Chris Wilkins

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Stop the Presses: The Posse says ‘yes!’ to a BBQ sauce

Austin pitmaster Mark Gabrick's new BBQ sauce "Texas Tang." Photo ©Gary Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse First, an admission. Mark Gabrick is a friend. He has accompanied the Posse on some of its smoked meat sojourns. He’s good company and he knows barbecue. Gabrick also operated a food trailer in Austin until the Coronavirus Pandemic shut everything down in March. Now, with his regular business closed, he is making and selling barbecue sauce. His first offering: Texas Tang. We sampled some during a rib cook on July 4 and it got strong positive reviews from four Posse regulars. Keep in mind, these…

Cooking - 07/06/2020

The Texas BBQ Posse's Favorite 41

Customers stand in line at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue in Austin. (Photo ©Tom Fox) Others may have their Top 50 or Top 40 lists. Not the Texas BBQ Posse. After years of eating and months of debate, we’re listing our Favorite 41 joints in the state, including a ranking of the Top 10. 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio is No. 1. Of course, there wasn’t universal agreement among Posse members so we’ve included Top 5 lists from others elsewhere in this package. Austin/San Antonio region Brotherton's Black Iron BBQ, Pflugerville: Traditional Texas barbecue and creative sandwiches including brisket grilled cheese,…

Joints / Popular / Posse's Favorite 41 - 07/09/2019

See the photos: Hurtado Barbecue grand opening in Arlington

A.J. Ramirez shows off his lunch at the grand opening for Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington. (Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/Texas BBQ Posse) The barbecue scene in Arlington just got stronger last Saturday with the grand opening of Hurtado Barbecue. Pitmaster Brandon Hurtado has set up shop outside of Division Brewing, located on Main Street just north of the UT-Arlington campus. They will be open on Saturdays from 11am until the meat is gone for now, though Brandon says they may expand to Sundays or Fridays in the near future. The barbecue trailer operation is the culmination of a dream for Brandon, who owns and…

Joints - 03/15/2019

Sneak peek: Zavala's Barbecue reopens this weekend in Grand Prairie

Friends & family enjoy a party at Zavala’s Barbecue's new location on 421 W. Main St. in Grand Prairie. Zavala's will reopen this Saturday Feb. 16th. (Photo ©Tom Fox/Texas BBQ Posse) Great news for DFW smoked meat lovers, Zavala's Barbecue reopens in their new location this Saturday, February 16th. The Posse got a sneak peek last weekend as partners Joe Zavala Jr. and Drew Wright fired up the pit and invited friends and family for a soft opening party. Zavala's originally opened as a pop-up across from the Farmer's Market on Main Street in downtown Grand Prairie last March. They…

Joints - 02/11/2019

Recipe: Smoked Turkey & Sweet Potato Casserole from HangryQ.com

Here's a holiday classic from our friends at HangryQ.com, barrel-smoked turkey and sweet potato casserole. (Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com) Just in time for Thanksgiving, here's a great set of holiday recipes and a video from the the cook team at HangryQ.com. HangryQ posts a new recipe and video every week, with some fun ideas for your backyard smoker or grill. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Enjoy! Additional photos for reference Preparation photos of smoked turkey and sweet potato casserole.(Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com)

Cooking - 11/16/2018

See the photos: The new Lockhart Smokehouse at Texas Live!

The new Lockhart Smokehouse at Texas Live! is the third location for one of DFW's top barbecue destinations. (Photo ©Michael Ainsworth/Texas BBQ Posse) The first time we wrote about Lockhart Smokehouse was in January 2011, before they opened their first restaurant in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff. Their opening, along with that of Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market, signaled a major change in the then-mediocre Dallas BBQ scene. The Posse joined in as Lockhart Smokehouse celebrated their first anniversary a year later, then we reported that great Texas barbecue had finally come to Plano when they opened their second location…

Joints - 10/17/2018

Smoking beef short ribs and tri-tip steak on a perfect Sunday

Beef short ribs hot off the smoker. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) A recent Sunday in DFW offered the combination of perfect weather, the start of the NFL season and an interesting package of meats from Texas Beefhouse. So, what a better way to spend the day than smoking beef short ribs and tri-tip steak? After another hot Texas summer, a cold front brought a cloudy 70-degree day to Posse member Darrell Byers' backyard test kitchen. Darrell grabbed the flatscreen TV from his catering rig and set it up on the patio. With the addition of a couple of cold…

Cooking - 09/25/2018

Recipe: Smoked Pastrami with Smashed Baby Reds from HangryQ.com

HangryQ.com brings you another great recipe, smoked pastrami and baby red potatoes. (Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com) Here’s another great recipe and video from the good folks at HangryQ.com. This week's recipe features smoked pastrami and baby red potatoes, a perfect combo for an upcoming football Sunday. The HangryQ team posts a new recipe and video every week, with some creative ideas for your backyard smoker or grill. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Enjoy!

