Texas BBQ Posse

Dallas BBQ history made at Daniel Vaughn's book party with the first briskets ever cooked in Big D by Aaron Franklin

2013-05-18T08:55:00.003-05:00

Aaron Franklin, center, works the serving line while Justin Fourton works his smoker "Lurlene." (Jim Rossman photo)

Friday was an historic night in Dallas barbecue.

The book party for Daniel Vaughn's Prophets of Smoked Meat at the home of Steve and Anne Stodghill brought together four of Texas' best pitmasters: Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge in Dallas, Tim Byres of Smoke in Dallas and Will Fleischman of Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas.

Steve Stodghill, a principal at the Fish and Richardson law firm, represents Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Daniel Vaughn signing books (@harryhunsicker photo)

The food was great and Vaughn spent much of the night in the Stodghill's dining room signing a mountain of books.

The historic part of the evening, though, was the fact that Franklin served the first briskets he has ever actually cooked in Dallas. A few years ago, he served brisket at a Super Bowl party at the House of Blues, but that was cooked in Austin and brought north.

Beginning Thursday night, Franklin said, he cooked 10 briskets on Fourton's original pit, named Lurlene. To increase capacity, Fourton recently replaced that pit with another, named Virgil, at his Dallas Farmers Market location.

Another historic element of the party: The lines for Franklin barbecue were the shortest they have been since the first day he first opened at his Austin trailer in 2009. In fact, at one time, there was no line.

Franklin was named this week by Texas Monthly as the best BBQ joint in Texas. Pecan Lodge tied for second. Lockhart Smokehouse was in the Top 50. Byres was a featured pitmaster in Vaughn's book. Vaughn is also barbecue editor of Texas Monthly.

Justin Fourton & Aaron Franklin get ready to feed the masses at Daniel Vaughn's book party. (Jim Rossman photo)

New Dallas Joint: CattleAck BBQ

2013-05-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

From left: Todd David, David Mills, Misty David and Lauren Parajon (all photos by Jim Rossman)

In the wake of the Texas Monthly Top 50 list which was released this week, there’s been an abnormal amount of BBQ chatter on Twitter.

It was in a Tweet I saw mention of CattleAck BBQ in Dallas. I was intrigued, as I’ve at least heard of most joints in Dallas and this one was under my radar.

A jump to their Twitter feed @cattleackbbq led me to their website www.cattleackbbq.com.

What I found was a BBQ catering business that four weeks ago started opening for lunch on Fridays (take out only) from 11am until the meat runs out.

Today is Friday and it was 11am when I Googled the address and decided to make a quick run north up the Tollway.

I was greeted by the owner, Todd David and his wife Misty. Before I could get out a “hello” I was handed a slice of brisket from the moist end and it melted in my mouth.

The beef was perfectly cooked and the fat had rendered into that silky-salty state that we’re all searching for. This was really good brisket.

Todd told me he was formerly in the disaster cleanup business and that he’d sold that business to start CattleAck BBQ, which mainly does catering.

Misty said this was their fourth Friday to serve lunch. All the food is wrapped in butcher paper and packed to go.

I had half a pound of that brisket, three really nice ribs and a link of sausage. The ribs were well cooked, came off the bone cleanly and were not tough at all. The sausage was good, but unremarkable. Next time I’ll try the turkey.

Todd was adamant I try their new espresso-flavored sauce and it was good. It was thinner than I thought it would be, so it had a lighter flavor. They also have a regular sauce that’s more traditionally sweet, but still good. I used the sauces for the sausage, as the ribs and brisket didn’t need any help.

All that said, I have to say CattleAck BBQ cooks with gas on a beautiful Ole Hickory smoker.

Todd was happy to take me back to look at the smoker, which sits in the middle of a spotless kitchen. The Davids also have a trailered Southern Pride smoker they take on the road for larger catering jobs.

I’m normally put off and a bit disappointed by a gasser, but I’d already tasted the goods and I was looking forward to eating the rest of the meat waiting for me in a bag up at the front counter.

So if you’re a wood purist, you’ve been warned. But I have to say this was really above average to great meat and I’m looking forward to another visit soon.

I brought it all back to the office and fellow Posse member Gary Jacobson was around to eat as well.

“This is amazingly good for coming from a gas smoker,” he remarked as he was wiping his fingers.

Todd and Misty are on the right path and their meat made me shake wonder when I can plan a return visit and take some more Posse members along.

CattleAck BBQ, 13628 Gamma Road, Dallas, 972-499-0999. Open: Fridays 11am-til the meat runs out. Website: www.cattleackbbq.com

Back at my desk.

Where's Vera's? ... and other Posse reactions to Texas Monthly's new Top 50 BBQ joints

2013-05-15T21:28:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it, Texas Monthly's new Top 50 list of the best BBQ joints in the state is at the end of this post. The magazine will reveal its Top 4 on Thursday. Why only 4? We're hearing No. 5 had consistency problems and was dropped at the last minute.

Now, for some Posse reaction to the new Top 50:

-- The most interesting omission was Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que in Brownsville. New Texas Monthly BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn put Vera's in his Top 5 in the state in his book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat. But maybe whole beef heads cooked with wood smoke didn't sync with TM's sensibilities.

-- Posse member Bryan Gooding called the choice of Cowpokes in Pearsall "bogus" and "a pity nod for the valley and possibly the wrong one instead of Vera's." Cowpokes is a gasser, Gooding says.

-- Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins said the list verified many of the Posse's recent conclusions. Lockhart is no longer the BBQ Capital of Texas (Smitty's didn't make the list), Austin is (new joints La Barbecue and John Mueller Meat Co. made it along with Stiles Switch, Franklin Barbecue, and Lambert's).

-- Wilkins was also surprised and impressed that seven Dallas-Fort Worth area joints made the list (Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas, Meshack's in Garland, Longoria's and Cousin's in Fort Worth, Bartley's in Grapevine, Hutchins in McKinney).

-- Posse member Jim Rossman said he couldn't find any holes "to poke in the new list." By quick count, he said, he had been to 23 of the places on the new list and now had 27 more that he needed to visit.

"All in all, no controversy for me," Rossman wrote in an email. "Congratulations to Daniel Vaughn and the crew at Texas Monthly."

