May 2018

Texas BBQ Posse / 2018 / May

May 2018

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Lean brisket is only for ‘skinny jean man bun wearing boys’

Sliced fatty brisket at Killen's Barbecue in Houston. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) As expected, our recent story about fatty brisket — when did it become hip? — generated quite a bit of discussion on various social media sites and in emails. The story said that some of us in the Posse were rethinking our preference for fatty, or moist, brisket and ordering more lean brisket. “FATTY! Leave that lean for them skinny jean man bun wearing boys,” Doug Wyman, one of many readers who disagreed with us, wrote on the Posse’s Facebook page. Sam Gwynne, author and Posse member,…

Joints - 05/25/2018

Fatty brisket, when did it become hip?

A mix of lean & fatty brisket at Truth Barbecue in Brenham. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Call us unhip or uncool if you must, but the Posse is rethinking its preference for fatty brisket. Truth be told, when we seriously started hitting the barbecue trail a decade ago we didn’t appreciate the difference. We just ordered brisket and took what we got. Some of us even squirted sauce on our smoked meat. Yikes! Soon, though, we discovered what our barbecue brother Bryan Norton calls the "magic tingle," that delicious bite of the tenderest beef, perfectly rendered fat and crusty…

Joints - 05/23/2018

Recommended by the Posse: BBQ gift guide for Father's Day

Father’s Day is fast approaching, do you need some gift ideas for the pitmaster in your family? Here are some recommendations from the Posse’s backyard cooks, including a couple of fun non-traditional tools to add to someone's cooking repertoire. Happy Dad’s Day to you & yours from the Posse. 1. Texas BBQ, Small Town to Downtown, by Wyatt McSpadden Wyatt McSpadden, named by the Posse as the "Godfather of BBQ Photography," is publishing his second book on Texas barbecue culture, coming out in late June. You can pre-order the new book from Amazon, add Wyatt's first book Texas BBQ and…

Equipment - 05/17/2018

The Texas BBQ Posse goes sous vide

Posse member Mike Gagne uses sous vide to reheat a prime rib. (Photo ©Gary Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) Now it can be told. The Posse has gone all-in on sous vide. Well, not quite ALL. But we certainly have some strong sympathizers in our group. That became quite evident during a recent email discussion. It began on a lazy Friday afternoon and extended into the weekend. No better time to get philosophical about food. Sous vide, in short, is a method of cooking using sealed bags that are submerged in warm water. The technique was developed by a French chef…

Cooking / Equipment - 05/14/2018

The Posse heads to Oklahoma's Chickasaw Country

Joe Wells, right, and his son Coby pose in the dining room of Smokin’ Joe’s Rib Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Barbecue is like the weather: Once in a while, it’s glorious. Once in a while, it’s awful. And Oklahoma isn’t where you go to find the best of it. Earlier this month, the Texas BBQ Posse accepted an invitation from the Chickasaw Nation to visit three of south central Oklahoma’s more popular barbecue joints: • Smokin’ Joe's Rib Ranch in Davis. • Jake’s Rib in Chickasha. • Pigskins BBQ in Ada. To be honest, our…

Roadtrips - 05/10/2018

A star is born - Zavala's Barbecue in Grand Prairie

Joe Zavala Jr., left, and partner Drew Wright work the cutting board at Zavala's Barbecue in downtown Grand Prairie. (Photo ©Tom Fox/Texas BBQ Posse) Newly-opened Zavala’s Barbecue had been on the Posse’s radar for the past couple of weeks, so we headed south to old downtown Grand Prairie last Saturday. The sky was deep blue and it was 70-degrees. It also just happened to be Cinco de Mayo, the making of a perfect BBQ day. Zavala’s had been open on Main Street for eight Saturdays when we visited, growing from a small catering outfit to a pop-up and eventually to…

Joints - 05/08/2018

Smoked chicken star of this night at Mum Foods

Jake Gagne, 2, rides a pony at the Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller last Sunday in Austin. (Photo ©Gary Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) We ate prime rib and smoked chicken under a historic airport hangar at a mid-week farmers market while, not far away, a singer crooned an Elvis tune. Nearby, kids and adults had their pictures taken atop a giant Longhorn, which was saddled and very much alive. Wise men say this must be Austin. Since moving to ATX a couple years ago, we’ve been regulars at the Sunday pop-up market on the site of the old Mueller Airport, just…

Joints - 05/04/2018

A day in the life: How John Lewis makes damn good BBQ

The pit fires burn at Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo ©Darren Carroll) Barbecue maestro John Lewis manages a staff of 60 at his restaurant — Lewis Barbecue — in Charleston, S.C. “Yeh, it’s a big place,” he said recently. “We’re open 11 hours a day. Sometimes it’s crisis central. Most of the time it’s just management.” In the world of smoked meat, the term “legend” sometimes gets tossed around too easily. John Lewis, though, legitimately deserves the tag. In Austin, he assisted Aaron Franklin back in Franklin Barbecue’s embryonic trailer days. And Lewis later helped make la Barbecue…

Cooking / Joints - 05/01/2018

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