Cooking - 09/07/2018

Checking in with Smoke Sessions Barbecue in Royse City

Customers order lunch on a Saturday morning at Smoke Sessions Barbecue in Royse City, east of Dallas. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) The Posse first visited Smoke Sessions Barbecue about a year ago, when Jim Rossman saw a Facebook post about a new trailer operation located in a feed store parking lot between Rockwall and Royse City, east of Dallas. Jim was impressed with the overall offerings, calling the brisket "superb" and the beef sausage "outstanding," in his story introducing readers to DFW's newest barbecue joint. One year later, Jim and Posse member Mike Stone joined me for a return…

Joints - 09/05/2018

8 must-have BBQ grilling tools for you

By Tom Masters/Guest contributor Grilling is not just tossing some burgers on a grill and letting them cook. Grilling is a form of art. It’s a culinary skill that is not taken lightly by the thousands of self-proclaimed grill chefs around the world and it is something that many must work hard at for many years to perfect. It takes skill to keep a steak nice and juicy and filled with flavor or to smoke a salmon or cook veggies until they’re at the perfect texture as well as bursting with that flavor only a grill can provide. Yes, grilling…

Equipment - 08/16/2018

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Recipe: Smoked Chicken Salad from HangryQ.com

HangryQ.com brings you their smoked chicken salad recipe, a great dining idea for a hot summer day. (Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com) Here’s another great recipe and video for smoked chicken salad from the pitmasters at HangryQ.com. What could be better on a hot summer day than a smoked chicken sandwich on fresh bread, perhaps served with a cold beverage of your choice?! The HangryQ team posts a new recipe and video every week, with some of the most creative ideas you’ll ever see for your backyard smoker or grill. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Enjoy!

Cooking - 07/27/2018

Here's a great DFW barbecue destination - Flores in Whitney

Customers visit as they wait to order at Flores Barbecue. (Photo @Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) EDITOR'S NOTE: We're sorry to report that Flores Barbecue has closed effective Sept. 2019, after moving to a new location in Fort Worth. The Posse recently loaded up the truck and headed south from Dallas to Flores Barbecue, located in Whitney. Flores had been on our radar since making Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ list in 2017, a big accomplishment for a trailer operation that started in the small town with a population of 2,090 in October 2016. We were not disappointed. Flores is definitely a top…

Joints - 07/25/2018

Big prize money on the line at Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

Members of the Otaku Smoke & Brew cook team pull samples from a whole hog at the 2017 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival. (Photo ©City of Bedford) We were recently contacted by Marlea Maschmeyer on behalf of the 2018 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival, one of the biggest barbecue and music celebrations in the state. Their motto is "Come for the barbecue and stay for the blues!" Blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. (Photo ©Rafael Rezende) She asked if we could help spread the word on the three-day event combining the Lone Star State’s love of music and grilling with performers and…

People - 07/19/2018

Recipe: Fire Roasted Hot Sauce from HangryQ.com

Just in time for July 4th, here's a fun recipe for fire roasted hot sauce. (Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com) Here’s a great recipe and video for fire roasted hot sauce from our friends at HangryQ.com. The Posse has started to see salsa offered at more BBQ joints, like our recent visits to Zavala's Barbecue in Grand Prairie and Louie's in Austin. There's nothing like chopped brisket or barbacoa on a fresh tortilla with a splash of hot sauce on top. The HangryQ team posts a new recipe and video every week, with some of the most creative ideas you’ll ever see…

Cooking - 06/29/2018

Recipe: Jalapeño Bacon from HangryQ.com

From start to finish, the process to make jalapeño bacon will take up about 3 hours, but needs 3-4 days to cure properly. (Photos ©Jason Shane/HangryQ.com) Here's the first recipe from our new partnership with the barbecue-crazed team at HangryQ.com. They post a new recipe and video every week, with some of the most creative ideas you'll ever see for your backyard smoker. HangryQ is the brainchild of Jason Shane and Justin Horner of PCS Productions, an Irving-based video production company. Much like the origins of the Posse, HangryQ began with a love for all things BBQ and a desire…

Cooking - 06/06/2018

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

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

Ode to the chopped brisket sandwich

A pound of chopped brisket, white bread, pickles & onions at Pat Gee's Barbecue in Tyler. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Over the past year, I've found myself becoming more sentimental when it comes to barbecue. My earliest memories of eating Q are centered around East Texas and always involved ordering a chopped brisket sandwich, often served on simple wax paper. As I'm exposed to more & more BBQ, I'm coming full circle and ending up where it all began. A great chopped brisket sandwich is one of the simple pleasures in life. You can eat one East Texas style, the…

Joints - 03/06/2018

Bodacious Bar-B-Q on Mobberly: Is this the best kept secret in Texas?