Texas Monthly's 2013 Top 50 BBQ Joints

ALAMO
The Original Willie's Bar-B-Que

AMARILLO
Tyler's Barbecue

AUSTIN
Franklin Barbecue
John Mueller Meat Co
La Barbecue
Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew

BELTON
Miller's Smokehouse

BRYAN
Fargo's Pit BBQ

CYPRESS
Brooks' Place

DALLAS
Lockhart Smokehouse
Pecan Lodge

EAGLE LAKE
Austin's BBQ and Catering

FANNIN
McMillan's Bar-B-Q

FORT WORTH
Cousin's Bar-B-Q
Longoria's BBQ

FREDERICKSBURG
Cranky Frank's Barbecue Company

GALVESTON
Leon's World's Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que

GARLAND
Meshack's Bar-B-Que

GIDDINGS
City Meat Market

GRAPEVINE
Bartley's Bar-B-Q

HENDERSON
Bob's Bar-B-Que

HOUSTON
Gatlin's BBQ & Catering
Virgie's Bar-B-Que

JASPER
Billy's Old Fashion BBQ

JEFFERSON
Joseph's Riverport Barbecue

KERRVILLE
Buzzie's Bar-B-Q

LEXINGTON
Snow's BBQ

LIVINGSTON
Hitch-N-Post BBQ

LLANO
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

LOCKHART
Black's Barbecue
Kreuz Market

LULING
City Market

MARLIN
Whup's Boomerang Bar-B-Que

MCKINNEY
Hutchins BBQ

MEXIA
Kirby's Barbecue

PEADENVILLE
Hashknife on the Chisolm

PEARSALL
Cowpoke's

PECOS
Pody's BBQ

ROCKPORT
Hatfield's BBQ & Blackjacks Beer Garden

SAN ANTONIO
The Granary 'Cue and Brew
Two Bros. BBQ Market

SAN MARCOS
Hays Co. Bar-B-Que and Catering

SMITHVILLE
Zimmerhanzel's BBQ

SPICEWOOD
Opie's Barbecue

SPRING
Corkscrew BBQ

SWEETWATER
Big Boy's Bar-B-Que

TAYLOR
Louie Mueller Barbecue

TYLER
Stanley's Famous Pit Barbecue

VICTORIA
Mumphord's Place BBQ

A review: In Barbecue Crossroads, Robb Walsh shows how to write a road trip book

2013-05-14T08:04:00.002-05:00

Author Robb Walsh doesn't think much of the best-of barbecue lists compiled by bloggers and journalists.

But we won't hold that against him. The former food writer at the Houston Press, whose Barbecue Crossroads was just issued by the University of Texas Press, admits he was once there himself.

Besides, Crossroads is a fine book. As a barbecue road trip account, it's everything that Daniel Vaughn's The Prophets of Smoked Meat isn't.

"Take off your jacket, honey, make yourself comfortable," Thelma Williams of Thelma's in Houston tells a New York companion of Walsh's during their visit to her place.

Thelma could just as well be welcoming readers as Walsh takes them on a tour of joints in Texas and throughout the south.

Walsh lets the people he encounters become the centerpiece. He liberally uses direct quotes to help reveal their character and carry his narrative.

He hits some big barbecue themes: barbecue and religion, barbecue and race, barbecue and beer, barbecue and barbecue contests.

And the photographs by Rufus Lovett are wonderful.

I do have a quibble. While Walsh laments the replacement of wood-fired artisans by "mass-production stainless steel ovens and a fast food version of barbecue," he missed the ongoing old-school revival occurring in Austin and Dallas.

Barbecue fans in those cities have a growing -- not declining -- number of good alternatives to the gas-and-electric joints.

It's a small blemish, especially considering lead times on books. And on a reviewer's scale, it's far outweighed by sections where Walsh writes about the barbecue masters he encounters, such as Rodney Scott of Scott's Variety in Hemingway, South Carolina, who says he always listens to music when he cooks because it keeps him in a good mood.

"You can't cook good food in a bad mood," Scott tells Walsh. "You get the red pepper in your hand when you're pissed off and who knows where you're going to take it. While the hogs are cooking through the night, we listen to blues, R and B, country, but we leave the hip-hop alone. I love hip-hop, but not while you're cooking. That comes later, when you're chopping."

True confessions of a BBQ vegan

2013-05-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

Wearing my favorite BBQ t-shirt from Stanley's while dining at our favorite vegan joint, The Loving Hut in Addison.

I've been a blogger for the past ten years, writing mainly about photojournalism and barbecue. I even helped start the now-defunct Dallas Morning News fantasy football blog in the early 2000's.

Because I have a confession to make, this may be the toughest post I've ever had to write.

For six long weeks in February and March of this year, I walked in the shoes of the enemy. The co-founder of the Texas BBQ Posse became a vegan.

I'm the same guy who claimed victory over the meat-free world in 2010 when the Texas BBQ Posse cook team converted two vegetarians with Bryan Gooding's first-place chicken at the first Blues, Bandits and Blues cookoff in Oak Cliff.

My life as a vegan started innocently enough when I went to a Christmas party at the home of our friends Ray and Susan Shepard. Ray is a serious barbecue expert and member of the championship Boys Can Smoke cook team out of Tulsa.

When I got my first smoker, Ray brought over a case of beer and a brisket and taught BBQ 101 in the driveway.

Since then we've cooked and drank beer together numerous times, with the love of barbecue always being at the center of it all.

If you can't trust a guy like that, who can you trust?

Ray was looking good at the Xmas gathering. Though never a big guy, he had lost a noticeable amount of weight and looked really healthy.

Ray Shepard, left, and the Boys Can Smoke championship
cook team with their 1963 firetruck as a backdrop.

Wow, looking good my friend. How'd you do that?

My BBQ mentor explained that he had gone hardcore vegan. I almost had a heart attack.

Speaking of heart attacks, Ray had suffered a major one in his mid-thirties and tried to be careful about what he ate after that. Ten years later, he was starting to feel bad again. Last fall his heart doctor convinced him to read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

It was a life changing decision for Ray and he was spreading the gospel now. He felt better than he had in a long time and was off all his heart meds for the first time in years. Former President Bill Clinton also followed the book to become a vegan and reverse his heart disease. The book is now universally known as "The Clinton diet."

