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The Posse takes a beach break in Galveston

For me, a little beach goes a long way. So, during the Posse's 45-minute beach break in Galveston last weekend, midway through a 700-mile, 35-hour barbecue tour, I mainly watched the pelicans dive-bombing for fish. At times, I'd swear those big birds were flying in attack formation. Phil Lamb, an attorney and also the wheelman on the tour in his Chevy Tahoe, fished from a rocky breakwater nearby. He caught one small mullet and 15 pounds of seaweed. Chris Wilkins, a photo editor at The Dallas Morning News, shucked his shoes and walked into the surf for a while. Then…

People - 06/09/2012

Unlocking at least one secret to what makes Fargo's Pit BBQ so good

Alan Caldwell, owner and pitmaster at Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan, has been very protective of the cooking secrets that help make his joint one of the top two or three in Texas. In the past, he has refused to tell the Posse and BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn the kind of pit he uses or the kind of wood he burns. "You still refusing to show anyone your pit?" he was asked during our weekend barbecue tour that covered 700 miles and took us to the Texas Gulf Coast. "That's my secret," he said. "Let's talk about something else." After…

Joints - 06/08/2012

The Houston BBQ Tour - A quick look at our itinerary

Here's a quick look at the itinerary for our first Houston BBQ Tour. Last Friday, we headed south down I-45 for a 700-mile journey, searching for the best smoked meats in the Houston area. Over the next two days, we stopped at eight joints stretching from Huntsville to Galveston. This was our tenth organized BBQ tour since November 2009, when an early-morning visit to Snow's BBQ in Lexington started an obsession to search for the best BBQ in Texas. Barbecue would never taste the same again after that day. We'll be writing about the tour in an upcoming travel story…

Joints - 06/07/2012

The thrill is gone from New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ

Everyone in the Posse -- all five of us on this trip -- looked forward to our visit to New Zion Missionary Baptist Church Barbecue in Huntsville, the first stop on a 700-mile, 35-hour tour last weekend to the Texas Gulf coast. Some love the Church's food and wax poetic about the atmosphere. But we were disappointed. Really disappointed. "It was like a bubble burst," said Posse member Phil Lamb. "Boy, the romance is gone from that place." "It was probably good yesterday," Jim Rossman said after tasting the brisket. No smoke, no taste, and the meat looked as if…

Joints - 06/06/2012

Avoiding the dreaded barbecue belch

On a barbecue tour, sometimes wisdom sneaks up on you. And so it was in Galveston on Saturday when Leon O'Neal told us his secret to preventing his customers from burping after they ate his smoked meat. Use dry wood, the owner of Leon's World's Finest In and Out B-B-Q said, standing in front of a tall wall of cut oak. "That's where the after belch comes from." In other words, sappy wood is burping bad. Some might put this wisdom in the same category as always buy brisket from the left side of the cow, which we wrote about a…

People - 06/05/2012

Follow the Texas BBQ Posse on Facebook and Twitter

The Texas BBQ Posse began in November 2009 when six friends took their first BBQ road trip to Central Texas. As we sat beside the smokers at Snow's BBQ, our lives changed with the first bite of brisket during breakfast at the legendary Lexington joint. Stops at Louie Mueller, Smitty's and Kreuz Market followed that day. We started the Posse blog shortly thereafter. Since then, we've driven 4,000-plus miles of Texas highways and backroads. Whether on organized tours or meandering road trips, we're always searching for the best BBQ in the state. We've reported on our adventures on the blog, on…

People - 05/24/2012

Katy Trail Ice House: The new kid on the BBQ block

We had the pleasure of checking out the latest serious BBQ player in Dallas on Friday. The Katy Trail Ice House, located on the trail near Reverchon Park, has been cooking BBQ on a huge custom-built smoker for the past two months. The results are quite impressive, especially given the short time they've been smoking meats. Alerted by a recent blog post on written by Stephen Doyle on cravedfw, we rounded up a group and headed there for lunch. BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn also rounded up a posse of five from nearby Good Fulton & Farrell, the architecture firm where…

Joints - 05/05/2012

UPDATE: Joseph's Riverport BBQ expected to reopen in 6-8 weeks

UPDATE TO AN UPDATE: Just heard some great news from owner/pitmaster Stephen Joseph about the reopening of Joseph's Riverport BBQ in Jefferson. The restaurant was totally destroyed by a fire in January. Here's Stephen's note: "It's probably about 6 to 8 weeks away from being ready. The exterior is about complete but the interior is unbelievably tedious and complicated. The new pit from Bewley should be ready in about 2 weeks and I'll be doing a lot of test cooking." We can't wait to head east to Jefferson and check out Stephen's new joint. I'm sure they will reclaim their…

