Going whole hog at CattleAck BBQ on Saturday

Tray of whole hog, brisket & pork ribs with sides at CattleAck BBQ in north Dallas (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

The Posse first caught wind of CattleAck BBQ in May 2013, when Jim Rossman picked up some Twitter buzz on a new joint in north Dallas near the Galleria. Jim headed up on the tollway to investigate, finding a promising new player on the DFW barbecue scene.

After success in the catering business, owners Todd and Misty David decided to open on Fridays from 11am until the meat ran out. A full Posse contingent made a followup visit  to CattleAck a few weeks later for a rare Saturday opening and was blown away. Gary Jacobson wrote, "After eating at Cattleack Barbecue last Saturday, the Posse declared the Dallas joint the equal of any in town."

Over three years later, the Davids are still catering but are now open Thursdays and Fridays at 10:30am, and starting last month are open the first Saturday of each month. They also recently expanded their restaurant by adding a large dining room in the space next door. As the lines will attest, CattleAck is far from a secret for hard core BBQ aficionados.

We met pitmaster Marshall Cooper out front on Saturday at 9:30am, where we were first in line. Our timing as good, the line started building almost immediately behind us. There was a lot of anticipation in the crowd for Todd's whole hog offering, not a regular menu item and something you don't see a lot in Texas BBQ.

Along with the whole hog, we ordered brisket, pork ribs, turkey, sausage, beef brisket pastrami and sides. Every meat was cooked to perfection, moist and full of smokey flavor. By 11am I counted 80 people in line, which ran from the back of their new dining room, snaking into a queue for the serving line in an adjacent room. The line seemed to move pretty quickly though.

If you haven't been to CattleAck BBQ yet, check your calendar for the first Saturday of the month and plan a journey to have some of the best BBQ in the state.  And if you're lucky, Todd might just be smoking another whole hog, you can check "What's Cooking" on their website for any special offerings that day.

Cattleack BBQ, 13628 Gamma Road, Dallas, 972-805-0999. Open: Thurs & Fri 10:30am-2pm & the first Sat. of the month 10:30am-3pm. Website: www.cattleackbbq.com

The line of customers winds through CattleAck BBQ's new dining room. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)

An authentic BBQ experience at Billy's Oak Acres in Fort Worth

Lunch is served at Biily's Oak Acres BBQ: Sausage, bologna, brisket, pulled pork, hot links and pork ribs. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobis.com)

On an almost perfect autumn Saturday, there were so many possibilities for fun in North Texas.

-The State Fair.

-Big-time college football with UT at TCU and Baylor against Texas Tech in Arlington.

-The Rangers' pursuit of the American League West title.

-Smoked Dallas, the barbecue and live music event.

The Posse, of course, chose barbecue. But not the Dallas affair, which offered VIP tickets for $90 apiece. For us, the terms "VIP" and "BBQ" just don't go together.

Instead, we drove about 45 miles to Billy's Oak Acres BBQ on the West side of Fort Worth.

With fighter jets from the nearby Naval Air Station periodically roaring overhead, this was an authentic barbecue experience. Hand-lettered signs. Well-worn buildings. A 6-decade old brick pit.

"If you're going to make it in barbecue, you need to keep your overhead low," said pitmaster and owner Billy Woodrich, 46, who opened his joint a couple years ago.

Brisket at Billy's features a great bark.(Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobis.com)

You also need to serve good smoked meat.

"The bark on the brisket is like a meal itself," said Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins.

Phil Lamb called a crusty piece of pulled pork, a "barbecue potato chip."

The pork ribs, perfectly cooked, got our vote as the best meat of the day.

"I like a little sweet in the rub and he's got them just right," said Jim Rossman.

Woodrich, a former bounty hunter, cooks with pecan wood. He also served us smoked bologna and a commercial sausage. All of the meats had a nice, gentle smoke flavor, nothing overpowering.

"This is our kind of place," Wilkins said.

Last year, Billy's joint lost out to the Baby Back Shak in Dallas in an episode of Spike's Hungry Investors. The investors praised Woodrich's food, but not his kitchen logistics. They liked the potential of the Shak better.

But Woodrich still hopes to grow. He said he plans to open a place later this year near Angelo's in Fort Worth.