Ray talked on and we listened. My wife Michele was on high alert. She didn't need to lose much weight, but wanted to get off her blood pressure and cholesterol meds. I had been looking to drop some weight, but not eating meat was never a consideration in achieving that goal.

Once we got through the holidays and got the new year started, we did the unimaginable and turned vegan.

Being a vegetarian means you don't eat meat, but going vegan means you can't eat meat OR any dairy products. This was going to be brutal for a cheeseburger lover like me.

This was possibly a long-term lifestyle change for Michele. Working in the veterinary world, she's a hardcore animal lover and always felt a little guilty eating meat.

The same can't be said for her husband, the BBQ Posse guy. I committed to six weeks of a meatless lifestyle, having no idea if I could make it even a week.

The vegan lifestyle was as foreign to me as speaking Chinese. Ray took us on our first shopping trip to Whole Foods, where we explored the large healthy and organic section of the store. I laughed out loud, we had never stepped foot in this part of the store in our previous trips there.

The bill was staggering on that first trip to Whole Foods, this vegan thing was going break the family budget wide open. We quickly learned to shop for some better deals at Sprouts and Trader Joe's, which recently opened in Plano. In fact, I now buy the great majority of our groceries at Trader Joe's, they have great products and good prices.

We've discovered a huge array of new foods and ways to cook them. How many ways can you prepare beans, which are the major protein substitution for not eating meat. There are about a thousand ways, trust me.

Amazingly enough, Posse friends Shannon Bankston and
Heather Hoff didn't freak out too bad when I ordered the
four-side plate at Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper.

So back to barbecue. A couple of weeks into the vegan life, Marshall Cooper and I took a ride out to visit our friends Shannon Bankston and Heather Hoff at Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper. This was my big test.

Marshall stepped up and ordered the usual, a three-meat plate consisting of the holy trinity of Texas barbecue: brisket, ribs and sausage.

When it was my turn I mumbled something to Heather about a restrictive diet and how I'd have the four-side plate: cole slaw, potato salad, beans and corn on the cob. She looked at me kind of strangely but didn't say anything.

I savored every single bite of my four-side plate, while Marshall raved about their meat offerings. I passed the test and proceeded to make it four more weeks until a planned BBQ trip to hit a few joints west of Dallas in mid-March, where I was going to test the BBQ waters again.

During that time I discovered some great new restaurants, like the Spiral Diner in Dallas and The Loving Hut in Addison. It's amazing what they can do with that soy protein, making it taste like just about any meat you've ever eaten. I even tried making barbecue tofu on my grill, but the results were less than appetizing.

During my vegan journey, I was buoyed by a couple of things along the way. The first occurred when Daniel Vaughn was named BBQ editor of Texas Monthly. Daniel had probably eaten more Texas barbecue, both good and bad, than anyone I know.

The New York Times wrote a story about his new gig at Texas Monthly, ending the piece with the following:

One of Mr. Vaughn’s co-workers at the architecture firm wanted to plan a goodbye lunch for him and asked him where he wanted it. His answer: Kalachandji’s, an Indian vegetarian restaurant. “I gotta eat my veggies,” he said.

Wow, Daniel is one of us, a closet vegan!

Another came on April 1st, when I saw a facebook post from Micklethwait Craft Meats. This trailer joint in Austin had been at the top of our "must visit" list for several months.

There was a beautiful photo of something that looked kind of like a sausage, with this caption:

Due to popular demand, starting this week we'll be serving only vegetarian sausages. Here's a pic of the cheddar cheese one we'll be featuring.

Hot damn, pitmaster Tom Micklethwait understands vegetarians too. I can nibble on a bite of brisket while filling up on a delicious veggie sausage when the Posse makes its upcoming Austin BBQ Tour.

It wasn't until I saw a Micklethwait facebook follower comment, "Good one, dude" that I knew I'd been had. Major April Fool's Day punk'd. Well played Tom, well played.

But that veggie sausage might not be a bad idea down the road.

True to plan, I started eating meat again at six weeks in, just not every day. I've lost 15 pounds and feel great. My wife has pretty much adapted the vegan life, but doesn't hold the retreat to meat against me.

The difference is that my meat bar is much higher now. If I'm going to eat brisket, it better be damned good. Same with the other members of the holy trinity. I may even eat a veggie side for good measure.

I'm still working on that BBQ tofu idea, but until I perfect it -- and that's likely mission impossible -- I'll continue to search the Texas BBQ trail for the greatest smoked meats in the greatest state in the union.

Brilliant April Fool's Day joke by Tom Micklethwait. The caption on his facebook page read: "Due to popular demand, starting this week we'll be serving only vegetarian sausages. Here's a pic of the cheddar cheese one we'll be featuring."

The Barbecue Chronicles: Austin is the new Lockhart BBQ Tour

2013-05-06T19:41:00.000-05:00

The Texas BBQ Posse dives into a spread of sausage, brisket, ribs and turkey at La Barbecue in Austin.

(Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

Story by Gary Jacobson

It would be easy to get carried away by what’s happening in Austin barbecue.

Amid a fertile startup environment, young pitmasters are creating a smoked-meat renaissance, using only wood-fired pits and adopting old-school ways to cook for a new generation. A case could even be made that Austin has replaced Lockhart as the capital of Texas barbecue.

We’ll leave that big-think stuff for another time. This is a story about barbecue tourism.

The Texas BBQ Posse has been riding since 2009, and the mission on its most recent tour was to sample as much of that good Austin barbecue as possible during a day trip from Dallas, covering 400 miles in 13 hours.

The five places we visited were all located within a 5-mile radius of the state Capitol building.

However, the harsh reality of long lines and sold-out signs caught up with us even on a slow Wednesday.

We only got to eat at four: Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue, John Mueller Meat Co. and Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew.

When we arrived at Micklethwait Craft Meats just after 2 p.m., owner and pitmaster Tom Micklethwait was cleaning up and loading the back of his pickup with the day’s trash.

