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BBQuest, a new video series, gets high marks from the Posse

Dishes featured in scenes from BBQuest, a web series from the Texas Beef Council. (Photos ©Beef Loving Texans) If memory serves, and sometimes it doesn’t in my advancing years, no one on the Texas BBQ Posse has ever gone shopping for party clothes, cowboy boots and hats before one of our smoked meat tours. That’s exactly what Kelsey Pribilski and Jess Pryles do in the middle of the premier episode — about Austin — of BBQuest, a new digital video series from Beef Loving Texans, a consumer brand of the Texas Beef Council. No matter. The main focus for Pribilski…
 - 09/10/2018
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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…
 - 07/19/2018
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Hot Luck 2018: Bigger, but will 'still feel incredibly small'

The Hot Luck Austin sign shines at Franklin Barbecue at the 2017 festival. (Photo ©Gary Jacobson/Texas BBQ Posse) Hot Luck, a food and music festival in Austin, is preparing for its second run in May. And in the festival business, as James Moody, one of Hot Luck's founders, was saying, you’re supposed to lose money year one, break even year two and make money year three. Moody and Aaron Franklin, another founder, say Hot Luck broke even — broadly speaking — last year, its first. “So, you’re ahead of the game?” I asked Moody at a recent party for the…
 - 02/27/2018
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Shigging: New thoughts on an old BBQ topic

The Posse is always shigging. Nothing sinister, mind you, as some define the term: “stealing” barbecue secrets. We’re always looking for techniques that will make us better cooks and that we can share with readers. “To become great at anything you learn by trying, by failing and from observing those who are greater than you,” Posse member Daniel Goncalves says. We first wrote about shigging in 2011, a few months after Posse member Marshall Cooper noticed that Aaron Franklin — then operating a small trailer joint in Austin — wrapped his briskets in butcher paper for part of the cook.…
 - 02/15/2018
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Check out the top Posse Stories in 2017

Our trip to Texas Monthly Top 50 newcomer Truth Barbeque in Brenham was one of the best meals the Posse had in 2017. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) As Texas BBQ Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins observes, when Texas Monthly comes out with its Top 50 list of joints every four years, “it’s the Super Bowl of BBQ.” So, it’s no surprise that five of the 10 top Posse stories in 2017 were related to TM’s list. For this post, we're defining top as most read. And, right at the very top, we batted .500 in our fearless barbecue predictions. Franklin…
 - 12/28/2017
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Talking turkey -- smoked! -- with Sam Greenberg

A simple sign displaying a turkey marks Greenberg Smoked Turkey offices in Tyler. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) TYLER, Texas – As a Greenberg Smoked Turkey rolls off the production line – hickory-cured to its distinctive mahogany hue, sealed in plastic, then packed into its distinctive white box with red and black lettering – it passes beneath a small mechanical press. The press drives two copper-colored staples into the box, to seal it. That stapler is the first and only machine you’ll find on Greenberg’s production line. Up to that point, every step in creating this world-famous delicacy – “The…
 - 12/20/2017
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A Thanksgiving tribute to Walt and all the grill masters and pitmasters in our lives

Libby & Gunnar Jacobson at the cabin on Grindstone Island in 1991. (Editor's note: Making a nod to Thanksgiving tradition, we're re-running this post, first published in 2013.) With the Posse, I've eaten turkey at some of the best barbecue joints in Texas, including Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Stanley's in Tyler. Their turkey breast is first rate, no question, just like their other smoked meats. But the most memorable turkey I've ever eaten still remains Walt Scheela's, cooked at his cabin on Grindstone Island. The ambiance is important. One of 1,600 islands in Rainey Lake, Grindstone is located about…
 - 11/21/2017
Rabbi Shawel

Meet the top Kosher cop at the Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship

Rabbi David Shawel at the first Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship. (Photo ©David Duchin) Along with the food and the fun, one of the more intriguing aspects of the Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship, which makes its third annual run Sunday, Oct. 29, is how the smokers, grills, knives and other cooking utensils are kept from year to year to ensure they remain kosher. “It’s pretty neat,” said Rabbi David Shawel, the top Kosher cop at the event. “We’re dealing with a very high standard.” Kosher dietary laws, derived from the Hebrew bible, involve the food itself and the way it is…
 - 10/23/2017
BBQbooks

The best BBQ books of all time

New barbecue books appear regularly, a testament to the enduring popularity of a distinctly American food and the people who created and continue the traditions. Earlier this year, for example, I received a review copy of Texas BBQ, written by a Swede. The book was making its way to the U.S. after being published a few years ago in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Lone Star barbecue has fans everywhere. While Jonas Cramby’s book is a serviceable take on the Texas barbecue phenomenon, it’s not what we’re looking for in this post. With the help of other Posse members, we…
 - 09/28/2017
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See the photos: Smoked Dallas BBQ Festival

Longtime Posse member Michael Ainsworth went to the Smoked Dallas BBQ Festival today and shares some great images, including the photo above of mouth-watering Meat You Anywhere BBQ sample trays from the event. Smoked Dallas was held at the Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas. The festival is in its fourth year and has shown steady growth each year. Sixteen of the top BBQ joints from around the state attended and fed a large crowd of festival goers. Here is Michael's look at the event, enjoy! The crew from Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ in Austin serve samples at the Smoked Dallas…
 - 09/24/2017
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Bubba Flint talks barbecue and the Cowboys, yes, a Super Bowl!

William “Bubba” Flint, a free-lance artist and painter, has been eating barbecue most of his life and drawing cartoons for the Dallas Cowboys’ Star Magazine for 30 years. Barbecue and the Cowboys. That alone makes him one of the more interesting people I’ve known and worked with. He’s also an expert on baseball — all levels from youth to pro — and music. I’m tempted to call him a Renaissance Man, but he doesn’t cook. Oh, well, everyone has holes in their expertise, I guess. Flint, who lives in Mesquite and drew the big cartoon (above) for us, is the…
 - 09/22/2017
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Going forward, a delicate balance for Austin’s Hot Luck Festival

Prime rib galore roasting on spits at the Hot Luck Festival in Austin. Austin’s inaugural Hot Luck Festival of food and music in May attracted 6,500 “patrons,” according to a recent release from the organizers. “Patrons” is an interesting term. In broad form, it includes paying customers as well as those who don't pay admission, such as guests, clients, sponsors and friends. At Hot Luck’s food events, based on my observations, there were a lot of non-paying attendees. In a follow up email, I asked Courtney Knittel, handling Hot Luck’s public relations, for a breakdown of attendance between the music…
 - 06/18/2017
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Opening night of Hot Luck Austin at Franklin's

BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn served a nice steak taco at Hot Luck Austin. Hot Luck Austin, the new food festival, officially opened Thursday night at Franklin Barbecue, near downtown. With the State Capitol building visible, the joint's “back yard” is a great spot for a party. As normal, though, when Posse member Mike Gagne and I arrived a few minutes before the 6 p.m. start, there was a line. We were 40 or so back. But it moved quickly and there was never much backup at the seven chef stations over the next three hours. The event was open only…
 - 05/19/2017
Cattleack BBQ

Why we wait in long barbecue lines

Diners stand in line as they wait to order on a recent Saturday at Cattleack BBQ in Dallas. The idea about barbecue lines started simply enough during our recent visit to Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin. “Why would you wait in line at Franklin when you can get this so close?” Sherry Jacobson wondered as she ate some of Micklethwait’s brisket, every bit as fine as what you could get a few blocks away at world famous Franklin Barbecue. And there was almost no line at Micklethwait. So we assembled an email roundtable of the Posse, all line-standing veterans, to…
 - 05/17/2017
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Great BBQ photos by Austin's Darren Carroll

Lunch rush at Smitty's Market, Lockhart, Texas, 2009. (Photo ©Darren Carroll) Our first installment of Focus on BBQ features photos shot by Austin photographer Darren Carroll. This launches an occasional series that will showcase great barbecue images shot by top photographers in the country. Most are friends of the Posse, which was founded in 2009 by a core group of writers & photographers at The Dallas Morning News. Over the years, we've had a number of contributing shooters, ranging from top commercial, news and sports photographers, including several Pulitzer Prize winners. Darren has an impressive mix of editorial and advertising clients. You might know his work from…
 - 04/23/2017
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Welcome to our new Texas BBQ Posse website

In Texas, Robert Earl Keen probably comes as close to being the official Bard of Barbecue as anybody we’ve got. You might quibble with his spelling, but not his sentiment: Don't give me no broccoli Or any Swiss fondue Baby if you want to rock me Give me good ole barbeque And what, you ask, puts us in such a mood for song? After seven years of blogging about smoked meats, the Texas BBQ Posse is launching a full blown Web site about our favorite topic. Don’t worry. Our main mission remains the same. We’ll tell the stories of the people and places…
 - 03/31/2017
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Lights, Camera, Eat BBQ! The Posse -- briefly -- goes Hollywood

George Clooney and Leo DiCaprio can relax because it's unlikely anyone from the Texas BBQ Posse will challenge them for leading roles in Tinseltown. Still, we had our brush, very briefly, with video fame. And while nothing came of it -- yet, anyway -- the experience was great fun so we thought we would share it with you. About a year ago, the folks at 12 Forward Entertainment in Dallas approached the Texas BBQ Posse about making a "pitch" video for a reality TV show based on the Posse. The video would then be used to sell the concept to…
 - 01/02/2017
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Photos: Depression era Texas BBQ through the eyes of legendary FSA photographers

I was recently researching some historic photos when I ran across the Library of Congress website for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photo archive. Initially created in 1935 as part of the New Deal, the FSA was an effort during the Depression to document and combat American rural poverty. The FSA photo collection houses some of the most famous photographs in history, including Dorthea Lange's migrant mother photo and Arthur Rothstein's Oklahoma dust bowl photo. Other legendary FSA photojournalists included Gordon Parks, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans and Walker Evans. I was immediately curious if there were any Texas BBQ photos.…
 - 12/29/2016
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The day the Posse flew Chile's national flag (oops) and other tales from Blues, Bandits & BBQ

The Posse cook team celebrates after the first Blues, Bandits & BBQ festival in 2010. (Photo@R.J. Hinkle) The Posse has always loved Blues, Bandits & BBQ, the food and music festival held in Oak Cliff. Loyalty is a factor. Some of us lived in the O.C. and the festival does a good job of showcasing a great part of Dallas. We also liked the fellowship of close friends cooking together around the clock and competing against other barbecue teams. Occasionally, winning was a side benefit. So with the seventh annual BB&BBQ coming soon (Nov. 11 and 12 at Kidd Springs…
 - 11/02/2016
BanderaCountyYoungLife

And everywhere the BBQ Posse looked there were other posses

  Member of the Bandera County Young Life BBQ group pose for a photo with legendary Snow's pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. (Photo ©Chris WIlkins/Texas BBQ Posse)   My memory isn't what it used to be, but I was pretty sure we ran into a first -- for us anyway -- during the Posse's trip to Snow's BBQ in Lexington last weekend. We met two groups of fellow barbecue lovers, each wearing special shirts championing their meat-loving pursuits. One group of a half-dozen guys from North Texas wore very nice black and red bowling shirts with the words "BBQ Burnt Ends" above…
 - 10/26/2016
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Cooking up a kosher BBQ storm in Big D

I don't know who invented the double-barreled lede, but old Charlie Dickens had it down: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." After talking to barbecue competition judge Jennifer Shiflett in advance of the Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship next weekend, we found ourselves in need of the same technique. She said there's no difference in taste between kosher barbecue and regular barbecue. And she wondered if competitors are using too much sauce on some of their entries. Either idea would make a good lede -- beginning --  for this blog item. During the interview, we the got…
 - 10/23/2016
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The top 10 posts in the history of the Texas BBQ Posse Blog

Our first trip to Snow's BBQ in 2009 was a life-changing event for a group of friends. If a milestone occurs and no one notices, is it still a milestone? That question certainly doesn't rank with the great philosophical barbecue debates -- i.e., foil or butcher paper? -- but it is something we're pondering this week. Why? This is the 400th published post since we launched the Texas BBQ Posse blog in March of 2010, six and one-half years ago. The initial post in our Barbecue Chronicles is still one of my favorites. It was about our first trip to…
 - 10/17/2016
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On an eating pilgrimage to Austin, a Californian meets Aaron Franklin and the Posse, and tastes 'the love' of Texas BBQ

Steven Hecht visits with La Barbecue pitmaster Dylan Taylor, 21, who was trained by the legendary John Lewis. (Photo ©Tom Fox) Posse Note: During our barbecue tour of Central Texas last weekend, we met Steven Hecht, born in Texas who now lives in California. He said that he's a regular reader of this blog and he used it to plan his Texas BBQ tour. Of course, after learning that, we asked him to write about his experience. Here is his story: I just returned from my first BBQ Pilgrimage to Austin, Texas and it was a life-changing experience. My name…
 - 01/30/2016
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Barbecue photography the old-fashioned way

Posse member Bruce Tomaso lends a hand with a reflector as photojournalist Guy Reynolds focuses in on Big Daddy's Ribs & BBQ owner Blake Merrell in Little Elm. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) If you follow this blog, you know it regularly features great barbecue photography. Several Posse members are photographers and they bring their equipment -- all kinds of equipment -- when we go on tours. Our recent Denton County tour, though, saw the most unusual piece of equipment yet. Guy Reynolds used a tripod mounted Graflex to shoot portraits of some of the pitmasters we visited. On other tours,…
 - 09/03/2014
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See the photos: Good times at the Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival in Tyler

Lockhart Smokehouse pitmaster Damien Avila slices brisket at the Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival. (Photo by Phil Lamb) Several Posse members headed over to Tyler on Saturday for the first annual Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival. Fifteen of the best barbecue restaurants in the state were represented, along with great Texas music all afternoon and evening. The event was held on Tyler's historic downtown square. Click here to see a list of the 15 All-Star BBQ joints that served attendees of the festival. Judging from what we saw, it was a huge success. Though the event was sold out,…
 - 05/04/2014

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