A Denison newspaper described Al Hall as “a magnificent specimen of physical manhood.” When a local alderman pistol-whipped him during an argument at Hall’s barbecue joint in 1891, Hall retaliated with two swift punches to the face, sending the alderman home in a carriage. “Blood flowed quite freely,” noted The Sunday Gazetteer*. But that’s not what got Al Hall arrested. He found himself on the wrong side of the law a month earlier for “violating the Sunday law by barbecuing and selling meat on the Lord’s day,” according to the paper. If you’ve ever enjoyed barbecue on a Sunday in Texas, you can thank Hall for helping to break those barriers of Sabbath smoked meats. His first trial ended in a hung jury, but he was vindicated…View Original PostThe post When Barbecue was Against the Law appeared first on Texas Monthly.