“We opened at 11 and sold out at 1,” he said. The word craft in the joint’s name means just that.

Micklethwait cooks a limited amount of meat, and it goes fast.

Open just a few months, Micklethwait is a classic trailer operation in a parklike setting a few blocks from Franklin, the critically acclaimed and popular joint that was our first stop a few hours earlier.

While workers nearby built additional picnic tables, Micklethwait told us about his expansion plans and said that Franklin sometimes sends its overflow to him. What? Had we been aware of such valuable information, we would have moved Micklethwait’s way up in the tour itinerary.

Knowing that some people happily wait in line three hours at Franklin, and that there can also be lengthy queues at La Barbecue and John Mueller’s, posse co-founder Chris Wilkins organized this trip for midweek. He also wanted to get to those three places as early in the day as possible.

A long line forms outside of Franklin Barbecue on a Wednesday morning. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

Attempting such a tour on a Friday or a weekend day would probably be impossible. Just a few Fridays earlier, about noon, I was 40th in line at La Barbecue, immediately behind a person who had bailed on Franklin because the line was too long. He was quite content to be No. 39 at a place just across downtown.

It’s the theory of relativity, Austin barbecue style.

On our tour, we arrived at Franklin, not far from the Capitol, about 9:20 a.m. Thirty people were ahead of us, the first arriving at 8 a.m. By 10:30, still a half-hour before opening, more than 100 were in line.

“They should set up a webcam,” posse member Jim Rossman said, indicating the mid-rise building going up across the street. “If the line is short, then people would know to hurry right over.”

At this stop, we had nine posse members, several armed with cameras. Aaron Franklin spotted us as he was getting his patio ready for customers and came over to talk. We have been eating at his place since its trailer days. Franklin said that on a typical Wednesday, he serves 400 to 500 people, compared with 800 or more on a Saturday.

When the doors finally opened, it took 40 minutes to reach the ordering counter, meaning our total wait was about 2 hours and 20 minutes.

After eating, we left Franklin and headed to La Barbecue, a trailer operation about 2.5 miles away on South First Street.

Surprisingly, there was no line. Nor was there a line at John Mueller’s, another trailer operation just 3 miles from La Barbecue, though Mueller did say that he was down to his last brisket.

Our good fortune lasted only until the next stop, Micklethwait’s, where we struck out.

We finished the tour at Stiles Switch, scheduled last because it’s open late and tries to minimize lines and never run out of meat. It’s located in a small shopping center about 5 miles north of the Capitol.

“I waited in line at Aaron’s a few times, and it was just more than I could take,” owner Shane Stiles told us.

And what about the food we ate?

“I think this is the best single day of barbecue we’ve ever had, bar none,” Wilkins said.

John Mueller Meat Co. recently opened on an empty lot on E. 6th Street in Austin. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

He said that the weakest of the places during this visit was still very good, and better than most in Texas.

At each place, we ordered the same four meats: brisket, pork ribs, sausage and turkey breast.

For the day, pit master John Lewis at La Barbecue served our favorite brisket and sausage, Lance Kirkpatrick at Stiles Switch our favorite ribs and Franklin our favorite turkey.

Lewis’ all-beef sausage is a blend of brisket, heart, liver and fat. It received four perfect-10 scores from posse members, the most of any meat on the day.

“I think that’s the best sausage I’ve had on the road,” said posse member Bryan Gooding, who makes his own sausage and finished first in sausage at the Blues, Bandits & BBQ cookoff in Oak Cliff last year.

“I love the variety of textures,” he said. “That’s a whole new area I hadn’t even thought of.”

One of the surprises of the tour was that Franklin didn’t really stand out. The ribs were overcooked, almost mushy, and the sausage lacked snap.

“It’s the only time I’ve ever been a little disappointed in Franklin,” Rossman said.

“It was very good,” posse member Bruce Tomaso said, “but it wasn’t uniformly excellent.”

Still, Franklin had plenty of satisfied customers. As we neared the serving counter, we talked to a longtime barbecue restaurant owner from Arizona. With a tray full of food on his table, Tad Peelen and his group from Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert were doing some competitive benchmarking.

“We think this is some of the best brisket we’ve ever had in our mouths,” Peelen said.

Pitmaster Lance Kirkpatrick shows his beef ribs at Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

The Austin barbecue tour

6:30 a.m.: Leave Dallas
9:30 a.m.: Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th St.; 512-653-1187. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. until the meat runs out.
Noon: La Barbecue, 1502 S. First St.; 512-605-9696. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. until sold out.
1 p.m.: John Mueller Meat Co., 2500 E. Sixth St. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. until sold out.
2 p.m.: Micklethwait Craft Meats, 1309 Rosewood Ave.; 512-791-5961. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
3:30 p.m.: Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, 6610 N. Lamar Blvd.; 512-380-9199. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
5:00 p.m.: Wheels up for Dallas

Tips for barbecue tourists

Like the lines at Disney World, the lines at Austin’s most popular barbecue joints are shortest when it rains. If you don’t like the thought of getting wet as you wait, here are some tips from the posse about how to plan your tour:

Take a lightweight, foldable chair and maybe a good book, although part of the line experience is talking to your neighbors.
Go midweek; avoid Fridays and weekends, when lines are longer.
Get to Micklethwait Craft Meats early. Franklin Barbecue, just a few blocks away, sends its overflow there.
Spread your tour over a couple of days.
Consider using the preorder option at Franklin Barbecue; email franklinbbq@ gmail.com. You have to pick up before the place opens, and you can’t eat there.
Schedule Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew last. It’s open late and tries to never run out of meat.

This story was published in partnership with The Dallas Morning News. Click here to see the online package of story, photo and video on dallasnews.com.

The Texas BBQ Posse poses for a group photo at John Mueller Meat Co. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

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

2013-05-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

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 ongoing BBQ renaissance in both Austin and Dallas.

And, yes, some of that celebration comes through. "I have never dined on anything short of perfect here," he writes of Franklin Barbecue in Austin.

But the main impression I came away with after reading the book is that it is largely about bad Texas barbecue. Page after page of bad barbecue. An accumulation that ultimately sets the overall tone.

