan, this place was still a kick for me! I visited this establishment when on the way back to Austin from a geology field trip. You order outside at the PIT — by the pound or fraction thereof. Point to what you want (pork sausage, chicken, brisket, pork tenderloin, etc…), he asks you whether or not you want sauce (answer yes, and he dunks it in a huge pot of sauce). Once his tray is full of orders, he takes you all inside, they weight your meat (s), and you can get your drink and sides (beans, white bread, pickles, slaw, chips, tea and COBBLER, yes please…). Served on wax paper. You can eat outside or inside on the picknick tables (supplied with whole onions you get to cut yourself!). I’d love to see this place in full swing (they have at least 3 huge pits). Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your stomach when they’re charging by the pound and enjoy!