Wayne Mueller is going around the world on a Texas barbecue missionary tour. In a month’s time he’ll travel from Taylor, Texas to Japan, Europe, and back to the good old U.S. of A. In that time Mueller will cover about 25,000 air miles, and he’ll smoke a whole mess of beef ribs.
The best barbecue in Lubbock is in Wolfforth, Texas. That might be news to you even if you’re a student at Tech because Arnis and Mallory Robbins just opened their trailer doors three months ago. After a stint with a landscaping company in Tucson, they decided to come back to
– A Texas pitmaster has been honored by the James Beard Foundation as the best chef in the Southwest region. Congratulations, Aaron Franklin: The winner of Best Chef: Southwest: Aaron Franklin, @bbqfranklin, Austin #jbfa — Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) May 5, 2015 – Here’s more
Sausage. It’s one of the signatures of our state’s barbecue style, but the time intensive process of grinding, stuffing, and smoking sausage fell out of favor when barbecue left the meat market. With the rise of commercial sausage makers, many barbecue joints were (and are) happy to purchase their sausage
Aaron Franklin did it. Last night the owner and pitmaster at Austin’s Franklin Barbecue became the first ever pitmaster recognized in any “best chef” category of the annual James Beard Foundation Awards. (See this earlier post for more on the significance of the win) For the
Skylight Inn cooks whole hogs over wood coals in Ayden, North Carolina just like they did when they first opened in 1947. This past weekend I embedded myself with Samuel Jones, the third generation of the Skylight Inn family, at BBQ on the Neuse. The event
Popular restaurants all over the world have signature dishes, some even have just one item that makes them a dining destination. You go to Katz’s Deli in New York for pastrami, Mary’s Cafe in Strawn, Texas for chicken fried steak, and nobody complains about the fish at House of Prime Rib in
– Brisket prices are finally trending downward. Our national nightmare might be coming to a close.– A tribute to Annie Mae Ward who established the barbecue stand at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Huntsville, aka The Church of the Holy Smoke.– The Texans Vince Wilfork
The wholesale cost of brisket has been increasing, sometimes dramatically, since 2013. Now, it seems to be tumbling from its peak. Back in mid-January the wholesale price for whole briskets (IMPS 120) was $3.59/lb and this week it has dropped to $2.74/lb. That’s the lowest price for brisket
Owner/Pitmaster: Davila’s BBQ; Opened 1959Age: 65Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: MesquiteEdward Davila has just hit retirement age, but he can’t imagine life without working at the barbecue joint. He’s been doing it since he was a boy, and now he’s teaching his son to follow in his footsteps.After our interview, Davila wanted
With the rise of review sites like Yelp and the ascent of food blogging, restaurants are scrutinized more than ever. Traditional restaurateurs have long understood the power of a negative review, but concern with the critics was rarely something that barbecue joints worried themselves with. But the barbecue zeitgeist—which I recognize that I,
Restaurateurs dismissing the use of all wood cookers saying “the city won’t let us cook with wood” no longer have an excuse, at least not in San Antonio. Just beyond a low counter that they call the altar at El Machete, there’s a crackling mesquite fire, the flickers of which you
– A semi hauling more than twenty tons of pork butts caught fire on the Interstate in Kansas City.– The New York Times offered their take on the Austin barbecue smoker resolution. They looked at it in context of other odor-related cases. You’ll also learn what
Pioneer BBQ has been around a while in the middle of Nixon, a town about an hour southeast of San Antonio. It was operated by the Chambers Brothers out of Luling, then a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses who eventually put the business up for sale on Craigslist. That’s where Shawn
We love our beef in Texas, and historically, the rest of the nation did too. According to numbers from the USDA, beef and pork battled for protein supremacy until about 1950, when beef took a clear lead for the next six decades. Today, with falling beef consumption and the surging popularity
This month we bring you a profile of another photographer who has captured the people, the food and the spaces that make up the world of barbecue.Matthew Fuller – Wimberley, TexasWorking in the classical traditions of photography, Matthew Fuller creates beautiful color and black and white images that resonate with a
Three years ago I ate some promising barbecue from a food truck in the shadow of I-410 in San Antonio. Chris Conger was doing it all that day inside what was called Conger’s Smoke Shack, cooking, slicing, and making change. Last year he had stowed away enough change to make the
