Gary Jacobson

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A review: Daniel Vaughn's book on Texas BBQ seems more about bad barbecue than good

The Posse has been a strong supporter of Daniel Vaughn, self pro-claimed BBQ Snob, champion blogger and new BBQ editor of Texas Monthly magazine. Once, long before he got his new gig, we even discussed how an alliance of aggressive bloggers -- him and us -- might actually be able to displace the magazine he now works for as the bible of Texas barbecue. So, this review is painful in the blogger brotherhood. I expected his new book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, to be a celebration of great Texas barbecue because there is plenty to cheer, including an…

People - 05/06/2013

Will Texas Monthly's Top 5 BBQ joints be same as those named by its new BBQ editor?

During our live online barbecue chat Monday on DallasNews.com, a reader asked us to predict the Top 5 ranked joints in Texas Monthly's 2013 BBQ issue, which should be available soon. There was considerable agreement among the four Posse members participating. We each put Franklin Barbecue in Austin No. 1. The next three spots were occupied by the same three joints, although the orders differed: Snow's BBQ in Lexington, La Barbecue in Austin and Pecan Lodge in Dallas. The fifth spot, depending upon the Posse member, went to either Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor or Kreuz Market in Lockhart. A…

Joints - 04/30/2013

It's not just Austin, something big is happening in Dallas BBQ, too

These five joints are leading a BBQ renaissance in the Dallas area. (Photos ©Chris Wilkins and Jim Rossman) Reader interaction is terrific. On our story in The Dallas Morning News about Austin's barbecue renaissance, one online reader -- going by the moniker "J" -- wrote: "Too bad the BBQ scene in DFW stinks." I responded to "J" that the sentiment is wrong. There's a barbecue renaissance in Dallas, too. From the Posse's extensive touring, we put Pecan Lodge at the Farmers Market among the top two or three joints in the state. If Texas Monthly's new rankings (the June issue) don't…

Joints - 04/30/2013

Even in Atlanta, they love Texas barbecue and follow the Posse

Snow's BBQ pit boss Tootsie Tomanetz tends the pits as the sun rises over Lexington. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) A recent item posted on Eat It, Atlanta involves a tour of Texas barbecue joints inspired by the Posse, according to its author, who goes by the moniker The Legend. A group of four barbecue fans -- two hailing from Atlanta, one from Boston and one from Texas -- visited nine joints in 48 hours and scored the brisket and sausage at each, just as we did on our recent Best of Texas tour. The group's verdict: Snow's BBQ in…

People - 04/25/2013

Turkey makes a move to join the royal family of Texas barbecue meats

The turkey breast at Franklin Barbecue was amazing. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) On Posse tours, we've noticed that more joints are adding smoked turkey breast to their menus, so we added it to our standard order during our recent Best of Austin barbecue tour. Brisket, pork ribs, sausage... and turkey. The holy trinity -- plus one -- of Texas barbecue. All four places we visited had turkey. Mainly, it was good. The best we had was at Franklin Barbecue. It was worth the wait in line just to see the meat cutter take the turkey breast from its butter bath,…

Cooking - 04/24/2013

Mueller ties run deep in BBQ joints on the Posse's Best of Austin Tour

A portrait of the late Bobby Mueller, shot by daughter LeAnn, watches over La Barbecue. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) Follow the roots of most of the joints on our recent Best of Austin tour and they trace back, directly or indirectly, to Texas legend Louie Mueller and his place in Taylor. LeAnn and John Mueller, grand children of Louie and children of Bobby, are the most direct links. LeAnn owns La Barbecue. John is the pitmaster at John Mueller Meat Co. They used to work together but then there was that infamous blow up. Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue,…

People - 04/23/2013

No photos allowed, but La Barbecue's John Lewis talks about his new convection smoker

La Barbecue pitmaster John Lewis and his new brisket pit. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) In Texas barbecue, competitive secrets are valuable. And a photograph, apparently, is worth much, much more than a few lousy words in a blog. No pictures. No pictures, La Barbecue pitmaster John Lewis kept repeating as he gave us a tour of his new pit during our recent tour of the best joints in Austin. Lewis claims he has built, with the help of his father, the world's first offset convection cooker that operates without any mechanical assists, such as fans or blowers. Offset refers…

Equipment - 04/19/2013

In very stout BBQ company, Stiles Switch takes the day in ribs during the Posse's Austin tour

Posse members enter Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew for our fourth tour stop. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) We had a few surprises on our lightning BBQ tour -- 400 miles in 13 hours -- to Austin and back Wednesday. Among them, the great pork ribs we had at Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew. "That was the best rib I've had in a long time," Posse member Bryan Gooding said. He said the rub had a "wonderful" flavor and the meat was juicy, firm and cooked perfectly. Several other Posse members agreed. Located in a small shopping center about 5…

