Real Texas BBQ

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bbqSLICE

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
fatboys01

Checking in with Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper

A customer waits for his order at Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) You meet some great folks as you travel the blue highways of Texas BBQ. Shannon Bankston and Heather Hoff of Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper are those kind of people. A year ago, Marshall Cooper and I met Shannon and Heather at Fatboy's, then located in the tiny town of Ladonia in northeast Texas. It was a slow day in the town of 613 residents, so we talked BBQ for half of the afternoon, which of course is one of our favorite things to do. Fatboy's had…
 - 03/13/2013
woodgoodNEW

Here's the best comment we've ever seen about wood and Texas BBQ

Over the past four years, we've gotten a lot of comments from readers about our observations on Texas barbecue. Good or bad, we post them all, with the exception of those with extreme profanity. Texas BBQ is an emotional issue. However, a comment on Gary Jacobson's Monday post "Memo to Gov. Perry: Texas needs a truth in BBQ law" set a new bar for comments on our blog. A reader tagged as "Anonymous" left a pronouncement that summed it all up better than we could ever do. Here's an open offer to Anonymous: you have permanent membership in the Posse and…
 - 02/26/2013
jospehs001

Rebuilt from the ground up, Jospeh's Riverport BBQ is back in a big way

There were smiles all around on Saturday at Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Cue in historic downtown Jefferson. Five and a half months after a devastating fire that completely destroyed the building, owner and pitmaster Stephen Joseph reopened on Thursday to swarms of old friends and townsfolk who appreciate some of the best BBQ on this side the state. "We can't live without Joseph's," said longtime customer Misty Baldwin of Jefferson. "When it burned, it was like losing someone in your family. It's all new, but it's just as good as ever" Around midnight on January 15, Stephen got the phone call that…
 - 07/02/2012
SBwood

Do Texans need some Q-schoolin? It's your turn to tell us what you think

Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper is a man of conviction, especially when it comes to smoked meat. After mulling our recent Roots of Dallas BBQ Tour for several days, he was still stunned by the lack of smoke taste we found on the barbecue at the original Sonny Bryan's, Odom's, Dickey's and Peggy Sue's. Why don't some of the most popular Dallas BBQ joints, some with real wood pits, put more smoke flavor on their meat? Is it because of the cost of wood? Do customers really prefer smokeless BBQ? Or, don't they know the difference? "I would like to know…
 - 01/20/2012
portBrisket

Looking for some real Texas BBQ on the west coast?

OK, I know this is the Texas BBQ Posse. But every now and then we discover the real deal outside of the Lone Star state and feel the need to tell you all about it. Such was the case when I visited Lonnie Ray's BBQ in Harrisburg, Missouri, earlier this year. Introducing Podnah's Pit Barbecue in Portland, Oregon. Posse member Michael Ainsworth was vacationing in Portland recently and ended up at Podnah's. Michael was the first Posse member to try Franklin BBQ, before the super long lines and signs announcing they were sold out of BBQ by noon. He knows…
 - 09/10/2011
garyMARSsm

We love the smell of hickory smoke in the morning

It's 11 a.m. on a beautiful day for The Great Posse Smokefest in Dallas. Everyone has had a nap -- some longer than others -- and we feel rejuvenated after a night of fellowship around the pits. Most of the meat is done and resting. Chris' pork butt still has some time to go. Justin's brisket, which looks absolutely beautiful, is finishing. We just loaded the chickens on the Jambo. For now, we can relax and enjoy the smell of hickory smoke. Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse
 - 05/15/2011
justin_marshallSM

Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge is in the house

It's now 4:49 a.m. and Justin Fourton, owner and pitmaster of the Pecan Lodge has joined the party at the first Great Posse Smokefest. Justin and his wife Diane, aka: The Boss Lady, serve what many consider to the the best brisket in Dallas. We started with a tour of his awesome mobile pit as he got the fire up to temp. It's now 5:30 a.m. and we're talking BBQ technique and getting as many of his secrets as we can. Brisket and biscuits for breakfast before too long..... Photos by ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse
 - 05/15/2011
temp

Marshall Cooper explains the temperature variances of his competition-tuned Jambo

When the temperature gauge says 250 degrees, that's the grate temp for the center third of the pit, Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper says, based on three months of test cooks. The left third of the cooking chamber, away from the firebox, is 10 degrees cooler, and the right third, nearest the firebox, is 25 degrees warmer, perfect for chicken and pork butt. Cooper fired the pit at 6:30 p.m. with three 22-inch hickory logs and has added a log an hour. It's 2:30 a.m. and the gauge is a steady 250. "This cook is going damn good," Cooper said, sitting…
 - 05/15/2011
smokefest

Welcome to The Great Posse Smokefest

It's 1:30 a.m. on Preston Crest Lane. The Jambo J-3 is locked in at 250 degrees. Five briskets soaking up clean hickory smoke. We've got a half-dozen racks of ribs in the brine, waiting to be rubbed and put on the smoker at 6 a.m. or so. A couple of chickens, and pork butt, too. Justin Fourton, pitmaster of the Pecan Lodge, plans to arrive at 4 a.m. with his pit. Later, Jeff Bergus, owner of Lockhart Smokehouse plans to arrive with some of his original Kreuz Market sausage. Welcome to The Great Posse Smokefest. We hope to have fun…
 - 05/15/2011

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