On his blog, most of the joints he wrote about weren't good. But a blog is read in short, periodic spurts. Impressions change day to day. A 372-page book is different.

Vaughn certainly exerted the effort. He covered more than 10,000 miles and ate at a couple hundred places.

But throughout the book, he lambasts, even pokes fun at, the underachieving. He describes "another mediocre meal," bad brisket memories that rely on sauce, chewy and under seasoned brisket, "crusty and dry sausage and mushy brisket," limp casing on sausage, "oily creosote" taste, tough and overly salty ribs, overcooked and dry and almost tasteless brisket.

From a section on El Paso joints:

"Both the beef and pork ribs were shoe-leather chewy, while the brisket was so horribly overcooked that it amounted to barely more than a salty mass, with the mouthfeel of a wet towel," Vaughn writes. At another place, even the coffee was bad.

In many ways, this book about food is most unappetizing. That can't be the impression he was after. Where were Vaughn's editors?

On page 226, I even felt sorry for "Teresa," the owner of Curly's BBQ in Sierra Blanca, who had no idea that she was about to become a character in a book.

Vaughn describes her as "a surly, chain smoking woman" who took the food order from him and his photographer. He writes:

"Watchya doin?," she asked us condescendingly between puffs. "Taking photos," was my curt response. "Well, no shit."

That small piece of dialogue is revealing for a couple of reasons.

First, from the way it's presented, all run together, there's no way to tell for sure who said the "no shit" line. It was probably Teresa. But in a sample of two people at my home, one of us thought it was Vaughn. It makes a difference.

Second, that brief conversation accounts for a large portion of all the direct quotations that Vaughn used from the people he encountered during his sojourns. An architect by training, he mainly quotes what people have written or said in other publications or books. Even when he sat down with Texas legend Vencil Mares at the Taylor Cafe, he used no direct quotes from Vencil, just Vaughn's own musings about the conversation.

Direct quotes, used right, can help reveal the character of people and make them come alive. They can help propel a narrative, especially in the genre of road trip books. In many places, Vaughn's book could have used some narrative help.

With all the bad barbecue that Vaughn documents in the state, the bottom line for Dallas readers is that they shouldn't regret an hour or two wait in line at Pecan Lodge, one of Vaughn's Top 5 joints in Texas.

Pecan Lodge, though, gets mentioned for a total of only about two pages. By contrast, The Salt Lick in Driftwood, a place that does its main cooking with gas, not wood, gets five.

Vaughn does include a one paragraph profile of Pecan Lodge owner/pitmaster Justin Fourton and his recipe for smoked Wagyu brisket. But it lists the ingredients for a "a good all-purpose rub," not Fourton's actual rub, which is called a "trade secret."

In his "Pitmaster Profiles," Vaughn also includes Tim Byres at Smoke in Dallas.

Smoke is a great restaurant. Byres is a great chef who cooks with wood fires. But Smoke is not a real Texas BBQ joint. My advice to anyone who goes there: order the scallops. They are terrific.

My advice on barbecue road trip books? Lolis Eric Elie's Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country.

A couple of years ago in a review on his blog, Vaughn wrote that Smokestack Lightning "may be the single finest book written about barbecue."

It still is.

Corkscrew BBQ: Finally found the best BBQ in Houston...well, Spring, TX.

2013-05-03T15:50:00.001-05:00

Corkscrew BBQ in Spring, just north of Houston. (Photos by Jim Rossman)

For several months I've been monitoring the buzz around Corkscrew BBQ, a trailer operation in Spring TX, between Conroe and Houston.

My parents had forwarded me an article from the Houston Chronicle praising a new classic of Houston BBQ and decided it would be a priority on my next trip to visit my parents.

Fast forward and today's the day.

I got to Corkscrew just after noon and there were about 15 people in the line that stayed about that long until 1:30 p.m., when Pitmaster Will Buckman finally caught up enough to talk.

He and his wife Nichole have been in business since Nov. 2011 and he said he'd sell about 600 pounds of meat today, which is the capacity of his smoker.

The line moves pretty fast. Will was on the block, while Nichole prepped and wrapped the orders.

Seating was at about a dozen picnic tables and various lawn chairs scattered about. There's a large roof over the area where customers stand in line and about half the tables are under the roof and half are outside.

Will said there are plans to enclose the roof with walls and garage doors to give the place a more permanent vibe. Customers are welcome to bring their own beer and wine.

How about the food?

In a word, it was great.

It's the best meat I've found in or near Houston -- by far.

The moist brisket was perfectly cooked with a very silky fat cap and a really salty/peppery crust that melted wonderfully in my mouth. This is brisket that can stand with anyone's, including the best offerings in Austin or Lockhart.

The ribs were really good. I got the last three ribs of the day in my order and Will apologized because the meat was falling off the bone. They had been on the heat a bit too long, or perhaps stored too long, but were the last of the ribs and tasted really good. No complaints there.

The turkey breast was very moist with a peppery crust and was a favorite at our table.

The sausage was cooked perfectly and tasted fine. It's not homemade, but still was good enough that my brother went back for a few links to take home.

Corkscrew has more than just straight BBQ on the menu.

I saw more than a few loaded baked potatoes moving out of the trailer before I got to the front of the line. In fact, before I reached the front of the line, potatoes were sold out.

I also saw some really interesting looking brisket tacos. Almost hate to say it, but there's also a spinach salad (with our without meat).

Sandwiches, including the Poncho and Lefty (brisket, pico de gallo and mayo) were moving well too. Sliced brisket, turkey and pulled pork will run you $10.95 per pound, sausage is $6.95 per pound and ribs are $16.95 per rack.

Back in June of 2012 we toured Houston BBQ and really didn't find any outstanding meat.

I can confidently say Corkscrew BBQ is miles better than anything we ate that weekend. Speaking only for myself, Corkscrew is the best BBQ in the greater Houston area.

Corkscrew BBQ, 24930 Budde Rd. (Near I-45 and Sawdust Rd.), Spring, 832-592-1184. Open Tues-Sat 11am-til the meat runs out. (Will said that's about 2:30pm on Friday and Saturday.)

