Texas BBQ Posse named to list of top 50 BBQ blogs in U.S.

We got the news today from Cate Newton of the Guide to Culinary Schools that the Texas BBQ Posse blog has ben named as one of the top 50 BBQ blogs in the country. We share that honor with our Texas BBQ blogging friends at Man Up Texas Barbecue and Full Custom Gospel BBQ Blog.

Cate writes, "I am writing to inform you that Texas BBQ Posse has been featured on Guide to Culinary Schools' list of the Top 50 BBQ Blogs. We hand-picked a list of our favorites and outlined the unique reasons why we love them. We chose your blog because it points out the major role that BBQ plays in the Central Texas culture."

Having just celebrated our first anniversary with the Central Texas 5-Star Anniversary BBQ Tour, we are honored to be recognized among the top BBQ blogs in the country. Thank you Cate and company! We hope all our followers, friends and supporters will continue to enjoy the stories and photos as we explore the BBQ trails of Texas, in search of the greatest smoked meats in the greatest state in the union....

BBQ bloggers gather at Louie Mueller Barbecue

We had a really cool experience this morning meeting other BBQ bloggers from around the state. Thanks to the BBQ Snob, Daniel Vaughn, for getting everyone together for a smoked meat breakfast at Louie Mueller Barbecue, one of the Posse's favorite joints in the world.

Most of us were in town for the Taylor International Barbeque Cookoff. Gary Jacobson and I represented the Texas BBQ Posse. In addition to Daniel, bloggers from Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin and Euless were represented. The highlight was trying some BBQ ice cream after our breakfast. The taste was interesting, to say the least!

UPDATE: Click here to see Daniel's post about the BBQ round table on his Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog.

Here's a list of the other folks gathering at Louis Mueller's:
Eats BBQ Blog crew from Austin
Don O.'s Texas BBQ Blog from Euless along with friend Scott
The Houston crew: Houston Foodie writer Chris Reid, Michael Fulmer and Brad Barber.

Daniel Vaughn shows off his smoked ribeye.
Scott opens his infamous BBQ sauce ice cream and Dan O. looks on.
The Houston crew talks BBQ ice cream, left to right, Brad Barber, Chris Reid and Michael Fulmer.
The round table talks BBQ at the corner booth of Louie's.
Unfortunately, Drew Thornley of Man Up Texas BBQ had to skip the round table. He was busy working the crowd selling Q Cards at the cookoff.

Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse

Speaking of BBQ and Shacks

Another great BBQ joint in the Dallas area is Meshack's Bar-B-Que Shack in Garland, some of the best brisket you'll find north of Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Meshack's opened in May 2009 in a small building east of old downtown Garland. It was discovered by Daniel Vaughn, the BBQ Snob, later in August and the rest is history.

Daniel blogged about Meshack's on his Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog, assigning it his first 4-star ranking in the Dallas area, outside of a few in Ft. Worth. He recently ranked DFW BBQ joints for D Magazine, in his story titled "The Best Barbecue in Dallas (That’s Not Really in Dallas)."

Daniel named Meshack's no. 5 on his list of 16 top BBQ restaurants, an amazing accomplishment for a place that's been open for less than a year. It's a true testament to the pitmaster skills of Travis Mayes, who runs the place along with his wife Donna. They are two of the most wonderful folks you'll ever meet. Good luck to Travis & Donna as they serve up some of the best smoked meats in Texas.

Meshack's Bar-B-Que Shack, 240 E. Ave. B, Garland, Texas. Open Tuesday 10:30 am-5 pm, Wednesday-Saturday 10:30am-7pm.

(Photos by Irwin Thompson)

A shout out to the BBQ Snob

For guidance and inspiration along the BBQ trail, the Texas BBQ Posse has turned many times to Daniel Vaughn, aka the BBQ Snob. Daniel is a local architect. He has a great website, the Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog, reviewing Texas BBQ joints.

We had already started following his blog when fellow posse member David Woo and I had a chance to have lunch with Daniel at The Baby Back Shak. The Dallas Morning News was doing a story on the phenomenal success of his blog. David and I ate ribs and talked que with Daniel, then David shot photos of him back by the smoker for the article.

Daniel has been to hundreds of BBQ establishments & you can search his blog by city, name, ranking, etc. If you scroll down a little on the page, you can view his list of 5-star places on the right, he has 14 total in the state. Click here to see the Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog. He also created a handy Google map of BBQ joints around the state, both visited and on the list to visit. Clink here to see the map.

The is no better resource than his blog if you're hunting BBQ joints in Texas. We thank Daniel for sharing his time and appetite for BBQ with us all. Click here for a link to the story we did on Daniel in the Morning News. One last thing, click here to check out and join Full Custom Gospel BBQ's fan page on Facebook.

(Photo of Daniel at The Baby Back Shak by David Woo)

Support your local Shak

Despite what you might read in D Magazine, the best BBQ in the city of Dallas is located at 1800 South Akard St. Just a mile south of City Hall, it's worth the trip any time to enjoy pitmaster and owner Clarence Cohen's masterfully prepared ribs and other meats at the Baby Back Shak. The ribs are the best we've had in Dallas, bar none.

Clarence also offers great sides, including his green beans (reminds me of my grandma's) and the infamous Shak beans, some of the best BBQ beans you'll ever have. Click here to visit the Shak's website and view the menu. Clink here to check out or join the Baby Back Shak Fan Club page on Facebook. Enjoy!

Baby Back Shak, 1800 South Akard St., Dallas, Texas. Open Monday-Thursday 11 am-5:45 pm, Friday-Saturday 11 am-6:45 pm.

Photo © Guy Reynolds