Owner/Pitmaster: Cousins BBQ; Opened 1983Age: 59Smoker: Wood-fired Rotisserie SmokerWood: Hickory & PecanAs the name suggests, Cousins BBQ is about family. Calvin “Bootsie” Payne III opened the place on McCart Avenue in Fort Worth in 1983 along with his wife and three of his children. His son Cliff
With six locations—two of which are in the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport—this family-run operation could be considered a chain now and, thus, not admissible for this list. But rules are made to be broken, especially when a plateful of expertly smoked meat is before you. We still like the original
This is the second Cousin’s location that I’ve tried, and it’s the better of the two by a slight edge. After coming from Bill’s in White Settlement, my mouth desperately needed some edible meat. Waiting in line, I could smell the smokiness, and my
Normally I stay away from chains, but this location made it into Texas Monthly’s Top 50, so I thought I’d give it a try. There are four stand-alone locations as well as two more in the DFW Airport, but a friend and I chose to try the original, which opened
