How to plan the perfect Texas BBQ tour

Pecan Lodge in Dallas is a don't miss stop on any DFW BBQ tour. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

The Posse is approaching its sixth anniversary of driving the cities, towns and backroads of Texas in search of great barbecue. Inspired by Texas Monthly magazine's 2008 list of the Best BBQ joints in Texas, our original group of six hit the road in early November 2009.

Six years later, we've made dozens of trips around the state, sharing our stories on this blog and in The Dallas Morning News. Here are a few things we've learned along the way.

1. Do your research: There's no substitute for good planning when it comes to barbecue tours. You have access to plenty of good information on the internet. Find a couple of sites you trust and go from there. When we began in 2009, the go-to source was Daniel Vaughn's Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog, but it's been inactive for several years since he became barbecue editor for Texas Monthly. However, Daniel writes for and maintains the magazine's current website for all things Texas BBQ.

I usually avoid using Yelp or Google reviews as a guide, the feedback rarely comes from people who really know barbecue, IE: "Dickey's brisket is great!" (You get the idea.) Another favorite of ours is Don O's Texas BBQ blog. Don and his friend Scott really know their BBQ and blanket the state looking for the next great joint. You can also check out our interactive Google map of the Posse's favorite Texas BBQ joints. A list of some of our favorite barbecue tours also appears on the right side of the Posse blog.

2. Pace yourself: It took us a year or two to really figure this one out, but it's crucial to having a successful tour.  You may be eating some of the greatest brisket in the world for breakfast at Snow's BBQ, but you have three or four more stops during the day. It takes practice, but limit yourself to a snack, not a full meal.

We usually eat a bite or two of brisket, sausage and turkey/chicken, along with a rib at each stop. Of course you will order more than a few bites, but that's where the cooler and ice in your trunk come in for. Take some home. And when you get there, you'll the most popular person in the dining room as your family and friends relive your tour, digging into the best barbecue they've ever eaten.

The Posse digs in at Louie Mueller Barbecue on our first tour in Nov. 2009. (Gary Barber/Texas BBQ Posse)

3. Group size matters:  Our tour groups have varied from four to more than 20 participants. Since the Posse usually travels with more than a few photographers, writers and videographers, we found the large groups pretty much overwhelmed some small BBQ joints.

We've found the perfect size to be around eight, so you can travel in a couple of cars and order pretty quickly. With eight folks, you also get a lot of BBQ opinion and debate going at the table. That's a big part of the fun on a barbecue tour.

4. Don't be bashful: The Texas BBQ community consists of some of the greatest people you'll ever meet. Strike up a conversation with the owner and/or pitmaster and you might just end up in the pit room talking BBQ secrets. Don't be pushy if the line is out the door though, these folks have to make hay while the grass is growing.

4. Find diversions along the way: It may be tempting, but you can't eat barbecue non-stop. (See above: No. 2. Pace yourself.) Texas is full of cool things to see along the way, so keep your eyes open for great diversions as you plan your tour.

Does your tour include a stop at the legendary Leon’s World Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que House in Galveston? Follow your visit with a Gulf of Mexico beach break to burn those barbecue calories. Stopping at Posse favorite Kirby's Barbeque in Mexia? Your next stop could be nearby at historic Fort Parker, where the legend of Comanche chief Quanah Parker began.

We've also been known to pack a set of horseshoes and a few chilled beverages, stopping at a local park for a recreation break between BBQ joints. Anything to get you ready to eat at the next tour stop.

5. Follow the smoke:  Keep your eyes open for unexpected stops along the way. Some of our most memorable stops have been the unforeseen ones, when someone saw a pit bellowing smoke and we pulled over, usually making new friends along the way. Meeting the citizens of the great BBQ nation of Texas will never grow old.

Snow's BBQ pit boss Tootsie Tomanetz tends the pits as the sun rises over Lexington. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

The Posse began its first anniversary tour at the original Franklin Barbecue in Austin in 2010.

High on smoke and creamed corn, BBQ eureka at Killen's BBQ

Pork ribs, brisket, potato salad & creamed corn at Killen's BBQ in Pearland. (Photo by Daniel Goncalves/fotobia.com)

Just a week after the Posse's barbecue tour of Houston-area joints, Posse member Daniel Goncalves and his wife, Magda, made a return visit, including a trip to Killen's Barbecue in Pearland, which might just be the best barbecue joint in the state. Daniel says he had a couple of new barbecue revelations while high on smoke and creamed corn. Here is his report:


My wife and I decided at the last minute to spend the 4th of July weekend in Houston. The previous week's trip to Killen's may have influenced that decision.

When the Posse visited Killen's, Posse member Jim Rossman showed up a couple of hours before opening and had the #1 spot in line.

My wife and I stopped Saturday, July 5th, just before 3 p.m. We spotted pit master, Ronnie Killen, on the side lawn. I was curious to see if the joint had sold out any of the meats and how the food would measure up to the "first in line" offerings we had the week before.

