(Photograph by Chris Wilkins | Texas BBQ Posse)

In a move that seems long overdue, today we named Daniel Vaughn as Texas Monthly‘s first barbecue editor.

Before people start stamping their feet and cursing that they weren’t hired for this highly coveted position, let me assure you that Vaughn is very well qualified for the job. He’s the author of the forthcoming The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue, the first book in Anthony Bourdain’s new line of books for Ecco. He’s also the creator of the popular Texas barbecue blog Full Custom Gospel BBQ and is well known to barbecue aficionados on Twitter by his handle @BBQSnob. Vaughn has written for Texas Monthly in the past and has also contributed to Travel + Leisure, D magazine, and Budget Travel. Based in Dallas, he estimates that he has eaten at more than six hundred barbecue joints, the vast majority of them in Texas.

“Daniel is one of the state’s foremost experts on the subject of smoked meat,” editor in chief Jake Silverstein said in a press release announcing Vaughn’s hire. “And his passion for the subject is unrivaled. He understands good barbecue, he understands what it takes to make great barbecue, and most important of all, he understands the way that with good barbecue—as with all the world’s great traditional foods—cuisine and culture are completely intertwined. We’re thrilled to bring him on board to cover this very important subject with depth and vigor. And a lot of napkins.”

Vaughn joins our crew in advance of our highly anticipated June issue, which will announce our newest list of the top fifty barbecue joints in Texas. He’ll be the main contributor to our barbecue franchise, which has grown to include the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival (which will be in it’s fourth year this year), the TM BBQ Finder app, and tmbbq.com, a dedicated barbecue site. 

So welcome aboard, BBQ Snob. Now put down the beef rib and get to work.