Owner and Pitmaster Will Buckman

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

2013-04-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

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 few hours after the chat ended, I was finally able to get a copy of Daniel's Vaughn's new book, The Prophets of Smoked Meat, which is due out in a couple of weeks.

Vaughn of course is the celebrated blogger -- Full Custom Gospel BBQ -- who recently became BBQ editor of Texas Monthly.

In his book, Vaughn lists his Top 5, not in any designated order: Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan, Louie Mueller, Pecan Lodge, Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que in Brownsville and Franklin.

"In a region where barbacoa is worshipped, a trip to Vera's can double as Sunday mass," Vaughn writes. "Vera's is the only joint in the state still cooking beef heads with wood smoke..."

It will be interesting to see how Vaughn's Top 5 mimic -- or don't -- Texas Monthly's.

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

2013-04-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

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 agree, we'll call them out again.

Also, we think Lockhart Smokehouse in the Bishops Arts District and Meshacks's in Garland are easily among the Top 50.

And from our blog traffic statistics, it's clear that readers like the new 3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House in Frisco and Jack Perkins's new joint, Slow Bone, near downtown Dallas.

Not to mention a very interesting concept, Work, expected to open soon in Deep Ellum.

These are definitely interesting times in Dallas barbecue.

If you need more evidence of Dallas' own barbecue renaissance, consider:

-- Pecan Lodge owner/pitmaster Justin Fourton said last week that his place will add a day of business, Wednesdays, beginning the first full week of June. Pecan Lodge has only been open Thursday through Sunday.

-- Lockhart Smokehouse owner Jeff Bergus confirmed Saturday that he is looking at adding a second location. Speculation has focused on a near northern suburb of Dallas. "These things take time," Bergus said.

My first lunch at Slow Bone BBQ, two-meat platter with brisket and cilantro sausage. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins)

Video: The Texas BBQ Posse talks about their Austin BBQ Tour

2013-04-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here's our latest barbecue tour video, shot and produced by Dallas Morning News photojournalist Nathan Hunsinger.

Is Austin rapidly becoming the the new Texas BBQ capital, replacing Lockhart? Some of our readers wholeheartedly agree, while some consider such statements as blasphemy. Yes, barbecue is a highly emotional issue.

Click here to read our Austin BBQ Tour story and see the tour slideshow on dallasnews.com.

You can join us for an online chat about the Austin BBQ Tour at 1pm-2pm on Monday, April 29th. Click here for the link to the chat on dallasnews.com.

Today in the Dallas Morning News: The BBQ Posse's Austin BBQ Tour

2013-04-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a look at our Austin BBQ Tour story in today's Dallas Morning News travel section. This is the Posse's second installment from the Texas BBQ trail in the DMN this year. Our Best of Texas BBQ project was published in early March.

The tour grew out of a growing suspicion that Austin might be quickly replacing Lockhart as the state's barbecue capital. And nothing we experienced on that day disproved the theory, every stop on the tour was nothing short of sensational.

Click here to see the story, slideshow and video links on the DMN Travel section of dallasnews.com.

Also, you can join us for an online chat about the Austin BBQ Tour at 1pm-2pm on Monday, April 29th. Click here for the link to the chat on dallasnews.com.

See the photos from the Posse's Austin BBQ Tour - The Fantastic Mr. Fox strikes again

2013-04-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

Dallas Morning News staff photographer Tom Fox at work on the Austin BBQ Tour.
(Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

When you're on the road with the Texas BBQ Posse, it's kind of like being in the middle of a media storm. The Posse is mainly made up of Dallas Morning News writers, editors, photojournalists and their friends. Yes, we have been accused before of being the BBQ paparazzi.

On the recent Austin BBQ Tour we had nine journalists and artists in the group, including five photographers. One of those was award-winning DMN staff photographer Tom Fox.

Tom has captured numerous major awards in our industry, including being part of DMN team who won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for photo coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Here's a DMN photo blog post he wrote just yesterday about shooting a historic photo of the five living Presidents at the Bush Library dedication on Thursday.

He approaches every assignment with curiosity and a drive to tell the story in a unique way. Photographing the Texas barbecue trail is no exception.

When we got to Franklin Barbecue two hours before it opened on a recent Wednesday, I could see his creative gears turning. On our previous visit in February for the Best in Texas BBQ Tour, had climbed up a light pole to give us an elevated look at the legendary line at Franklin's.

Been there, done that. It was time for another approach for Tom. He rigged up a monopod along with a radio-controlled remote trigger to fire his camera and went to work, giving us yet another remarkable look at the line at Franklin BBQ.

Click here to see Tom's photo of the line and a slideshow of his photos from the Austin BBQ Tour.

Also, you can join us for an online chat about the Austin BBQ Tour at 1pm-2pm on Monday, April 29th. Click here for the link to the chat on dallasnews.com.

The Posse's Austin BBQ Tour: Is Austin poised to overtake Lockhart as the barbecue capital of Texas?

2013-04-26T20:06:00.003-05:00

Stops on the Austin BBQ Tour, clockwise from top left: John Mueller Meat Co., Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue and Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew. (Photos by Tom Fox/DMN)

The Dallas Morning News just posted Gary Jacobson's story on our recent Austin BBQ Tour on both dallasnews.com and the DMN iPad app. The print story will appear on the in the newspaper's travel section on Sunday.

This may have been the best single day of barbecue we've ever had on tour, sampling four meats from each joint visited. As a collective group, the brisket, ribs, sausage and turkey from La Barbecue, Franklin Barbecue, John Mueller Meat Co. and Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew were outstanding. We had a fifth joint on the itinerary, but Micklethwait Craft Meats had run out of meat for the day by the time we got there at 2 p.m.

Gary writes:

It would be easy to get carried away by what’s happening in Austin barbecue.

Amid a fertile startup environment, young pitmasters are creating a smoked-meat renaissance, using only wood-fired pits and adopting old-school ways to cook for a new generation. A case could even be made that Austin has replaced Lockhart as the capital of Texas barbecue.

Click here to see the story and tour slideshow on dallasnews.com.

Also, you can join us for an online chat about the Austin BBQ Tour at 1pm-2pm on Monday, April 29th. Click here for the link to the chat on dallasnews.com.