Only 6 people were in line ahead of us when we arrived. The board up front said sausage had sold out. We decided to get a 6-meat plate ($28), but divided between only two meats: two portions of pork ribs and 4 portions of moist brisket. It's a lot of food, enough for us have a nice lunch and leftovers for dinner.

We were disappointed we couldn't sample the sausage, which was very good the previous week, but I was pleasantly surprised that sausage was the only meat that had sold out.

A worker said meat capacity was increased for the holiday weekend by temporarily bringing in an additional smoker. On Friday, 85 briskets were smoked and they had sold them out by 3:30 p.m. They had 12 out of 65 left at just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The plate came with a choice of two sides. I've never been excited about sides at a BBQ joint. We ordered the potato salad and the creamed corn.

I assumed we would both take a bite of each and the rest would end up in the trash bin. After last week's visit I didn't believe anything could possibly stand up to the meat. I couldn't have been more wrong.

This led to the second great revelation of my BBQ touring experience: Don't put sides to the side (sorry).

The sides stood up just fine and were not out of place with the meat. They were not an afterthought or a simple filler as with many barbecue joints.

Pitmaster/owner Ronnie Killen. (Photo by Daniel Goncalves)

The creamed corn was sublime. It was creamy and luscious while being light and almost frothy with a small spicy after kick. We were told that the creamed corn is the exact same corn served at Killen's Steakhouse which is considered one of the top steakhouses in the country.

If I could create a new BBQ category called "most luscious side," the creamed corn would be king. I challenge any other side from any other joint to go toe to toe with the creamed corn in my fictitious category. Bring it on.

The brisket was perfectly cooked and unbelievably moist, but I personally would have liked a little more rub, especially salt. The ribs were perfect. I felt the same way on the previous visit. The beef flavor seems to be the star while the seasoning does back up duty and that's not a bad thing.

I felt compelled to try the sauces after sampling some naked bits and pieces. Since my Florida days I haven't touched sauce. My personal feeling is that if it needs sauce I don't want to eat it.

This led to my third ever BBQ revelation. The sauces were delicious and complemented the brisket beautifully. I'm wondering if this is part of some genius plan to get you to reach for the sauce so you can experience another layer of culinary goodness. Killen definitely has "it" when it comes to creating perfectly balanced flavor. Escoffier would not be disappointed. sweet and acidity balanced beautifully. No one flavor stands above the other.

We decided to take a brisket back home to Dallas after making sure they had enough left over for the people in line behind us. Our brisket was just short of 8 pounds of jiggly, glistening and gorgeous meat. Memories of Baywatch's intro sequence came to mind.

We decided to further indulge by getting a slice of the buttermilk pie to share. Magda said she noticed lemon rind while exclaiming how wonderful it was. No bottled lemon juice here.

I haven't been this excited about smoked meat since my first BBQ revelation while sampling Snow's marvelous brisket on a beautiful Saturday morning. That was when I finally understood how great brisket could be.

After its Houston tour, the Posse debated on the way back to Dallas whether Killen's was the best BBQ joint in the state. I was reluctant to agree on the spot.

But if you take into account comfort level (A/C, nice decor, friendly staff, personable pit master, beer in line, etc.), all the different meats and their quality, and if you throw sides into the discussion, then I personally would have to say that this is the best BBQ joint in Texas and possibly this side of the sun.

Please pass more of that creamed corn.

Killen's BBQ, 3613 E. Broadway, Pearland, 281-485-2272. Open Tues-Sun 11am-until they run out of meat. Website: http://www.killensbarbecue.com

Dining room at Killen's BBQ. (Photo by Daniel Goncalves/fotobia.com)

Stellar preview for the new Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum, Dallas

Owners Diane & Justin Fourton address the crowd at Pecan Lodge's preview party. (Photo by Jim Rossman)

All right. The new Pecan Lodge will open Friday, May 23, ending nearly a couple weeks of Dallas barbecue drought since the original joint last served at the Farmers Market on May 11.

That's the grand opening target for the new place on Main Street in Deep Ellum, according to owner/pitmaster Justin Fourton, who with his wife, Diane, hosted a preview party Thursday attended by about 200 guests.

The new space is wonderful. And the food won't miss a beat, according to many who attended.

"I love it," said Cathy Barber, food editor of The Dallas Morning News, as she sampled brisket, sausage and a bit of beef rib.

"We gotta come out here and drink on Friday nights," said Texas BBQ Posse veteran Jim Rossman, referring to the nice patio area outside the main dining area and bar.

Brian Luscher, owner of The Grape restaurant, and Jay Jerrier, owner of Cane Rosso, agreed that the patio was stellar. Every new restaurant has its own personality, they said. And, the new Pecan Lodge will probably change over time, but they liked their initial introduction.

Robert Wilonsky, The News' super blogger, loved the Lodge's fried chicken, which he had never eaten before, and predicted that the joint would would be standing room only when it officially opened.