Joints - 04/12/2012

UPDATE: Fatboy's BBQ in Ladonia - Live to ride, ride to eat

UPDATE: Fatboy's BBQ has moved to a new location in nearby Cooper and opened last April. The new location at 850 W. Dallas Ave. in Cooper gets much higher traffic, but Shannon and Heather will be serving up the same great BBQ. They are open Mon-Fri 10:30am-6 pm. Their new phone number is 903-300-3287. Original post About 80 miles northeast of Dallas, you'll find some of the best barbecue in North Texas. Fatboy's BBQ is located on a narrow side street in Ladonia, population 691. It's well worth the drive or ride from DFW. Shannon Bankston and girlfriend Heather Hoff…

Joints - 04/10/2012

Miller's Smokehouse in Belton might be the best BBQ north of Austin

Brisket sits on the pit at Miller's Smokehouse Every now and then you hit the motherlode on the Texas BBQ trail. For every 20 mediocre BBQ joints, there's one good one. For every 50 good ones, there's one great one. You can add Miller's Smokehouse in Belton to the list of great ones. We first caught wind of Miller's last week during BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn's trip to south Texas. Miller's has been overshadowed in Belton by the better known Schoepf's BBQ, which I have always heard is average fare. Daniel, who is knee deep in his book project on the…

Joints - 03/28/2012

Is reality TV stardom in Aaron Franklin's future? BBQ Pitmasters season 3 update

BBQ Pitmasters season 3 will begin filming tomorrow at the Don’t Be Cruel BBQ Duel competition in Tupelo, Mississippi. The big news for Texas BBQ followers is that Austin BBQ pitmaster/owner Aaron Franklin will be joining the upcoming season of BBQ Pitmasters as a judge. BBQ entrepreneur and author Myron Mixon, of Jack's Old South BBQ, has already anounced he will be back as a judge on the show. Championship pitmaster Tuffy Stone will also be joining the judging team. He was a major player on season one of BBQ Pitmasters and has great respect in competition circles. He also…

People - 03/15/2012

Cooking backyard BBQ with John Mueller & John Lewis

Last Sunday I hauled my Jambo pit to Austin. The first stop was John Lewis' house. Both Lewis and I had been invited to a backyard BBQ with John Mueller the next day. John Lewis is a pitmaster (I call him The BBQ Genius, food critics call him the BBQ savant) who works at Franklin BBQ in Austin for Aaron Franklin. Franklin's has been named the best BBQ joint in America. That also means best in the world, says John Mueller, because no place else cooks real BBQ except Texas. I help John Lewis on national KCBS BBQ competitions. John's…

Cooking - 03/09/2012

John Mueller challenges Aaron Franklin to one-on-one cookoff

UPDATE: I phoned Aaron Franklin earlier today and he quickly agreed to do the showdown with the only hesitation being his busy upcoming agenda. We planned to talk again soon about the details and coordinate a date that works for everyone. We talked how the showdown will be a very positive spirited thing, something that would be really be cool and fun to do, with proceeds donated to charity. Afterwards John Mueller replied via text, "it sounds cool and think it would be best to wait til summer because thru June there is something every week". We are planning on…

Joints / People - 03/07/2012

See the photos - Mama & Papa B's Bar-B-Q in Waco

Here's another great set of photos from my Dallas Morning News colleague Guy Reynolds. Guy is a photojournalist and photo editor at the News, as well as an early member of the Posse. Whenever Guy shoots a barbecue joint for the Posse blog, I always really look forward to seeing the images. He's an artist with a camera and has been exhibited in numerous galleries over the past years. I have several of his BBQ photos framed and hanging on the walls of my house. Last week Guy was looking for a place to eat in Waco. I steered him toward…

Joints - 03/05/2012

Heading east to Big Smith's Bar-B-Q in Sulphur Springs

We first heard of Big Smith's Bar-B-Q after our first East Texas BBQ Tour story was published in The Dallas Morning News a couple of years ago. Several readers wrote to tell us we had missed the best BBQ in East Texas. They urged us to visit Big Smith's, located 8 miles south of Sulphur Springs on on Hwy 154. We put it on the list and intended to get there for a visit. The problem was, we always try to hit two or more joints when we head out of town, getting a sample of BBQ available in the area. Quite…

Joints - 02/29/2012

Details are leaking out on BBQ Pitmasters season 3

We've been watching closely as little tidbits have been floating to the surface on season three of BBQ Pitmasters on TLC. Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper and I were over visiting Jambo BBQ pit builder Jamie Geer in Burelson last month when we first caught wind of the new season. Jamie casually mentioned that a producer from Pitmasters had just called him that morning and TLC was proceeding with another season. Besides building world-class BBQ pits, Jamie has been cooking at BBQ competitions for years. He was a winner on season one of the show. I'm not sure if he'll be on the…

People - 02/28/2012

Smokey John's BBQ on Gaston in Dallas - a quick look

Posse member Guy Reynolds checks in after a visit to Smokey John's Bar-B-Que and Home Cooking, located one block southwest of Gaston & Haskell in Dallas. This is a lesser-known second location of Smokey John's, the original one is located on Mockingbird Lane. We've done several stories at The Dallas Morning News about owner/pitmaster John “Smokey” Reaves and bible study services held at the original location for many years. Here's Guy's mini review: I went to Smokey John's on Gaston by Baylor Hospital last week. Although it's in my 'hood, easy walking or riding distance from home, it'd been eight…