Austin BBQ Tour

6:30 a.m.: Leave Dallas
9:30 a.m.: Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th St.; 512-653-1187. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. until the meat runs out.
Noon: La Barbecue, 1502 S. First St.; 512-605-9696. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. until sold out.
1 p.m.: John Mueller Meat Co., 2500 E. Sixth St. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. until sold out.
2 p.m.: Micklethwait Craft Meats, 1309 Rosewood Ave.; 512-791-5961. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
3:30 p.m.: Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, 6610 N. Lamar Blvd.; 512-380-9199. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
5 p.m.: Wheels up for Dallas

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

2013-04-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

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 Lexington had the best brisket (that was the Posse's verdict, too), La Barbecue in Austin the best sausage and Snow's scored best overall.

Pecan Lodge in Dallas finished fourth in brisket and fifth in sausage.

It was a very tough field. Other places visited included Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, Kruez Market in Lockhart, City Market in Luling and Smitty's Market in Lockhart.

Memo to The Legend: Let us know the next time you're in town. We always love talking to people who know good barbecue.

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

2013-04-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

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, slice several pieces, slosh them in the butter and then flip them on scale.

Yes, they are weighing -- and charging for -- the butter drench. But it was worth it.

"The turkey is deadly," Posse veteran Bruce Tomaso said.

From our eight Posse voters, Franklin's turkey received three scores of perfect 10.

One Posse member, R.J. Hinkle, didn't realize how much he appreciated it until he had the turkey at La Barbecue, our next stop.

"It could have been the butter bath, but the last one was really good," he said.

We also had turkey at John Mueller Meat Co. and Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew. An all-time Posse favorite still remains the turkey at Stanley's in Tyler.

We're not yet ready to put turkey in the same elevated company as brisket, ribs and sausage. But we will keep ordering it.

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

2013-04-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

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, once worked for John Mueller.

Lance Kirkpatrick, pitmaster at Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew, once worked at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor.

John Lewis, pitmaster at La Barbecue, worked with Aaron Franklin at Franklin's and worked briefly with John Mueller.

That's a lot of Texas barbecue history and knowledge. And, potentially, a lot of intramural elbowing to be the best.

For the record, LeAnn Mueller and John Lewis came out on top during our tour. La Barbecue had the best brisket and sausage, Stiles Switch the best pork ribs and Franklin the best turkey. John Mueller didn't take a top spot.

The Mueller BBQ family tree, clockwise from top left: John Lewis, John Mueller, Aaron Franklin and Lance Kirkpatrick.
(Photos by Tom Fox/DMN)

BBQ is..... A photo project by Posse member Daniel Goncalves

2013-04-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at the beginning of an extraordinary photo project by Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer Daniel Goncalves. As most of you know by now, the Posse is a pretty creative group, made up of Dallas Morning News photojournalists, writers, editors and their friends. With this project, Daniel has raised the creative bar for the Posse.

Daniel writes about the concept:

I love people as much as I love food. The Posse has introduced me to great people and incredible BBQ. While on tour I've been working on a pitmaster portrait series. Photographers usually shoot with digital cameras. At times I get a bit nostalgic and miss the dark room days. A couple of months back I bought a Fuji Instax 210 instant film camera for a road trip to Galveston. It's a compromise between the instant gratification of digital while still shooting film (without the need for chemicals in a darkroom).

Polaroid stopped making film a while back. The Impossible Film Project saved the last Polaroid production plant and started producing Polaroid film again in the Netherlands. Fuji has also entered the instant film game and I decided to get the Fuji to play with on personal projects. Another great thing is that it is very simple camera. No dials, minimal settings, virtually no control and it's quite finicky. The other great thing is that it's a huge and ugly camera which helps break the ice with the person I'm photographing.

Having recently become a Texan, ie: Texas resident, I've been blogging a "This is Texas" photo series on my Tumblr site. The instant film was a natural extension. Instant film has that white stripe at the bottom of the photo. It's a blank canvas and I noticed that it's rarely used as such.

The idea is to make a portrait of a pitmaster, hand over the print, have them pick a color sharpie and write what BBQ is to them on the photo. I tell them to "write whatever you like, no restriction," and they immediately start thinking and writing. It's been a fun and interactive project which lets the pitmaster make the photo an even more personal portrait of themselves.

This set of photos is from our recent Austin tour and I plan on continuing this as a long term photo project. Watching a blank piece of paper turn into a beautiful image after pressing a button is magic. It is ironic that I have to digitize the print to share it which comes full circle.

Clockwise from top left, Posse members Gary Jacobson, Gunnar Jacobson, Chris Wilkins & Jim Rossman.
(Photos ©Daniel Goncalves)

Clockwise from top left, Posse members Bruce Tomaso, Bryan Gooding, Daniel Gonclaves & Tom Fox.
(Photos ©Daniel Goncalves)

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

2013-04-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

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 to the firebox hanging off one end of the pit.

He didn't mind talking for publication about his invention. He just didn't want anyone to take a photo, especially of the two ends, which contain all the magic, as far as barbecue is concerned.

Why is this better? I asked him.

"You're going to taste it," he said. We did, but we'll save talk about his food for another post.

The key elements of convection barbecue cooking are uniform heat and smoke, which lead to uniform doneness and taste. Lewis said his briskets, which take many hours to cook, are all finishing within 45 minutes of each other on the new pit.

A toilet analogy may not seem appropriate in a food story, but it works here. Think of the swirl of water created when a toilet is flushed. The same thing happens in the firebox of Lewis' new pit.

The outside of the firebox has square corners, but the inside is rounded, helping create a swirl of heat and smoke that goes up into the cooking chamber, continuing to swirl, and then out the stack.

"It draws unlike anything I've seen before," Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins said.

Lewis said the pit took him 3 months to build in his off hours, which are few. He discovered its drawing power one night while smoking a cigarette and watching the fire from a few feet away. The smoke from his cigarette got pulled into the firebox, he said.

Followers of the Posse's Facebook page may be scratching their heads and asking, "But didn't I see a picture of that new pit?"

Yes, you did. A friend of the Posse took a photo and sent it to us. Wilkins quickly posted the shot. New pits are news. But later, after the friend discovered that the photo revealed a competitive secret, he asked Chris to take it down. He did.