Jordan Jackson, owner & pitmaster, poses beside the original sign for Bodacious Bar-B-Q. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) If the original Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Longview were located in Austin, you'd be waiting several hours in line to order. Trust me. It's still one of the best BBQ secrets in Texas, despite the joint's No. 4 ranking by Texas Monthly. We were so impressed after our first visit in early February that we went back two weeks later. It’s a two-hour trip each way from Dallas and one well worth it if you’re seeking some of the best barbecue in the…

Joints - 02/21/2018

Coming home to Pat Gee's Barbecue in Tyler

My dad, James Wilkins, enters Pat Gee's Barbecue in the piney woods east of Tyler. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) What's your barbecue home? Mine is a little clapboard BBQ joint deep in the woods outside of Tyler, where I grew up in the 60's and 70's. Every time I go home I try to squeeze in a visit to Pat Gee's, my barbecue home. I've been going there for 40 years. Pat Gee passed away in 1999 and his wife Vida Gee continued the business until she died in 2010. The Gee children continue the family tradition today When my…

Joints - 01/28/2018

Two great recipes for your Greenberg turkey leftovers

Fresh out of the oven, smoked turkey tetrazzini made with Greenberg turkey leftovers. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) One of the true joys of having a Greenberg smoked turkey for the holidays has always been the Greenberg turkey leftovers. I've been enjoying Greenbergs for most of my life and have probably eaten hundreds of post-holiday smoked turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, with a swipe of mayo. Ah, the simple pleasures of life. . . I've been lucky this year to have back-to-back turkeys. We ordered one for Thanksgiving and I picked up a second one on our recent tour of their…

Cooking - 12/25/2017

A BBQ gift guide from the Posse

With Christmas fast approaching, we reached out to the Posse’s backyard pitmasters for suggestions of their favorite cooking tools so we could assemble this BBQ gift guide. Here are some ideas for the pitmaster in your family. 1. ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4 This is the probe thermometer that all the others are judged by. It may cost a little more that some others, but its accuracy & durability are unquestioned by professional cooks. Phil Lamb calls the Thermapen his “favorite piece of grilling equipment.” --Marshall Cooper & Phil Lamb 2. Dexter Sani-Safe 12” Scalloped Roast Slicer Knife This is the go-to…

Equipment - 11/28/2017

Recipe: How to cook a spatchcock turkey

Two spatchcock turkeys on Marshall Cooper's custom Jambo J-3 smoker. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the Posse wanted to share a lesser-known turkey recipe with our readers. Pitmaster Marshall Cooper suggested we smoke a spatchcock turkey, a technique I hadn’t tried before. He enjoys having the ability to cook a big turkey hot and fast. Our total cook time for two huge turkeys was three hours. By definition, spatchcock is poultry or game that has been prepared for roasting or grilling by removing the backbone, and sometimes the sternum of the bird and flattening…

Cooking - 11/12/2017

How to put great Thanksgiving BBQ on your table

With the holiday fast approaching, the Posse reached out to some top barbecue joints to see what they're offering to help bring some great Thanksgiving BBQ to your dining table this year. We didn't find any places open for regular business on Thanksgiving, preferring their staffs spend the day with family and friends. In the true spirit of the holiday, our friends at Slow Bone in Dallas and Meat U Anywhere in Trophy Club are both holding events to help feed the less fortunate. Here's what we heard from 11 of the the Posse's favorite joints around Texas. Happy Thanksgiving…

Joints - 11/07/2017

Looking for a great Dallas lunch deal? Dylan's Barbecue Saloon may be your place

Diners eat on the front patio of Dylan's Barbecue Saloon on Northwest Highway in Dallas. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Eating good barbecue for lunch in Dallas can often be a costly proposition, sometimes heading north of $20 at the better-known joints. The Posse is always on the lookout for the next great lunch deal and we recently found one at Dylan's Barbecue Saloon, located just west of Loop 12 on Northwest Highway. Dylan's was opened a little more than two years ago by Dylan Johnson, owner of Milo's Bar in Arlington, in partnership with long-time caterer Bryan Mahoney. I…

Joints - 10/31/2017

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