– A Field Guide to the American Sandwich from the NYT. Texas chopped beef gets some love, but the best photo is from Iowa.– Louis McMillan of McMillan’s Famous Bar-B-Q in Fannin, Texas was recently recognized by the State Senate of Texas for his work in
Owner/Pitmaster: Billy’s Old Fashion BBQ; Opened 1986 (estimated)Age: 68Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: Red Oak and HickoryIt seems that everybody who drives by Billy’s Old Fashion BBQ in Jasper honks and waves. George “Billy” Mahathay is a popular man, almost as popular as his barbecue. He told me jokingly that
On January 18, 1910, a newspaper advertisement for Watson’s Grocery included “Smoked Brisket Beef” for thirty cents per pound. It’s the earliest advertisement for smoked brisket that I have found in Texas, and it was in El Paso. With such a long history of smoking briskets you’d think they would
They’ve been smoking briskets over mesquite since Tony’s The Pit Bar-B-Q opened in 1958. Tony Vargas Sr. started the place, but according to Martha Vargas, it was her husband Tony Vargas Jr. that’s responsible for its most famous menu item – brisket hash.Mrs. Vargas recited the ingredient list without hesitation
With the rising cost of meat, specifically beef brisket, inexpensive barbecue is becoming rare today. It’s especially difficult to find a decent version of it. Finding $20 per pound brisket isn’t a challenge in Austin, Dallas, and Pearland, but that doesn’t fly in Corsicana. At
– The Houston Chronicle asks “Have we reached peak barbecue?”– Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt examines just how much we pay for bones when ordering ribs at a barbecue joint.– The Austin City Council passed a resolution to study smoke mitigation requirements for barbecue joints.–
Owner: Patillo’s Bar-B-Q; Opened 1912Age: 67Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: Hickory, red oak, white oak, and pecanPatillo’s Bar-B-Q has been operating in Beaumont since 1912. It has moved around a lot in the past 100 years, but it’s always been in the family. That makes it the oldest family owned barbecue establishment in
Bad brisket is nothing new on the barbecue trail, but there are some days when you just can’t catch a break—or, as was the case for me recently, two consecutive days where I searched high and low for a good slice of smoked beef in Beaumont and Southeast Texas.It began in
At 10:00am, the sun seemed nearly at full strength in the desert. One man had unfolded a chair and sat next to the door waiting for it to open. By the time it did, a line stretched at least forty deep, and the parking lot was so full that some
The spring of 2015 looks to be bullish on barbecue books. A new one seems to show up in the mailbox every week, and I’ve finally gotten the time to thumb through them. This is by no means a complete list of the barbecue books hitting the shelf this year,
– The Austin City Council will discuss the new barbecue smoke resolution in today’s council meeting.– The resolution has been revised from its original version that Aaron Franklin spoke out against on Monday.– The Austin American Statesman covered the resolution as well with comments
Aaron Franklin is giving us the keys to his barbecue kingdom. Some of his meat smoking secrets have already been leaked via his YouTube series BBQ With Franklin, and more is to come with a new PBS series of the same name, but his upcoming book
If you live on the outskirts of Austin, your suburb might be the new target for barbecue joints looking to open in Travis County. That is if prospective restaurateurs see a new resolution from the Austin City Council as too onerous. It requires that barbecue smokers (and other wood-fired cooking devices)
“The good smell in Evadale” is the tag line painted on a wooden fence beside Chuck’s Bar-B-Q and Burgers which sits about thirty minutes north of Beaumont. Folks say the local paper mill produces a stench, and the smoke from owner Chuck Howard’s pit is sometimes the only relief. I
– A Missouri State Senator has begun a so-called Pork Steak Rebellion to rail against the EPA, claiming that they are trying to take away our grills.– The Daily Kos and Meathead Goldwyn provide some clarification about the EPA study, which is actually a little less
Owner: La Barbecue; Opened 2012Age: 42LeAnn Mueller hails from a famous barbecue family, but all she ever wanted was to be a professional photographer. Now she has the photography career and one of the state’s most highly regarded barbecue joints, which is ironic for someone who wanted nothing
Barbecue pulls at a traditionalist’s heart strings like few other cuisines, but it is no stranger to innovation. An offset smoker filled with brisket bathed on oak smoke has only been common across the state for about fifty years, but introducing science into a cooking process so reliant on
When I booked a trip to São Paulo, Brazil for my family and me it wasn’t for barbecue. We were traveling for spring break, but I had heard about a Texas style barbecue restaurant in the city called BOS BBQ. I was figuring out a way to break it to my
Saturday morning—yes, Saturday morning—is meant for feasting on brisket and sausage at Snow’s, in Lexington.