Joints - 04/18/2013

Posse blog readers: Here's your chance to win free Texas BBQ from FoodyDirect

In the news business, two of the best words you can use in a headline to attract attention are "win" and "free." Now, because of an offer to Posse blog readers from FoodyDirect, an online food marketplace, we can add two more: "Texas" and "barbecue." Win free Texas barbecue from either Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Kreuz Market in Lockhart or Black's Barbecue in Lockhart. The food, depending upon the joint selected, is valued at as much as $110. It will be shipped directly to you. You can qualify for a chance to win by clicking on the FoodyDirect box at…

People - 04/17/2013

More evidence of the Texas BBQ hipster pitmaster, and this one's smoking turkey

Lockhart Smokehouse pitmaster Will Fleischman. (Photo ©Chris WIlkins/Texas BBQ Posse) While we were at Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas the other day, pitmaster Will Fleischman stopped by our table to explain his recent experiments cooking turkey breast. He didn't have high hopes, he admitted, but the final product turned out well and will soon be added to the regular menu. We tried some and it was excellent. As Fleischman talked, it occurred to us that here was another example of the phenomenon we wrote about recently, the young hipster pitmaster who is changing Texas barbecue. Last year Fleischman was named one…

People - 04/15/2013

Lockhart Smokehouse owner wants to add another pit to keep up with demand at his Oak Cliff joint

Our Shiner Platter lunch at Lockhart Smokehouse. Yes, it was a good as it looks. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) During an anything-but-light lunch Thursday at Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas, owner Jeff Bergus said business has been so strong -- up more than 25 percent this year -- that he's thinking of adding a second pit to the big Bewley that the joint has used since opening in early 2011. Where would it go? Bergus said he wasn't sure, but pointed out that there is a small, vacant storefront adjacent to the back of his place, which would be one possibility. Lockhart…

Equipment / Joints - 04/12/2013

Can you keep a secret? Clyde Biggins looks to expand his underground BBQ operation in West Dallas

Pitmaster Clyde Biggins of Clyde's Rolling Bar-B-Que. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) At Clyde's Rolling Bar-B-Que -- a trailer on Westmoreland Road in West Dallas open two days a week and soon to be three -- there's as much nostalgia on the menu as smoked meat. "Is that Clyde?" an elderly man said as he stopped his big pickup truck beside Clyde Biggins' barbecue pit last Saturday afternoon. "It's Clyde," Clyde said. "Do you know me?" the man in the pickup said. They talked for several minutes, recalling when, two decades ago, Clyde ran a popular barbecue joint a couple…

People - 04/09/2013

Hipster pitmasters? Young guns of BBQ? Resurgence of Texas tradition? There's a BBQ revolution happening and we don't know what to call it

Pecan Lodge pitmaster Justin Fourton and his infamous "Slim Pickins" sign. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) As Posse member Jim Rossman and I ate at Pecan Lunch Thursday, we talked about how to characterize what's happening now in Texas barbecue. Something big is going on and it needs a name. We had just heard BBQ Snob and new Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn call it a "resurgence." He referred to young pitmasters, like Justin Fourton at Pecan Lodge, adopting the old school ways and using only wood to cook for a new generation of barbecue fans. (Note: To hold our place,…

People - 04/08/2013

Our first Posse wedding and our first taste of John Lewis' pitmaster magic at La Barbecue in Austin

Ali cuts Easter brisket at La Barbecue "Cuisine Texicana" in Austin. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Over a three-day period recently, Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins and I each ate at La Barbecue "Cuisine Texicana" the trailer start-up in Austin featuring pitmaster John Lewis -- and free beer. Comparing notes later, we agreed that La Barbecue would have fared well in our recent Best of Texas Tour. We didn't include it because the joint opened last November and has been operating only a few months. Longevity is a consideration. On this trip, we went to Austin for the wedding of Posse members…

People - 04/05/2013

The 10 top posts of all-time on the Texas BBQ Posse blog

Posse members toast at Loco Coyote Grill in Glen Rose during our Brazos & Beyond BBQ Tour. (Photo©R.J. Hinkle) We missed a couple of important Posse milestones recently. So, forgive us a few moments of backslapping as we catch up. The very first item on this blog was posted March 7, 2010, just over three years ago. It likely will never be a trivia question, like "what was the first video played on MTV?" (Answer: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.) But, still, it's kinda sentimental to us. The item was about our first trip to the Central…

Joints / People - 03/22/2013

Bikes, Blues and Barbecues: A father and son hit the Texas BBQ Trail on 2 wheels

Tim Landauer poses in front of the Texas Capitol, left. Son Robby rides between Taylor and Austin. Here at Posse headquarters, we've been feeling pretty good about ourselves and the nearly 700-mile Best of Texas Tour that we did -- by car -- over a long weekend. Then we got an email from Tim Landauer, a North Texas resident who, with his son, Robby, took a 6-day, 276-mile tour of the Central Texas barbecue heartland by bicycle last May. They ate at five of the same joints we did and arrived at the same conclusion: "Franklin's is the best we…

People - 03/18/2013

When sausage links cost just 10 cents apiece at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor

Diners order off the butcher paper menu at the famed Louie Mueller Barbecue. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) A reader, Don Peck from Longview, saw our Best of Texas BBQ story in The Dallas Morning News and it jogged some memories from his more than 60 years as a customer at Louie Mueller's in Taylor. He remembers his grandfather taking him to Mueller's when sausage links cost just 10 cents apiece. "I was there a couple of months ago and bought 50 links at $3 apiece," Don wrote. "I've probably eaten a 1,000 links from Mueller's, and the…

Joints - 03/14/2013

Indeed, Lockhart is no longer the BBQ capital of Texas, and other things we learned from the Posse's Best of Texas Tour

A customer eats lunch at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) A few things we think we learned from our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour: --In a post here a while back, we pondered whether Lockhart was losing its distinction as the BBQ capital of Texas. Upon more reflection, we're ready to say, yes, it definitely has lost the crown. With Franklin Barbecue and a host of start-up joints, we're declaring Austin the new capital. To us, Lockhart is going stale. In Texas barbecue, you can't take success for granted. --Related to that, newcomers are making a…

Joints - 03/12/2013

The Posse's best of the best BBQ joints in Texas: Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Pecan Lodge in Dallas and Snow's BBQ in Lexington

The faces behind our top six BBQ joints, clockwise from top left: Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge, Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow's BBQ, Roy Perez of Kreuz Market, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue, Belender Wells & Alan Caldwell of Fargo's Pit BBQ. (Photos by Tom Fox/DMN) The Dallas Morning News posted the results of the Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour today on its Web site. The results will appear on the paper's iPad's application this weekend and in the newspaper's travel section on Sunday. It was an exceedingly close finish. With 30 being the…

Joints - 03/08/2013

A short, philosophical meditation on our Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Posse BBQ judges (L-R) Jim Rossman, Bruce Tomaso and Gary Jacobson sample the meats at Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) In some respects, our recent Best of Texas barbecue tour was like a cookoff. Only the food didn't come to the judges, we went to the food. Eating at 10 places over 48 hours and scoring each joint's brisket, pork ribs and sausage -- the three foundation meats of Texas BBQ -- gave us a good framework for comparison. It also focused our attention entirely on the basics. Yes, side dishes are important. And so are…

Joints - 03/07/2013

Pecan Lodge of Dallas wins best ribs in the Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Order of award-winning ribs at Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market. (Tom Fox/DMN) While we wait for the full results of the Posse's recent Best of Texas barbecue tour to be published in The Dallas Morning News this weekend, we can reveal one more detail: Pecan Lodge in Dallas won the pork rib category. Five of our six judges rated pitmaster Justin Fourton's ribs a perfect 10. The sixth judge scored a 9. We reported earlier here that Snow's BBQ in Lexington had the highest scoring brisket. It received a 10 from every judge, the only meat to achieve…

Joints - 03/06/2013

The secret to avoiding those long lines at Franklin Barbecue in Austin

The line was over 100 deep at Franklin BBQ on a recent Saturday. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Even now, four weeks later, we're still complimenting ourselves for our nifty navigation of the long lines at Franklin Barbecue in Austin during the Posse's Best of Texas Tour. People can begin queuing up two hours before the joint opens and the number can quickly grow to a hundred or more. We took advantage of Franklin's advance-order service and had Posse members and Austin residents Libby Jacobson and Mike Gagne pick up our food before the place opened for regular business.…

Joints - 03/05/2013

A readers' guide to The Barbecue Chronicles, the journeys of the Texas BBQ Posse

Since November 2009, members of the Texas BBQ Posse have traveled nearly 5,000 miles searching for the best barbecue in the state. True sojourners of smoked meat, BBQ Snob and prolific blogger Daniel Vaughn once called us. Back at you, Daniel. As we await publication in The Dallas Morning News of our recent Best of Texas Tour, here's an annotated readers' guide, with links, to the first 11 chapters of our barbecue chronicles. Chapter 1: Original Central Texas Tour After our first breakfast of brisket at Snow's, we learn that, before that moment, we knew nothing at all about great…

Joints - 03/04/2013

Memo to Gov. Perry: Texas needs a truth in BBQ law

Last week on the Posse's Facebook page, we had a good discussion with readers about the use of real wood or other means to smoke barbecue. One reader, Mark "The Hogfather" Gabrick, suggested that we lead an initiative to get Texas to pass a truth in barbecue law. Or, more simply, we should designate joints that use only wood as "Posse approved." Gotta admit, that last phrase does have a nice ring. The Hogfather noted that "Carolina" passed a similar law a while back, which sent us scrambling to the Internet archives to substantiate. Indeed, in 1986, Gov. Richard Riley…

People - 02/25/2013

Kreuz Market wins best sausage in BBQ Posse's Best of Texas Tour

Jalapeño cheese sausage at Kreuz Market in Lockhart. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Regular readers know we had some internal Posse conflict before our recent Best of Texas Tour. Should sausage count equally with brisket and pork ribs when trying to rate the best joints in the state? Initially, we decided, no, sausage should count less. Then we got an impassioned defense of the sausage maker's art from Posse member Bryan Gooding, the sausage king of Oak Cliff after his victory last fall in the Blues, Bandits and BBQ cookoff. So, we switched. All three meats, rated on a 1 to…

Joints - 02/21/2013

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