Operation Texas Barbecue

Ya know if you put a Texan in a war they will find a way to BBQ, it's in their blood.

I was exploring Camp Cropper last week when I smelled something I never expected to smell in Baghdad: Texas barbecue.

I followed my nose and found half a dozen soldiers from the Houston-based 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team grilling burgers outside their barracks.

"Everybody likes to barbecue here," explained Sgt. Alberto Salazar, 28, of McAllen, who was manning the grill. "We're Texas boys."

This is Salazar's third tour in Iraq, so he knows his way around a forward operating base. He'd managed to rustle up meat patties somewhere and marinated them using a secret recipe he declined to share with this reporter. "Some things are sacred," he said.

As Chronicle photographer Mayra Beltran and I quickly discovered, the high-calorie food served in chow halls in Iraq is much, much better than expected. The dining facility at Camp Cropper, for example, has a Ceasar salad bar and a short-order grill where you can get cheese burgers or hot dogs and a sandwich line where you can make toasted paninis and wraps. At Camp Prosperity, there's a stir-fry grill for Asian-style noodles and rice. At breakfast there's bacon and omelettes, biscuits and oatmeal ... I could go on and on. The dessert bars are obscene: white chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake, a dozen flavors of ice cream, and my personal favorite: chocolate cheesecake. Mayra and I expect to gain about 50 pounds while we're here.

While infinitely better than a steady diet of MRE rations, all these mass-produced meals tend to taste the same week in, week out.

"It's good, but after a while you go numb with it," Salazar said. "Same old, same old."

Barbecue -- especially for Texas troops -- serves as a sort of bonding ritual, a way of making their Iraq tour pass a little more quickly.

Salazar and his buddies brought some barbecue supplies with them, but they're running low. I'm sure they'd be grateful for any (non-perishable) sauces and seasonings readers of this blog might be willing to send their way.

Texas barbecue care packages can be sent to:

Charlie Company
3-141 Infantry
APO AE 09342

I'm sure they'll share.

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