George Gerard didn’t have much time for adjustment to running a barbecue joint. He had planned to leave behind the family business for a life as an electrician in Austin, but his parents pleaded with him to come back home to Beaumont. He relented and a short time later, his
– BBQ in Florida has hope. This 4th grader derides the “BBQ” sloppy joes at his school cafeteria: – The beef supply in 2015 is projected to be the lowest since 1993.– Some folks upset with the upcoming USDA dietary guidelines, which will likely include recommendations to eat less
There’s hardly a better way to discover a slice of Texas, so to speak, than with a barbecue road trip—especially one that takes you outside of the city borders. In Central Texas, Austin is undeniably the area’s greatest barbecue city, and its proximity to some of the state’s greatest smoked meats make
Owner/Pitmaster: Brooks’ Place; Opened 2009Age: 45Smoker: Indirect Heat Wood-Fired PitWood: Red Oak, Pecan, Hickory, and MesquiteBrooks’ Place isn’t exactly easy to get to, but that’s part of its charm. Cypress is at least a thirty minute drive from downtown Houston. It’s a destination, and those in line
It was a unique day for barbecue in Dallas last Saturday. Whole hog isn’t an item you normally see on a barbecue menu in Texas, and Cattleack Barbecue isn’t normally open on Saturday. Owners Todd and Misty David were showing off what they had learned in January’s
It’s not exactly new, it’s not flashy, and it’s not dogmatic about the barbecue style it serves, but Off the Bone Barbeque in Dallas’s Cedars neighborhood is just good. Dwight Harvey has run this joint in a converted gas station with his son Steven since 2008. It was a scheme to
– The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo crowned a new champion:Grand Champion Overall #WCBBQC Team Across The Track Cookoff Team pic.twitter.com/oCEk7PN6tN — RODEOHOUSTON (@RODEOHOUSTON) March 1, 2015 – Darren Warth of Smokey D’s BBQ was the runner up: GOD
Owner/Pitmaster: Davis Meat Market; Opened 1988Age: 76Smoker: Gas-fired Rotisserie SmokerWood: OakI rang a buzzer outside this bright red metal building in Houston’s Fifth Ward, and owner James Davis met me at the door. As soon as I stepped inside the smell of raw meat was present, but not
If you follow barbecue news (and I’m going to assume you do if you read TMBBQ.com), you’re going to hear a lot more about barbecue in Alabama in the coming months. Or at least that’s the goal of the Alabama Tourism Department, which launched its Year of Alabama
The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que was held at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo this past Saturday, and a new world champion was crowned. Last week, I wrote about those competitors in the Champion’s Circle, but none of them took home the top prize. It was Kerry
For forty years, Paul Burka has been a part of Texas Monthly. His retirement officially begins today, on Texas Independence Day. His legacy will live on in Texas Monthly’s list of the best and worst legislators, and his celebrated career has made an impact on Texas politics. But what few know
Spring, Texas is evidently large enough for more than one great food truck. This town of 50,000 just north of Houston has been home to Corkscrew BBQ, a Texas Monthly Top 50 selection, since 2011. Now, just five minutes east is a new food truck park where BBQ Godfather sits
It’s not breaking news that la Barbecue pitmaster John Lewis is working to open a new barbecue joint in Charleston, South Carolina. He announced his intentions late last year, and Lewis Barbecue will open later this year. That means John Lewis will be spending a
With all the contests and various sanctioning bodies, competition barbecue can get confusing, but one thing is clear. Getting into the Champions Corner at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World’s Championship Bar-B-Que is a big honor. It is bestowed upon the winners of the San Antonio Stock Show