Justin Fourton gave the Posse a short tour of the place before the crush of guests arrived Thursday. At the Farmers Market, all the meat was cut out of view of customers. In the new place, some of the meat will be cut in plain view of everyone.

"It won't be like Franklin," Fourton said of the legendary Austin joint, Franklin Barbecue. But customers will get to see at least some of the cutting.

One pit was working Thursday. Fourton eventually hopes to have three in operation.

At the Farmers Market, he said, his capacity was about 40 briskets a day. When the new place opens, he said, he will be able to do 90 a day and that could increase eventually to about 130 a day.

In remarks to the crowd, he recalled the early days of Pecan Lodge when the place sold half of a brisket on Fridays and two briskets on Saturdays.

"This is the tip of iceberg of the revitalization of Deep Ellum," Fourton said.

The preview party also included the debut of a brand new beer, Boss Lady Rustic Red, named for Diane Fourton.

It was good.

"It's super exciting because, you know, we have beer and wine now," the boss lady told those attending.

The Posse couldn't agree more.

Pecan Lodge, 2702 Main St. Dallas, 214-748-8900. Open: Tues-Thur 11am-3pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 11am-3pm. Website: www.pecanlodge.com

All photos by Jim Rossman

Posse winner talks about growing up with Aaron Franklin and the future of barbecue in Texas

Aaron Franklin, right, and his bandmates in Those Peabodys.
(Photo courtesy of Post-Parlo Records)

Please pardon our tardiness, we're a bit late with this post.

Neil Gallagher of Bryan won last month's Texas barbecue giveaway offered by FoodyDirect in partnership with the Posse. FoodyDirect, an online food marketplace, randomly selected his name from among more than 200 entries.

When I contacted Gallagher, 35, to congratulate him, the conversation ranged widely, from his win to even pondering the future of barbecue in Texas.

He said he grew up in Bryan with Aaron Franklin, now the reigning barbecue baron of the state. Franklin runs Franklin Barbecue in Austin.

Gallagher is an accountant at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He said his wife, Jenny, lived next door to the Franklin family in Bryan, where Aaron's father ran a barbecue place.

"I would have never guessed that he was going to be a barbecue mogul," Gallagher said of Franklin. "I always figured that if he was ever going to make it in something, it would be in the music industry. I guess he found something else he loved."

Before barbecue, Franklin played drums for a band called Those Peabodys.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

A short, philosophical meditation on our Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Posse BBQ judges (L-R) Jim Rossman, Bruce Tomaso and Gary Jacobson sample the meats at Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN)

In some respects, our recent Best of Texas barbecue tour was like a cookoff. Only the food didn't come to the judges, we went to the food.

Eating at 10 places over 48 hours and scoring each joint's brisket, pork ribs and sausage -- the three foundation meats of Texas BBQ -- gave us a good framework for comparison.

It also focused our attention entirely on the basics.

Memo to Gov. Perry: Texas needs a truth in BBQ law

Last week on the Posse's Facebook page, we had a good discussion with readers about the use of real wood or other means to smoke barbecue.

One reader, Mark "The Hogfather" Gabrick, suggested that we lead an initiative to get Texas to pass a truth in barbecue law. Or, more simply, we should designate joints that use only wood as "Posse approved."

Gotta admit, that last phrase does have a nice ring.

Lines, lines, everywhere we go there are BBQ lines

Long lines at Franklin BBQ in Austin, top, and Pecan Lodge in Dallas. (Photos © Daniel Goncalves)

Aaron Franklin has made it cool to stand in a long line for barbecue. That has been the norm at his joint in Austin going back to its trailer days in 2009.

Now, the phenomenon appears to be spreading, as we discovered on our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour.

Fargo's BBQ - New digs, same great BBQ

Fargo's BBQ co-owners Belender Wells & Alan Caldwell in front of their new sign on 720 N. Texas in Bryan. 

We dropped in on Fargo's BBQ's new location in Bryan as our third of 10 stops of the Top 5 BBQ Tour. They were in their old location five blocks north for 13 years, which didn't have a dining room.

Co-owner Alan Caldwell says the move went smoothly, including moving the original brick pit from the old location, which got broken but was put back together with a little masonry work.

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 it had been reheated. The ribs and sausage were also routine.

"Our brisket at the K.C. hall is better," echoed Jim's dad, Tom, making his first tour with the Posse. Tom lives in Katy. He said his Knights of Columbus council cooks more than 100 briskets at a time for special occasions.


The first tip-off that things have changed at the Church's barbecue joint sat right outside the front door: a still shiny Ole Hickory smoker, mainly gas fired.

When did you get the new smoker? we asked the order taker.

"October," he said.

Does that thing use wood?

"Yes, some wood," he said.

We each ate a rib and finished the sausage but we couldn't eat all the brisket.

"When has the Posse last left brisket on its plate?" Lamb asked as we left.

Exactly.

The Church, aka: New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ, 2601 Montgomery Rd, Huntsville, 936-294-0884. Open Thur-Sat 11 am-6 pm.


Photos ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse