UPDATE: If you follow @TMBBQ’s Twitter account (and if you’re reading this, you should), then you’ll know that the best joint in the state is Franklin Barbecue. Rounding out the rest of the Top 4, in alphabetical order: Louie Mueller Barbecue, in Taylor; Pecan Lodge, in Dallas; and Snow’s BBQ, in Lexington. We’ve bolded the Top 4 joints in the list below. Read the reviews for all fifty by picking up a copy of the issue, on newsstands May 23, or visiting texasmonthly.com next Wednesday (the full story will be available to subscribers only).

Every five years or so (since 1997), this magazine dispatches a team of trained eaters to travel around Texas incognito, ingesting huge amounts of barbecue. Their goal is to visit as many of the state’s approximately two thousand barbecue joints as possible in order to come up with a list of the fifty best. At each joint, the eaters sample at least three meats, a couple of sides, and a dessert. In areas of high barbecue density, they may visit as many as nine places in a day. Immediately after each visit, our eaters fill out a detailed score sheet. The final score considers intangibles like setting, service, and history, but mainly it is based on the meat. The brisket score counts the most. This time, eighteen places from the 2008 top fifty made it onto the list. (The joints with asterisks are ones that were featured on the list in 2008.)

The team consisted of fifteen staff members and one carefully vetted freelancer. The group was led by food editor Patricia Sharpe and barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn. Their eating took place over the past eight months. In all, they logged 33,168 miles and visited 658 places, the most ever in the history of our top fifty list. In case you can’t tell, we take this pretty seriously.

Alamo

  • The Original Willie’s Bar-B-Que

 

Amarillo

  • Tyler’s Barbecue

 

Austin

  • Franklin Barbecue (#1)
  • John Mueller Meat Co.
  • La Barbecue
  • Lamberts Downtown Barbecue*
  • Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew

 

Belton

  • Miller’s Smokehouse

 

Bryan 

  • Fargo’s Pit BBQ

 

Cypress

  • Brooks’ Place

 

Dallas

  • Lockhart Smokehouse
  • Pecan Lodge

 

Eagle Lake

  • Austin’s BBQ and Catering*

 

Fannin

  • McMillan’s Bar-B-Q*

 

Fort Worth

  • Cousin’s Bar-B-Q*
  • Longoria’s BBQ

 

Fredericksburg

  • Cranky Frank’s Barbecue Company

 

Galveston

  • Leon’s World’s Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que

 

Garland

  • Meshack’s Bar-B-Que

 

Giddings

  • City Meat Market*

 

Grapevine

  • Bartley’s Bar-B-Q

 

Henderson 

  • Bob’s Bar-B-Que

 

Houston

  • Gatlin’s BBQ & Catering
  • Virgie’s Bar-B-Que*

 

Jasper

  • Billy’s Old Fashion BBQ

 

Jefferson 

  • Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue

 

Kerrville

  • Buzzie’s Bar-B-Q*

 

Lexington

  • Snow’s BBQ*

 

Livingston

  • Hitch-N-Post BBQ

 

Llano

  • Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que*

 

Lockhart

  • Black’s Barbecue
  • Kreuz Market*

 

Luling

  • City Market*

 

Marlin

  • Whup’s Boomerang Bar-B-Que*

 

McKinney

  • Hutchins BBQ

 

Mexia

  • Kirby’s Barbecue

 

Peadenville

  • Hashknife on the Chisholm*

 

Pearsall

  • Cowpoke’s*

 

Pecos

  • Pody’s BBQ

 

Rockport

  • Hatfield’s BBQ & Blackjacks Beer Garden

 

San Antonio

  • The Granary ‘Cue and Brew
  • Two Bros. BBQ Market

 

San Marcos

  • Hays Co. Bar-B-Que and Catering

 

Smithville 

  • Zimmerhanzel’s BBQ

 

Spicewood

  • Opie’s Barbecue*

 

Spring

  • Corkscrew BBQ

 

Sweetwater

  • Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que

 

Taylor

  • Louie Mueller Barbecue*

 

Tyler

  • Stanley’s Famous Pit Barbecue*

 

Victoria

  • Mumphord’s Place BBQ


View Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints in the World 2013 in a larger map

(Thanks to @ChrisCreel for map!)