By CASEY ADAMS
Cove Leader-Press
In the months since opening in Copperas Cove, Smokehouse 44 barbecue food truck has developed a following that Clayton Etzel said has exceeded anything he and his wife, Amanda Etzel, expected when they came to Copperas Cove.
“This town has been so good to us,” he said.
Etzel grew up in Lockhart, and the name Smokehouse 44 pays homage to his hometown: the “44” represents the final two digits of Lockhart’s 78644 ZIP code.
“I grew up wringing sausage with my grandpa, watching him build smokehouses and kill deer and processing our own stuff,” Etzel said.
By high school, Etzel knew he wanted to become a chef. He worked for Chisholm Trail Barbecue for a time and went on to spend years in the restaurant industry, including restaurant and district management. Then, he worked as a butcher and later a meat market manager.
Smokehouse 44 first opened in Marble Falls in January 2025 before eventually closing that location. Etzel initially considered taking the operation exclusively to festivals but found securing spaces at popular events difficult.
Then Amanda spotted a food-truck space available in Copperas Cove.
When Smokehouse 44 first opened in Cove, Etzel said he was preparing approximately four or five briskets a day. Now, he said, he cooks around 20.
When Etzel opened an email telling him Smokehouse 44’s barbecue had been voted Best of Copperas Cove, his first thought wasn’t celebration.
He thought it was a scam.
“I didn’t even know that existed,” Etzel said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that we got voted that quickly in a town we don’t really exist in yet.’”
Smokehouse 44 had only opened its Copperas Cove location Jan. 13. Etzel initially dismissed the email. Then Gary Welch with the Copperas Cove Leader-Press showed up with the award.
“I was like, ‘So it’s real?’” Etzel recalled. “So we did do it. … That’s pretty cool because we haven’t been here a long time.”
The food truck regularly sells through nearly everything prepared for the day, he said.
Smokehouse 44 uses prime briskets and exclusively burns post oak, which Etzel has hauled from Luling. In addition to the brisket, Smokehouse 44 serves up smoked turkey breast.
Amanda makes cobblers and cookies, carrying on a baking tradition of her own. Clayton said Amanda’s grandmother was a baker who had a cake business, and her mother also baked.
The Etzels’ six children also help in various ways, making Smokehouse 44 very much a family operation.
The Etzels originally envisioned operating several Smokehouse 44 food trucks throughout Central Texas. Actually working inside the confined space of a barbecue trailer changed that vision. The Etzels are looking toward a permanent building in Copperas Cove.
The support the family has received has also prompted the Etzels to find ways to give back.
Clayton and Amanda each select one customer during every day they are open to receive a meal at no charge, he said. A uniformed service member visiting Smokehouse 44 for the first time also eats free.
The Etzels are already planning for Thanksgiving. Rather than conduct normal business that day, Etzel said Smokehouse 44 plans to prepare as many turkeys as the pits can handle, along with sides and baked goods, and offer Thanksgiving meals to the community free of charge.
“You have to send blessings where you’re receiving them,” Etzel said.
Smokehouse 44 is located at 508 S. Main St. in Copperas Cove and is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
There is an outdoor dining area for customers who wish to linger. The menu includes Texas barbecue staples such as brisket, smoked turkey, pulled pork, ribs and sausage, along with burgers, family meals, sides and desserts. Among the sides offered are macaroni and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw, beans and jalapeño cream corn, fried okra, while desserts include Amanda Etzel’s homemade cobblers, cookies and banana pudding. The business also offers catering.
After only months in Copperas Cove, Etzel said the relationship between Smokehouse 44 and its customers is difficult for him to put into words.
“I hope that this community understands that we love them back.”
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