So, if you saw the photo and didn't really know what you were seeing, no problem. If you recognized the secret, get that welding torch fired up.

La Barbecue "Cuisine Texicana", 1502 S. 1st St, Austin, TX, 512-605-9696. Open Wed-Sun 11 am-til the meat runs out.

John Lewis talks sausage with Posse member Bryan Gooding, aka the Sausage King of Oak Cliff.
(Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

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

2013-04-18T09:03:00.001-05:00

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 miles north of the state capitol building, Stiles Switch was our last stop of a very stout day of chasing Texas smoked meat. We also ate at Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue and John Mueller Meat Co.

We think Austin has replaced Lockhart as the capital of Texas barbecue and, to test that case, we wanted to sample the best joints all on the same day.

Stiles Switch has been open about a year and a half. Pitmaster Lance Kirkpatrick formerly ran a restaurant, called Mimosa, in Taylor. He also has worked for Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor.

Many Austin joints close when the meat runs out. But Stiles Switch owner Shane Stiles said his place has made a commitment to remain open throughout the day, minimize lines and never run out.

"I waited in line at Aaron's [Franklin Barbecue] a few times and it was just more than I could handle," Stiles told us.

Opening at 11 a.m., Stiles Switch doesn't close until 9 p.m. on most weekdays, 10 p.m. on weekends. The place has a large dining area and plenty of easy parking, both welcome after a long day on the road.

Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, 6610 N. Lamar, Austin, 512-380-9199. Open Tues-Thur & Sun 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm.

Sneak peek at our Austin BBQ Tour

2013-04-17T16:02:00.000-05:00

The Posse was wheels up from Dallas early this morning to check out the growing Austin barbecue scene, which we believe could be overtaking Lockhart as the capital of Texas BBQ. This trip was a chance to test that theory.

Stay tuned to the Texas BBQ Posse blog for stories and snippets from the trip. Our reporting will culminate at the end of April with a story in The Dallas Morning News and multimedia on dallasnews.com.

Here's the trip itinerary:

Austin BBQ Tour

6:30am: Leave Dallas
9:30am: Franklin Barbecue, 900 E. 11th, Austin, (512) 653-1187. Open Tues-Sun, 11 a.m.-until the meat runs out.
Noon: La Barbecue, 1502 S 1st St, Austin, 512-605-9696. Open Wed-Sun 11am-6pm.
1pm: John Mueller Meat Co., 2500 E. 6th Street, Austin, Open Tues-Sun 10:30am until sold out.
2:00pm: Micklethwait Craft Meats, 1309 Rosewood Ave, Austin, 512-791-5961. Open Wed-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm.
3:30pm: Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, 6610 N Lamar Blvd., Austin, 512-380-9199 . Open Tues-Thurs 11am-8:30pm, Fri-Sat 11am-9:30pm, Sun 11am-8pm.
4:30pm: Head back to Dallas

The Posse poses for a group photo at John Mueller Meat Co. during our Austin BBQ Tour.

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

2013-04-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

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 the top right of this page or going directly to FoodyDirect's sign-up page. The offer ends May 3 when a winner will be randomly selected.

FoodyDirect is based in Menlo Park, Calif., and offers food from restaurants and specialty shops around the country, including the three top Texas barbecue joints above.

One of the principals of FoodyDirect, which received venture funding last year, is Brad Koenig, one of Silicon Valley's top investment bankers during the early years of the Web. He backed Yahoo's public stock offering.

First Look: The Slow Bone Barbeque in Dallas

2013-04-16T13:23:00.000-05:00

All photos by Jim Rossman

It's a great day when I get to eat at a new place.

Today, Jack Perkins, owner of local burger joint Maple and Motor, opened the doors to The Slow Bone Barbeque, his new barbecue restaurant at 2234 Irving Blvd. at the base of the new Sylvan Ave. bridge near the Design District in Dallas.

Jack won the brisket competition at last year's Meat Fight and announced his plans to open Slow Bone late last year.

Well, today was the day.

I was tenth in line when the doors opened this morning and the line remained steady for the duration of my lunch.

Jack came out to open the doors and welcome everyone.

My penalty for eating early today was I missed out on a few of the meats that weren't ready just yet.
I got a three-meat plate of brisket, baby back ribs and chicken.

Sides looked great and the plates come with two, so I chose a green bean casserole with very fresh green beans and a cauliflower and brussel sprout casserole.

Bread choices included hushpuppies, which I love, and sauce was served on the side.

Jack told me they'll never sauce the meat at Slow Bone and he was dead serious.

There is also a special thin spicy sauce was a tangy-vinegary treat.

The spicy sauce was located at a small bar that included sweet pickles, chow chow and purple onions.
Drinks were of the Dublin variety.

I was quite pleased with lunch, but I'll wait on the thoughts of the rest of the Posse and a few more visits before start to think about where Slow Bone ranks.

Jack was nice enough to take me around to see Miss Jessie, his huge Oyler pit.

Service was cafeteria style and the food is served on old school cafeteria trays, which is a great touch.
More on this place in the coming weeks.

The Slow Bone Barbeque, 2234 Irving Blvd., Dallas, 214-377-7727. Open daily 11am-7pm.

Video: Pecan Lodge's Justin Fourton shows you how to cook a great brisket

2013-04-16T07:30:00.000-05:00

When it comes to smoking a brisket, Pecan Lodge pitmaster and co-owner Justin Fourton is among the best in Texas. Their recent appearance on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is further evidence of that fact.

However, our photo crew at the Dallas Morning News beat Guy Fieri to the airwaves by a couple of weeks with this video of Justin explaining how to prep, cook and cut a brisket. Staff photographer Vernon Bryant spent a day behind the scenes at Pecan Lodge to bring you some of Justin's secrets. Enjoy.......

Video: Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News, Photo: ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

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

2013-04-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

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 of the 10 best pitmasters in the south by Southern Living magazine. Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin was the only other Texan on the list.

Of course, this week in Dallas, we'll get the debut of the anti-hipster pitmaster when Jack Perkins is scheduled to open his Slow Bone joint at Sylvan and Irving Boulevard.

We can't wait.