Joints - 02/26/2012

More BBQ Signs of Our Times

Odom’s Bar-B-Que, 1971 Singleton Boulevard, Dallas. A Posse rule of thumb: The more homemade the sign, the more down home the barbecue. BBQ Signs of our Times is back again, this time with a mix of new and historic photos. This is our fifth blog post on classic BBQ signs. If you happen to see a cool sign while you're out on the Texas BBQ Trail, please snap a photo and keep us in mind. If you're a fan of our Texas BBQ Posse Facebook page, you can upload a photo for us to include on a future BBQ signs…

People - 02/25/2012

The wood versus gas BBQ debate rages on: "extramsg" responds to his critics

We were introduced to blogger and Portland, Oregon, deli owner extramsg last week when he responded to Gary Jacobson's post The wood versus gas BBQ debate continues as we analyze a Southern Pride recipe. His take on the piece? "Ah, bullshit." You can read his initial comment under the original blog post to get the gist of his argument. Basically, he says that he can cook BBQ every bit as smokey as the best wood-fired Texas BBQ joints on his gas-burning Southern Pride oven. To that, I say: "Ah, bullshit." When extramsg sent a lengthly followup comment last night, we…

Cooking - 02/23/2012

BBQ trip to Uncle Willie's and Mama E's in east Fort Worth

In our never ending quest to find the best BBQ joints in Texas, Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper and I recently headed west to Fort Worth to check out a couple of places we hadn't been yet. Both joints, Uncle Willie's BBQ and Mama E’s Bar-B-Q & Homestyle Cooking, are on the east side of town on Rosedale Ave., located about ten minutes apart. The Posse went on a Fort Worth BBQ tour in spring 2010, but we were trying to find a new stop or two beyond our two favorites from that tour. After that trip, Off the Bone in…

Joints - 02/22/2012

Dropping in on Longoria's BBQ in Everman

Brisket sausage at Longoria's BBQ in Everman. On a recent weekday afternoon, Marshall Cooper and I dropped in at Longoria's BBQ in Everman, one of our favorite DFW joints. We met pitmaster David Longoria at the cash registers and started to talk BBQ. The lunch rush was over and were back in the pit area in no time. The trip was nothing big, we'd already eaten at two BBQ joints in east Fort Worth that day, Uncle Willie's & Mama E's. But we still had room, if you know what I mean. Longoria's pitmaster David Longoria meets Posse pitmaster Marshall…

Joints - 02/20/2012

Austin BBQ mini tour - It just keeps getting better

Texas BBQ Posse member Jim Rossman reports in from a quick BBQ run to Austin yesterday. You have to ask the question. Is the epicenter of the BBQ universe shifting north up Hwy. 183 from Lockhart to Austin? Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper, his son Mark and I set out for Austin at 7:30 a.m. Our day’s goal was a return trip to JMueller’s BBQ and a visit to one Austin’s newest places – Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew. Our first stop was to pick up John Lewis and his fiancee Maureen. John is a fantastic competition pitmaster who also works…

Joints - 02/17/2012

Smoke brisket in your backyard

Smoked brisket in your backyard is, without a doubt, one of the hardest things to cook perfectly. Despite all the articles, books and videos out there telling you how to do it, there is no magic to the process. You need tremendous patience and you need to know the specific characteristics of your pit. That takes practice and experience. The more you cook, the better you'll be. The approach may sound simple and straightforward, but getting there is not. 10 Tips - Smoke brisket in your backyard Here are my 10 essential steps to smoking a backyard brisket on an offset,…

Cooking - 02/13/2012

Once last shot: FSA photographer Russell Lee and the 1940 Pie City Fair

I wanted to share one last batch of Farm Security Administration (FSA) photos shot by Russell Lee. These were shot during a free community BBQ at the Pie Town (NM) Fair in 1940. As a photojournalism student at the University of Missouri in the early 1980s, I was exposed to his work along with fellow FSA staffers including Dorthea Lange, Gordon Parks, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans and Walker Evans. Outside of Life magazine in its heyday, this has to be the most talented photo staff ever assembled. Their documentation of the Great Depression gives us an irreplaceable visual record of the struggles and…

People - 02/09/2012

Pit Talk: To dunk or not to dunk, that is the question

Lately, the Posse has observed that at a few joints, including some stellar ones, meats are stored (or dipped) in a broth or juice before they’re served. Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper says the practice, known as dunking, isn’t new. It’s something that many cooks, including those who take part in professional barbecue cookoffs, have used for years as a way to keep meats moist and juicy. But it’s no substitute for proper smoking techniques – all the dunking in the world won’t rescue a poorly cooked piece of meat. And it’s probably not something that your dietitian or cardiologist would…

Cooking - 02/05/2012

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