Billy's Oak Acres BBQ, 1700 N Las Vegas Trail, Fort Worth, 817-367-2200. Open Tues-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-3pm. http://www.billysoakacresbbq.com

Pitmaster Billy Woodrich serves up a lunch feast for the Posse. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobis.com)

Pitmaster Billy Woodrich shows his 1950's era brick pit to Jim Rossman. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves/Fotobis.com)

Billy's Oak Acres BBQ is located just off Interstate 820 in northwest Fort Worth. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) 

Some barbecue bracketology: The Posse picks the best of the best in Dallas-Fort Worth for the Final Four

Pecan Lodge had a strong showing on the Posse's Best of the Best DFW BBQ list. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BB Posse)

While compiling our list for Final Four fans of the best Dallas-Forth Worth area barbecue joints, we also engaged in some smoked meat bracketology. We rated the best-of-the-best individual menu items -- and some other categories -- from the field of North Texas competitors.

For this task, we relied on the opinions of 6 veteran Posse members. All have eaten a lot of barbecue since we started going on tours in 2009. All have strong opinions. There was just one unanimous pick: The best brisket is at Pecan Lodge in Dallas.

Winners in two other categories came close with 5 mentions each. The Best Deal is the $16.59 all-you-can-eat special at Hutchins BBQ in McKinney and the Best Bar is at Work Bar & Grill in Dallas.

In several categories, 3 votes were enough to lead the pack.

Here are the Posse's best-of-the-best in DFW, with vote totals and comments:

BEST BRISKET: Pecan Lodge in Dallas. This was the only unanimous choice. "Unquestionably the smokiest, most consistently outstanding brisket in town," said Posse member Phil Lamb.

BEST RIBS: Baby Back Shak in Dallas with 3 votes. "I love the Shak ribs. They were the staple for my BBQ fixes during the lean BBQ years on the DFW landscape," said Gary Barber. Others receiving votes: Pecan Lodge and BBQ on the Brazos in Cresson. One Posse member split his vote between Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse, which has joints in Dallas and Plano.

Lockhart Smokehouse won for best sausage and best atmosphere.
(Photo ©Chris Wilkins)

BEST SAUSAGE: Lockhart Smokehouse with 3 votes. "You can't mess with Kreuz sausage's history and legacy," said Daniel Goncalves. Lockhart Smokehouse gets its sausage from the famed Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Tx. Others receiving votes: Pecan Lodge, Jambo's BBQ Shack in Rendon and Longoria's BBQ in Everman.

BEST TURKEY: Hutchins with 3 votes. All the meats at Hutchins are very good, but the turkey rises to the top among DFW barbecue joints. Others receiving votes: Baby Back Shak and Hard Eight BBQ in Coppell.

BEST SANDWICH: Jambo's with 3 votes for its giant Jambo Texan. "I don't eat sandwiches at BBQ places, but Jambo's meat combo served between two slices of bread would be the exception," Goncalves said. Others receiving votes: Meshack's Bar-B-Que in Garland, Baby Back Shak and Hard Eight.

BEST SIDE: Baby Back Shak's boudin with 3 votes. Boudin is a Cajun-style sausage stuffed with rice and pork. "Really the only side I've had more than a fork full of in Texas," Goncalves said. Others receiving votes: The Brussels sprouts with cauliflower at The Slow Bone in Dallas and the smoked deviled eggs at Lockhart Smokehouse.

BEST DEAL: Hutchins' $16.59 all-you-can-eat special with 5 votes. "If you truly want to pig out on great BBQ without breaking the bank, it's your only real option," Barber said. One vote for the Trough meat sampler at Pecan Lodge.

BEST SERVICE: Hutchins with 4 votes. This is a continuation from the Best Deal, above. Just tell the waitress to bring another plate of ribs, and don't forget the ice cream. One vote for Longoria's.

BEST ATMOSPHERE: Lockhart Smokehouse with 3 votes. "It's in a vibrant neighborhood and could serve as base camp for any game-watching operation, or simply the first stop among Bishop Arts' many eating and drinking establishments," Lamb said of the Dallas location. Others receiving votes: Hard Eight and Longoria's.

BEST BAR: Work with 5 votes, one split with Lockhart Smokehouse. Eat good barbecue, have a drink and also get a taste of Dallas' revitalized club scene. One other vote for Lockhart Smokehouse.

BEST JOINT OVERALL: Pecan Lodge with 4 votes, one split with Hutchins.  "For me it's all about the brisket and Pecan Lodge knows brisket," Goncalves said. "The waiting line says it all and it's worth the wait." Others receiving votes: Hutchins and The Slow Bone.

BEST CHAIN: Rudy's with 4 votes. The Posse doesn't usually eat at chain joints, but when it does, it's probably Rudy's. No other chain received votes.

Hutchins BBQ won for turkey, best service & best deal for their $16.59 All You Can Eat special.
(Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse)